bottle designers?

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jheart

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hi y'all. i'm trying to find out about people that designed bottles both before and after molding came along. Is there a term for such a person, like bottle designer? when i search on it all i find are references to modern designing but i'm looking for info on older stuff - including bottle and label design - any help appreciated.

thanks,
julie
 

botlguy

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Hey Julie: Welcome to the forum.

That is a very interesting question you pose. I have never heard it asked before. I don't have any answers or even input at this time but will be interested to hear the discussion.
 

AntiqueMeds

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Red would be the man to ask about mold designers since he did that for a living.

Now days they are probably designed by a team inluding marketing, mechanical/industrial engineers, and 3D CAD operators.
 

jheart

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hi Jim. thanks for the welcome. i'm looking forward to this discussion as well.

julie
 

jheart

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Just to clarify - i'm trying to find out about the artist/designer in the pre-manufacture of the bottle. in other words, if there was not a mold involved, the person that designed or sketched the idea for the finished bottle or label, or if there was a mold involved then likewise, the person that designed the mold with the finished product in mind, not necessarily the mold itself.

not so much the mold or the process but the pre-thinking, sketching and design work that went into visualizing the finished bottle.


thanks again,
julie
 

AntiqueMeds

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start by looking at the most valuable bottle design...
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57336213/coke-bottle-prototype-auctions-for-$240k/
 

jheart

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thank you. that's exactly the sort of thing i'm looking for. much appreciated.

julie
 

botlguy

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Just a quick note as I am time limited at the moment. The gaffers or main bottle worker had a lot of control very early on with the freeblown items. He was not only a craftsman but an artist. I am sure there was input from a leader of some sort. When molds were produced that real artistic license waned somewhat as the gaffer didn't have much if any control.
 

cowseatmaize

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Welcome Julie.
I doubt it was much different than today. An owner of a company may come up with what he/she wants and says make this for me. They may also have looked and product trends and said this is what I want to staff. They could have hired graphic artist or done it themselves.
Really no difference and the artist names were usually never accredited.
The link above was very unusual. A contest was not the norm and that's why the recognition was preserved I think.
It's different today, everyone gets a mention in most things. I mean really, do I care who the caterer was after watching a movie?[:D][:D][:D][:D]
The answer is no by the way.
 

RED Matthews

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Hi to all of you. I just turned on to the Forum and found this thread. Well the things that make all bottles appeal to us are different. I worked as an Application Engineer and an Assistant Manager at the Central Mold Shop for Thatcher Glass Mfg Co. in Elmira N.Y. for 15 years. That job presented me with every conceivable problem that the company plants and divisions could lay on me.
I was involved with all kinds of jobs that could be done to help solve production problems. Some times this involved the design of bottles or the mold designs top make them. The most interesting ones involved the special bottles to satisfy the Avon company with their cosmetic and face lotion bottle creations; The main designer at Thatcher's was a Mr. Ed Pettingale (probably not spelled right). He came up with a lot of their designs, and in fact after a lot of flack from top management - he even quit Thatcher's and went to work for Avon directly. Bottles like the duck with the off set finish was no doubt one of the most difficult to make, handle and be successful.
Early hand blown designs followed a trend; like the multiple panel medicine bottles, round meds and utility bottles, the early American Flasks, Case Gins, Mineral Water bottles, etc. They especially fascinated me because the demand for them forced improved manufacturing techniques to meet the demands. The magician of the designer was always the person that could shape the parison to produce the bottle with good glass thickness distribution in the whole product was the miracle man. Even when I went to work for Thatcher Glass - the man that could design the parison (blank mold) could almost put the numbers on his own pay check.
The designers and salesmen had to sell them - but the making was all dependent on the man that could design the parison. RED Matthews
 

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