July, 2018
MEXICO CITY
Diario takes this mass-produced object and combines it with cut-glass craftsmanship to obtain a unique tumbler with a handmade texture.
The Tumbler
This everyday tumbler is found all around Mexico in restaurants, houses, hotels and fondas. It holds the proper ammount of liquids for daily drinking. One can quickly drink a full glass of water if thirsty or sip it through a meal. The type and thickness of the glass used allows the tumbler to hold hot liquids, use it in a dishwasher, use it for baking, and endure heavy use and minor falls.
Commercially, this tumbler is known as a "coffee tumbler", an odd name since few people would choose a tumbler for drinking coffe but appropriate as it speaks of its resistance and endurance. Diario takes this mass-produced object and combines it with cut-glass craftsmanship to obtain a unique tumbler with a handmade texture.
The Craftsmanship
Cut-glass is a technique that uses aluminum oxide discs to engrave decorative or functional textures on glass. Typically such decorations are loaded with ornamental representations in baroquesque style and require complex and time-consuming production processes and the use of different shapes of discs to engrave. The Diario cut-glass tumbler is decorated with straight parallel lines that show the craftsman's pulse and evince the control over the technique while making the production more efficient.
The resulting patterns create a beautiful optical effect when the tumblers are placed toghether and their lines intersect with each other's and when water is poured into them. Each of these four tumblers has a different arrangement of parallel lines that go through various levels of dexterity: vertical, horizontal, diagonal, and a combination of all three. These four tumblers have an elegant appearance of honest craftsmanship for the everyday use.
