The glassblowers of Mumbai: Arjun Rathi and Ismail Plumber’s Rural Modern is Mumbai’s first art-glass studio

When you watch the process of blowing glass, the heat radiating from the nearly 1,200-degree Celsius furnace, you get a sense of the discomfort that is part of glassblowing. But it is when you take the blow pipe — at 5 feet, almost exactly as long as I am — in hand and attempt to mould the molten blob at its end that you realise the difficulties you must endure to create a hand-blown piece.

This is an athletic level design process, with the ever-present possibility of disaster. And lots of sweat. There are endless ways things can end badly: if the glass cools before it can be shaped properly, if the glassblower blows too hard or too long, if it is cut before it is ready.

(L to R) Artisans at Rural Modern, and American glass artist Anjali Singh
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

The ‘glory hole’ at Rural Modern Glass Studio
| Photo Credit: Loonaticskies

Piper warmers at Rural Modern Glass Studio
| Photo Credit: Loonaticskies

As a fan of the Netflix series Blown Away, I had some idea of the difficulty of this process. It requires not just skill and focus, but physical strength, resilience, and control. It was only when I held that heavy blow pipe that I realised neither my biceps nor my mind was equipped. Mumbai-based glass artist Ismail Plumber, the co-owner of Rural Modern Glass Studio, where I was at, put it succinctly: “It is an unforgiving art medium, so not many people want to pursue it. But that’s also why those who work with it are so passionate about it.”

Art glass at Rural Modern Glass Studio
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Matching up with Europe

Rural Modern is a unique establishment in India’s design landscape. Till now, designers who wanted custom pieces either went abroad or to one of the many factory-like settings in Firozabad. This studio in an industrial estate in Mumbai’s eastern suburb of Govandi is a big step away from that paradigm.

Set up in 2021 by Plumber and his business partner, architect and lighting designer Arjun Rathi, the 2,200 sq.ft. space is the country’s first art-glass studio — where artists and designers can explore glassblowing and other techniques to produce lighting, tableware, glass art, and even furniture. Rural Modern also plans to hold workshops for amateurs and provide production support for designers.

American glass artist Jeremiah Jacobs at work

Moulds at the Rural Modern Glass Studio

“We want to democratise the art of blown glass, which has always been a difficult medium to master,” says Rathi. “We can give our expertise to designers who come with sketches, and we can help them develop products. We want people to manufacture with us and export it, so we’re at par with whatever is available in Europe.” Rathi produces all the lighting components for his designs at the studio. Recently, Rural Modern also made all the glass for Pune-based design studio Vahe’s presentation at Maison et Objet in Paris.

Arjun Rathi’s Sugar collection made at Rural Modern Glass Studio
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Lighting components from Arjun Rathi’s Sugar collection made at Rural Modern Glass Studio
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

From molten to custom

The intentions of this space reflect the interests and capabilities of its founders. Rathi’s eponymous multidisciplinary firm just turned a decade old, while Plumber also runs the commercial glass company, Studio Golden Glass. Plumber is artistic, while Rathi is more technical, and both are interested in the material. Together they’re able to explore new and interesting interpretations and design interventions.

They set up Rural Modern in direct response to the challenges brought on by the pandemic. “We were dependent on imports, mainly from Europe, and the cost of logistics shot up during the lockdown,” says Rathi. “That’s why we thought we should set up in India. We import the raw material from Europe and get international artists to train and upskill Indian artists to produce complex glass works.”

Rural Modern Glass Studio’s artist-in-residence, Matthew Piepenbroc, at work
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

They are experimenting with the material in different ways, particularly with the scale of the products. In the mass market production units of Firozabad, there is no capacity to create art glass works. Such as the candy-striped glass baubles in Rathi’s latest Sugar lighting collection (it takes 35 to 40 minutes to produce each).

Rural Modern is also open to international artists, who have the facilities to hone their craft at a fraction of the cost abroad. American glass artists Jeremiah Jacobs, Anjali Singh and Timothy Soluna have already visited, and at present, Matthew Piepenbrock, also from the US, is the artist-in-residence. To watch him at work, playing the delicate dance with this gentle yet tough material, is like watching the movements of a trapeze artist. The process is slow and fast, the pressure decisive yet gentle. Always so touch-and-go that you’re totally blown away by the process.

The writer is the editor of beautifulhomes.com.