Impact Community
Glass Artist Supports The Crucible With . . . Coffee?
By Natasha von Kaenel | 9.09.2020
Etai Rahmil first came to The Crucible’s Glass Flameworking Department in 2012, after falling in love with the craft at the University of Oregon and quickly immersing himself in the study.
“As soon as I found glass, I feel like a part of me came alive—where I found the joy of being able to make something with my hands that other people could appreciate or even use. I really wish I was exposed to that more as a younger kid,” Etai explains.
Etai Rahmil’s Violin from his Color of Sound Series
When he moved from Oregon back to the Bay Area, he knew he wanted to find a new community of glass artists and makers. At The Crucible, he found that and so much more.
“As a faculty member, I was really able to share that experience and joy with youth—to see them light up with excitement when making something with their hands. It gave me hope that my experience of finding those creative outlets later in life wasn’t going to be everybody’s experience,” Etai shares, adding that, “That’s really what I love about The Crucible. The Crucible is giving youth that first interaction to show kids that there are other things that they can do in their life.”
When Etai Rahmil moved back to Oregon in 2015, he continued to create incredible works of glass, including both usable glassworks and contemporary sculptural interpretations of instruments, masks, and antiques. Then one day in the glass shop, Etai ran out of paper filters for his pour over coffee maker and started to wonder if some of the filtering techniques he applied to his glass pieces could be used for coffee.
For the last few years, Etai has been hard at work prototyping a new all-glass pour over coffee maker that uses a built-in glass filter—eliminating the need for disposable paper filters. His company, Pure Over has just launched a new Kickstarter to raise funds for the project and has also committed to supporting The Crucible’s work ensuring arts education access for youth and adults.
“Pure Over is really excited to partner with The Crucible. We’re looking at every way we can support youth in seeing the viability of making art and crafts,” Etai shares. “As an artist-founded company, our goal is to continue to support American artists—young and old—as much as possible.”
We are so proud of how far Etai has come and the success of his artistic career and newly launched product. You can see more photos of the product and his work on Kickstarter!
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