Shaping change through shaping glass
When Chas Prettejohn and his family rescued Ngwenya Glass from liquidation in 1987, they reimagined the potential of recycled glass. The team of glassblowers was led by master blower Sibusiso Mhlanga, who had trained with Sweden’s renowned Kosta Boda glassworks and in the United States. Together, they perfected thin, elegant forms while pushing the astonishing malleability of hot recycled glass. Working with Ngwenya Glass since day one, Sibusiso has trained every blower in the workshop, passing on his skill and his passion.
Today, Ngwenya Glass produces tableware, lighting, and its iconic glass animals, while inviting designers and artists for creative collaborations that push the craft further. At the heart of the manufacturer lies a fierce environmental ethos: bottles collected by locals are reborn in furnaces fuelled by used cooking oil, cooled with harvested rainwater, and powered in part by the 687 solar panels on the roof, which provide 40% of the workshop's energy. Even the packaging is made from recycled newspaper. Visitors can discover craftsmanship, and a living example of circular design, in which community, ecology and artistry converge. Award-winning and internationally renowned, Ngwenya Glass continues to change how the world sees, and values, glass.
Where
Ngwenya Glass
