The workshop
A glass of water at night
How kiln. makes the Night Carafe, one piece at a time, and why it takes longer than it has to.
Words by Lena Kraus · Photos by Jon Ash
The Night Carafe, at home.
The Night Carafe is mouth-blown, one at a time, and comes with its own glass that rests upside down on the neck. Keep it on the nightstand and the water stays clean and close.
The workshop sits at the end of a gravel road, in a building that used to be a dairy. There is no sign on the door. Inside, it smells of wood oil and coffee, and the radio plays quietly while six people do one thing at a time, carefully.
Slow by design
Every piece is made in small batches. Materials are chosen by hand and left to rest before they are worked; parts are fitted, checked and fitted again. It is not the fastest way to make anything, and that is exactly the point.
We could make it faster. We just don’t want to.
kiln., founder
Look closely and you see the decisions: an edge rounded just enough to feel soft in the hand, a joint you can only find with your fingertips, a finish that will look better in ten years than it does today.
Built to stay
Simple, quiet, and useful every single night. It also looks lovely with a single flower.
When a piece leaves the workshop it carries a small card, signed by the person who finished it. It is a promise, really: that it was made to be used every day, and to be repaired rather than replaced.
