Designed in 1976 by renowned industrial designer Denise Larcombe, Le Verre is brought to life by Maison Balzac for the opening of Powerhouse Parramatta.
Photos COURTESY OF POWERHOUSE MUSEUM
Le Verre is available at the Powerhouse Store at Powerhouse Parramatta, online and from Maison Balzac.
Serendipitously, Denise Larcombe’s original sketch for Le Verre dates to 1976, the year Maison Balzac founder and creative director Elise Pioch Balzac was born.
Crown Corning industrial designer, Denise Larcombe with Maison Balzac founder and creative director, Elise Pioch Balzac.
“The fact that Denise Larcombe designed this wine glass the year I was born (in 1976) felt like a very strong sign that were meant to meet and work together.”
Le Verre pairs a pressed amber stem with a hand-blown clear cup, just as Denise Larcombe first imagined it in 1976.
Le Verre, together with a broader collection of Powerhouse Made™ products, is now available at Powerhouse Parramatta.
In 1976, Crown Corning industrial designer Denise Larcombe sketched a wineglass the company couldn’t make. Fifty years on, Maison Balzac has created it with Powerhouse Made™.
Named Le Verre, Denise’s ‘fantasy’ design pairs a pressed amber stem with a hand-blown clear cup. The original was unearthed from the Powerhouse Collection, home to her archive and Crown Corning’s, and the glass launched to celebrate the opening of Powerhouse Parramatta.
More than a museum gift shop, Powerhouse Made™ collaborates with artists, designers and makers on special editions, and every purchase supports Australian design talent.
Denise graduated from the National Art School in 1961 and joined Crown Crystal Glass in 1967, as one of only a handful of female industrial designers in Australia. Her work for the Waterloo glassmaker, which became Crown Corning in 1972, moved away from heavily decorated products towards simpler, modern designs. Many of them can still be found in Australian homes.
‘The fact that Denise Larcombe designed this wine glass the year I was born (in 1976) felt like a very strong sign that were meant to meet and work together,’ says Maison Balzac founder and creative director Elise Pioch Balzac. ‘I was so touched by the modernity of Denise’s aesthetic, Le Verre looked like a piece that could belong to the Maison Balzac collection already!’
Elise started her career at Hermès in Paris under Martin Margiela’s artistic direction. In 2012 she founded Maison Balzac in Sydney with five perfumed candles inspired by Sundays from her childhood in the South of France.
‘Entering Denise’s world was a real privilege and a great lesson of timeless design which will influence my work forever now,’ says Elise.
Le Verre is available at the Powerhouse Store at Powerhouse Parramatta, online and from Maison Balzac.
