How To Experiment With Vintage Lab Glass

HOW TO

Experiment With Vintage Lab Glass

Photo: Anna Williams Styling: Hilary Robertson

From beakers and flasks to jars and bottles to cylinders that store substances and compounds, vintage laboratory glass comes in many shapes and sizes and was originally used for scientific and educational research. Far superior to everyday glassware, these extremely resilient vessels are made from several types of glass, each with different capabilities.  Borosilicate, for example, is immune to “thermal shock”, a hugely innovative quality that revolutionized laboratory glass when Corning invented it in 1915. Lab glass was produced on a much smaller scale than mainstream glassware, and today these pieces are highly collectible. It’s a favorite of decorators who use it to accent minimalist as well as industrial-style interiors. And author, interior stylist, and frequent Bloomist collaborator, Hilary Robertson, often incorporates lab glass in her still lifes as seen in the images above and below on her heavy stone table.

Story by Bloomist Team / Photography by Anna Williams, David Chow, @mavencollectpdx

HOW TO CHOOSE IT

When collecting vintage laboratory glass, look for pieces marked with American place names, as these are more valuable. Also look for ground or etched graduations, signs of older laboratory glass. And as a rule of thumb, if you recognize the name on a piece of laboratory glass it’s probably NOT by an early or exclusive maker.

Image @mavencollectpdx via Gardenista
Photo: Anna Williams Styling: Hilary Robertson

HOW TO USE IT

Display fresh flowers and single stems or show off delicate branches. Cluster similar shapes of various heights and fill with flowers; display them down the center of a table. Root cuttings and make dramatic displays of hydroponically grown plants with their long roots. Turn beakers into bar ware (bigger beakers make perfect cocktail pitchers).

 


“Here, I assembled pieces of lab ware, mixing science with nature. The following week this (setting) evolved into a garden table, where a "dinner plate" dahlia adds a delicious dollop of carmine to the scene, a shade that is picked up in the pinkish tinge of the succulents.”
– Hilary Robertson from her book, The Stuff of Life

HOW TO CLEAN IT

Soak in detergent and water, then scrub with a brush or scouring pad.
Triple rinse and turn upside down on a drying rack.


Bloomist Vintage Lab Glass Collection Photo: David Chow
Small bulb vases now available online. Balance of the vintage one-of-a-kind collection is available at Bloomist's summer pop up shop at Marche Maman Soho while supplies last.
Images and quote by Hilary Robertson from her book, The Stuff of Life.
Photo, Anna Williams. Lab stands image by @mavencollectpdx via Gardenista