Candy for new times
The ”Popglas” was as bold and colourful as it was radical, when introduced into the conservative art glass scene in of 1967. In New York, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein had astounded the art world, and headed by The Beatles and Mary Quant, London was in the midst of its swinging sixties.

Traditional craftsmanship and fun-loving pop art in one blow.

It is against this backdrop that the young Swedish designer Gunnar Cyrén visits the public aquarium in Copenhagen to see fishes and find inspiration for new, unexpected colour combinations. “They´re attractive,” he says “but defy all the laws of colour theory”.
Good for wine, beer, cocktails or sodas, the versatile “Popglas” is carefully handcrafted with a clear bowl and foot, while the stem holds three opaque colours. All glasses are made in numbered editions and new colour combinations will be released in the years to come.

Revisiting the Popglas
In 1967 the glassblowers at Orrefors, Sweden, made the first “Popglas”, using 16th century glassworks methods. And this is the very same procedure used today. Master glassblowers Stefan and Mikael Erlandsson are brothers with over 30 years of experience from the glassworks in Småland. They now handle the production at their own establishment Ulven Art Glass, in the outskirts of Uppsala.
Behind this current release of the “Popglas” in 2021 are the three sons of Gunnar Cyrén. The brothers, Mårten, Henrik and Gustav, vividly remember conversations on design at the dinner table, as well as later, in the studio in Gävle. Together, the brothers Cyrén are now bringing the heritage from one of Sweden’s foremost designers into the future. The “Popglas” is reborn – candy for new times.

Gunnar Cyrén – shaping a career
Gunnar Cyrén (1931–2013) was schooled at Konstfack University of Arts, Craft and Design in Stockholm, where he graduated top of his class, with the highest grade ever issued to a student at the Metal Art Programme. In the late 1950’s he was invited to work for Orrefors, which turned out to be a lucky stroke for the glassworks. In 1966 he received the Lunning Prize – Scandinavia’s most prestigious design award at the time. Two years later Gunnar Cyrén became the artistic director for the whole of Orrefors. As soon as 1970, however, he established his own studio in his hometown Gävle. Here, Gunnar Cyrén expanded into silversmithing and eventually designed the crystal glasses and cutlery for the famous Nobel Prize ceremonies.