The mining of the world's most beautiful marble is a majestic affair, but it's also a wasteful one: because of minor discolorations, damage, and prominent veins, only 30% of marble quarried ends up in finished products.
That's just insane, considering how beautiful the objects you can make from it can be. Inspired by the wastefulness of marble quarrying, Italian designers Paolo Ulian and Moreno Ratti decided to launch a new line of vases showing that even the dregs of the marble trade can be used to make some exquisite objects. They have released the Little Gerla collection, a group of four vases made from discarded Marmette marble slabs—in other words, pre-cut marble originally meant for use as wall and floor tiles.
Each vase is made of a stack of concentric rings, which are sliced using a Waterjet from a single Marmette tile. The rings are then stacked, rotated, and glued together to create an unusual, yet still organic shape. They're almost like a piece of paper that, through a series of spiral cuts, has been expanded into a three-dimensional funnel.
The finished designs are stunning. Far from looking like designs crafted from the rejects of the marble trade, they look as contemporary and sophisticated as any other housewares out there. You can find more information about the Little Gerla collection here.
[via Dezeen]