Spotlight on Mirenchu
Spotlight on Mirenchu
Glass tailoring by a true artisan
An artisan is often defined as a person skilled in an applied art, a craftsperson or a person or company that makes a high-quality, distinctive products in small quantities, usually by hand and using traditional methods. A definition aptly suited to Mirenchu, a designer and artist specialising in glass on the island of Mallorca.
The Person
Mirenchu Beascoechea was born on the island. She trained in Business and Fashion Design, winning a scholarship to the prestigious Marangoni Institute in Milan where she embarked on a career in the fashion world. Some twenty years ago, her desire to strike out on her own and create something very special led her into the world of glass and ceramics. Today she is the owner and creative spirit behind the brand Mirenchu.
Mirenchu’s passion for the handmade, her feel for textures and her perception of colour allows her to create pieces of astonishing beauty and refinement. Her search for perfection over many years has taken her through the trial and error stages, beyond the inner conflicts of creating more affordable products and onto creating sophisticated tableware and decorative objects that are inspiring, personalised and exclusive.
Mirenchu says: “I have always been attracted to artisanal creative processes that involve a genuine hands on approach. For me, the term “Handmade” means that someone has put their heart and soul into a product. I believe it is a form of sculpting in time.
From the very beginning glass captured my heart. It has many similarities to water due to it’s colours, reflective transparency and surface luminescence.”
The Production
For many of her designs Mirenchu uses float glass in double layers with an enamel layer in between them. Even though the finished articles are delicate and light they can still be used on a daily basis. For the more decorative pieces she uses Murano glass from the island in the Venetian Lagoon. This glass is know worldwide for it’s extraordinary qualities of transparency and it’s vibrant colours.
The painstaking manual process of producing these extraordinary pieces takes time, in fact it takes 26 to 27 hours to produce just one plate or dish.
For example, after the design stage, the process of making a piece from the ‘Traces of the Sea’ collection is as follows:
Firstly the glass is washed and dried thoroughly as the smallest particle of dirt would ruin the finished article. Then the glass is examined to ascertain the “atmospheric” face of the glass, to ensure that it has a perfect working surface.
In order to create the desired shape a paper template is used as a guide. Two identical pieces of glass are then cut by hand as each plate is created with two glass plates and an encapsulated enamel sandwiched between them.
For the creation of the enamelled element, three layers of triple toned enamel in blue and green with motifs signifying reflections of sea water are placed very carefully between the two identical layers of cut glass.
After inspection, this is then put in the furnace for approximately 12 hours. When it emerges it is now a compact glass plate. It is then cleaned once more and placed into a mould for thermoforming in the furnace, a manufacturing process in which the glass is heated to a temperature where it becomes soft and flexible, for another twelve hours. On completion, it is washed again and carefully examined to ensure the unique characteristics have been successfully achieved.
Today Mirenchu’s clients include private individuals, renowned chefs, where her bespoke collections are designed and made to compliment haute cuisine, and specialised interior design firms.
They are all sensitive to the aesthetics of her work and are looking for something special that is in fact a form of glass tailoring by a true artisan who encompasses not only the colours, curves, shapes and lines of her work but also the textures and harmony.
Production of these collections is of course limited due to the highly skilled nature of the work. Mirenchu’s current collections are inspired not only by the concept of ‘KM 0’, but also by the nature and countryside that surrounds her as well as the nearby Mediterranean with its ever changing palette. The names of her current collections, Ola, Mar, Terra and Traces of the Sea reflect this inspiration.
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Glass tailoring by a true artisan, that’s Mirenchu…
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For more information contact Mirenchu by email: info@mirenchu.com
and don’t forget to follow Mirenchu on Instagram & Twitter
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Coming soon: Meet the Artisan Glass Designer
