Glass is a material of contradictions: fragile yet strong, solid yet born from liquid, precise yet unpredictable. For Dutch designer Linde Freya Tangelder, those contradictions are exactly what make it so alluring – and she sets out to showcase them in her latest design. In Fluid Joinery, her new collaboration with Cassina, she treats glass not just as a surface or accent, but as the substance itself: a medium to be sculpted, shaped, and coaxed into a side table that feels every bit as fluid as its name suggests.
Although Fluid Joinery is debuting this year, it’s part of an ongoing dialogue between Cassina and Tangelder than started in 2022. Through the Patronage project, Cassina’s initiative to supporting emerging international designers, Tangelder has collaborated with the brand on furniture and a collection of blown-glass lamps, each one reflecting her sculptural approach and fascination with the material. With Fluid Joinery Side Table I, available in Blue, Amber, and Fumé, that relationship evolves further, centering her exploration with glass in a striking new side table.
Made from a single piece of blown glass – defying all the challenges that come with producing such a form – Fluid Joinery is as much about process as it is about the final design. In Veneto, Italy, a region renowned for its centuries-old glassmaking tradition, the piece is mouth-blown into a cast-iron mold before being shaped by hand by master artisans. Its uneven thicknesses – a difficult detail to achieve – give the table its rippling reflections and subtle shifts in color on all edges, making each one unique. Structurally, creating a base capable of supporting the substantial upper element was another challenge, one that underscores Cassina’s craftsmanship and production expertise.
The final result is a table that feels suspended between movement and stillness – a liquid frozen in solid form. This process, where the fluidity of glass allows it to become sculptural and architectural when heated, is exactly what fascinates Tangelder – and what Fluid Joinery captures so poetically. With Cassina’s craftsmanship behind it, her vision finds form in a piece that feels timeless and alive.
To learn more about the Fluid Joinery Side Table I by Linde Freya Tangelder for Cassina, visit cassina.com.
Photography courtesy of Cassina.
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