Jon Wall with a selection of his Round 2 Glass products.
Jon Wall with a selection of his Round 2 Glass products.
A broken drinking glass and a passion for upcycling led to a new business venture for Whanganui's Jon Wall.
Wall owns Round 2 Glass, reincarnating used beer and wine bottles as drinking glasses and other glassware.
After growing up in Palmerston North and living in Wellington for about 23 years, Wall moved to Whanganui about 18 months ago.
His main business is his web development company, Off the Wall, which he runs from home but Round 2 Glass provides a welcome diversion.
"Because I'm at the computer a lot, I wanted to do something using my body. I got arthritis when I was 18 so it's good for me to move between the two."
The inspiration for making drinking glasses happened literally by accident.
"I was drinking with a mate one night and broke my glass," Wall said.
"I realised I couldn't recycle it and that seemed a bit dumb. Later I was drinking out of a bottle and realised 'this can be recycled so why not make glassware out of this'. They made glassware out of bottles during the war. I hear that from elderly people quite often."
Wall then set about figuring out how to make a drinking glass from a beer bottle.
After some experimentation with building a rig (one attempt using an old skateboard didn't work too well), he now has one he uses for scoring the bottles. After scoring a bottle for a glass to be the size he wants, Wall uses hot and cold water to separate it into two pieces.
"Then I grind and flatten it and use diamond pads to finish the edge. I finish the lip with pumice."
Getting the labels off the bottles can be a challenge, especially with some wine bottles, Wall said. He'll often have a bathful of bottles soaking.
Previously he has sandblasted designs or words on to the glassware but does not currently have that facility set up at home.
"It's quite involved and noisy so I haven't got that here yet," he said.
Upcycled beer and wine bottles are used to make a variety of glassware items.
Wall can make a few dozen glasses in a day and says an initial order from a restaurant would usually be for six to 12 dozen glasses.
He sells the glassware through his Round 2 Glass website and in some retail outlets. His customers include restaurants in Wellington and at SkyCity in Auckland.
"Cafes and restaurants are my best customers because it's ongoing," Wall said.
"A lot of candlemakers use me too. One of the candlemakers makes 'mandles' [candles for men] using old crate bottles."
Wall says with the increased emphasis on environmentally friendly products, it makes sense to re-use items.
"A lot of recycling is actually downcycling but glass is one of the things where pretty much the whole thing can be used."
He has made shot glasses from the necks of bottles, using bottle caps as replaceable bases, and small dishes.
Wall is keen to eventually get locals who are looking for a bit of work to help with the business. He already has one person in Whanganui helping to make the glasses.
