Yunlai Tea Cup

Press Kit

Unique Properties

Yunlai cup is made by handmade glass workshop.
It is a design that combines humanities and arts with daily functions. Its design language comes from simulating the flowing cloud lines formed by the natural transpiration of the unique green landscape in the mid-latitude inland of the Northern Hemisphere.
At the same time, it takes into account ergonomic considerations in the streamlined design and organically combines cloud modeling with the natural contact of palm and the angle of finger holding.

Dimensions & Packaging

Maximum width 68mm x Depth 52 mm x Height 51 mm

Tags

glass, Yunlai, tea, drinking

Production Technology

The material used in this product is heat-resistant glass. It used the technology of extra-thick glass-frit and high temperature sandblasting to achieve the visual result of 70% light transmittance. It was blown out in the hot workshop of the glass studio.

Design Challenge

Although I found glass, a material that can convey ethereal oriental beauty, However, the biggest challenge is that too transparent materials are difficult to convey the concepts of blank space and invisibility in oriental aesthetics. Therefore, we continue to negotiate with the glass studio to finally obtain an inner wall thicker than ordinary glasses and make the surface reach 70% light transmittance through high-temperature sandblasting process.

Project Duration

The project was launched in Guangzhou, China in January 2020 and finished in June 2020. It was exhibited and included in Tmall's original design list and was sold online in September 2020.

Operation Flow

It is suitable for a variety of daily life scenes, like for drinking beverages with various temperatures, alcohol contents, and traditional Kung Fu tea. While using it, it can observe the light and shadow refraction like invisible swimming clouds from different angles.
Its shape also provides a suitable experience for human hands to grasp. Glass can be washed in the dishwasher.

Research

My research goal has always been promoting cross-cultural understanding by innovating the relationship between people and daily objects. Yunlai in Chinese means that clouds slowly rise from mountain forests, which is a portrayal of the natural landscape in most inland hilly areas of China. In order to achieve this goal, I spent a long time visiting glass handicraft studios and factories all over China to study the craft of hand-blown glass.

Inspiration

The design inspiration comes from the research on hand-blown extra-thick glass frit and high-temperature sandblasting technology, as well as observing and recording for many years and depicting the unique cloud form in inland hilly areas of the Northern Hemisphere and the visual relationship between blank space in landscape painting, combined with high-temperature sandblasting technology, the light can form soft refraction lines at different angles during use, thus reflecting this humanistic and artistic feeling from a specific geographical environment.

Image Credits

Image #1 : Photographer Siyu Liu
Image #2 : Photographer Siyu Liu
Image #3 : Photographer Siyu Liu
Image #4 : Photographer Siyu Liu
Image #5 : Photographer Siyu Liu

Patents

Copyrights belong to Siyu Liu, 2020.

Colors of Yunlai Tea Cup