Edits / Interior design
Light bulb moment
Formerly a light bulb manufacturer, Shotoku began making hand-blown glassware in the 1950s. Today its ultra-thin Usuhari glasses are the toast of the town. And it still continues to innovate.
- 470 results for glasses
Business / Food & Drink
Top of the glass
A family business has been producing a simple niche product for five decades. By making the most of its employees’ expertise to constantly refine the “perfect” glass washer, it now sells to more than 50 countries.
Design / Architecture
Monocolumn
Tuesday 25 October
It’s curtains for glass buildings
Residents and visitors to any city in China should take care when passing glass buildings.
Business / Craft
Focus on the Future
Making tortoiseshell glasses by hand is a rare and exacting skill. One of the last practitioners, Maison Bonnet, is making sure the art survives, thanks to its keen young apprentice.
Design / Fashion
Focus on this
Monocle selects the perfect frames to keep you fully in the picture.
Business / Provenance
Building brands
Whether it’s building a whole city or putting up a modest bungalow, the chances are that quite a few of these companies will be there in the background. It’s time you knew your Holcim from your Asahi
Edits / Small Business
Filling a gap
Smile To Go’s healthy but tasty breakfasts and lunches with a Mediterranean influence are a big hit. Here’s how you can make them too.
Edits / Industry
The hot ticket
The Ajeto glassmaking factory makes one-off pieces to commission for artists and designers. Glass master and owner Petr Novotný believes this is the way forward for the industry – not mass production.
Design / Property
Chairs and graces
Fascinated with furniture design, Noritsugu Oda bought his first chair in the 1970s. He now has 1,200 of them. But, as Monocle discovers, he isn’t in the slightest bit precious about his priceless collection.
Edits / Manufacturing
Seeing is believing
That a camera company can become a binocular company by accident is an impressive feat; that it can go on to become a world leader in its unexpected field is outstanding. German firm Steiner isn’t looking back.
Design / Fashion
Fashion briefing
Retailers, brands, outfits and designers.
Design / Architecture
Briefing
An elegant summerhouse by Norwegian firm JVA, Pukeberg’s handcrafted glass from Sweden’s Kingdom of Glass district and a sleek stool collection by Melbourne’s Yellow-Diva. Plus a catch-up with Kengo Kuma about his latest…
The Menu, episode 33
A visit to Ultraviolet restaurant in Shanghai, we bake bread in Silicon Valley, and find out about the importance of a good wine glass.
Culture / Arts
Monocolumn
Wednesday 21 July
Better living through artistry
It is difficult to know which is more surprising. The presence of a shimmering installation of mirrored glass coiled across the interior of a ramshackle old farm shed.
Culture, episode 13
We chat with Ira Glass of This American Life, talk with the creative director of Spark London storytelling club, and meet the Reduced Shakespeare Company.
The Monocle Daily, episode 116
Why Brazil’s president is in Washington, North Korea’s rocket plans rattle the region once more, and we discuss Google’s Project Glass.
The Stack, episode 23
The editor behind Modern Matter, a discussion with magazine owner and Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and Polly Glass from Wrap magazine talks design.
The Entrepreneurs, episode 34
We chat with New Zealand’s top wine entrepreneur, learn about the renewed German shipbuilding industry, and hear from the CEO of glass company Riedel.
Design / Property
Life in the round
Standing out against a backdrop of drab, square tower blocks on the north bank of the Chicago River, the white “corncobs” of Bertrand Goldberg’s distinctive Marina City buildings are still inspiring, both inside and out.