Creative Glass Serbia

Creative Glass Serbia

Museum as a carrier of circular glass production – the case of The Gua Sha product by Rudolph Care

Gua ša (The Gua Sha), proizvod Rudolph Care, reciklirano staklo; dizajn i izrada: Rosendahl Design Group & Holmegaard Værk || fotografija: ljubaznošću Rudolph Care
Gua Sha, a Rudolph Care product, made from recycled glass; design and production: Holmegaard Værk & Rudolph Care || photo: courtesy of Rudolph Care

Museum as a carrier of circular glass production – the case of The Gua Sha product by Rudolph Care

Gua Sha, a Rudolph Care product, made from recycled glass; design and production: Holmegaard Værk & Rudolph Care || photo: courtesy of Rudolph Care

The glassmaking studio of the Holmegaard Værk museum has recently taken on a new and rather significant role in the value chain of Danish glass. Beyond preserving the spirit of the former Holmegaard Glassworks (1825–2008) and providing a workspace for artists, it has also emerged as an elegant solution to disputes and mismatches between companies working with glass. Rosendahl Design Group, a Danish family-owned multi-brand design company, was the first to recognise this potential.

In 2023, this company received a large shipment of glass lamps from a foreign supplier that failed to meet the company’s exacting standards. Rather than discarding them, the firm commissioned the museum’s studio to remelt the glass and transform it into a new product for Rudolph Care, a brand synonymous with luxury, responsibility, and environmentally conscious skincare (Allouche, 2025). Therefore, throuhout 2024, artisans at Holmegaard Værk have hand-shaped this recycled material into The Gua Sha – a multifunctional product inspired by traditional Chinese medicine.

Gua ša (The Gua Sha), proizvod Rudolph Care, reciklirano staklo; dizajn i izrada: Rosendahl Design Group & Holmegaard Værk || fotografija: ljubaznošću Rudolph Care
Gua Sha, a Rudolph Care product, made from recycled glass; design and production: Holmegaard Værk & Rudolph Care || photo: courtesy of Rudolph Care

Although presented primarily as a tool for facial and body scraping, the Gua Sha easily doubles as a tray for small jewellery, a paperweight, or a standalone decorative object. It is sold chiefly as an instrument for the traditional Chinese massage technique of the same name. In Chinese, gua means scraping, while sha refers to the reddish skin that appears after treatment. According to traditional Chinese medicine, this redness signals the release of “blockages” – blood stagnation and muscle tension – and the stimulation of circulation. The tool can be used across the body (neck, shoulders, face, and more), with the effects varying depending on pressure, hand movement, and the choice of cosmetic medium such as oils or creams.

Gua Sha tools are traditionally made from a wide range of materials – stone, horn, ceramics, and the like – and Rudolph Care itself previously offered one carved from rose quartz, a crystal long associated with the heart and the heart chakra. The new version, however, stands out as a product shaped from recycled glass and crafted in the spirit of Danish glassmaking heritage. Each piece is a one-of-a-kind expression of the artisan’s hand in the Holmegaard Værk studio.
Gua Sha tools are traditionally made from a wide range of materials – stone, horn, ceramics, and the like – and Rudolph Care itself previously offered one carved from rose quartz, a crystal long associated with the heart and the heart chakra. The new version, however, stands out as a product shaped from recycled glass and crafted in the spirit of Danish glassmaking heritage. Each piece is a one-of-a-kind expression of the artisan’s hand in the Holmegaard Værk studio.
Using five moulds and a cloud-shaped stamp created specifically for this product, the studio’s craftsmen were able to produce up to a hundred pieces a day. The molten glass, remade from the rejected lamps and heated to 1,160°C, was poured into the moulds and then pressed with the hand-held stamp that formed a gentle indentation in the Gua Sha massager, enabling a secure and comfortable grip. Because every step was done by hand, the thickness of each piece varies subtly. The air bubbles in the glass could not be controlled either, which is also why each piece is unique and one of a kind. As the recycled lamps were a deep petroleum blue, these Gua Sha tools share the same hue.

That in itself is beautiful, if you ask us.

– Rudolph Care

Simple yet thoughtfully envisioned and crafted, this product demonstrates the business advantages and creative possibilities that emerge organically when partners share the same values and development priorities – in this case, a commitment to human wellbeing and to the health of our natural and social environments. Such principles inspire cross disciplinary business strategies that align with socially responsible ways of living.

The company behind this initiative, Rosendahl Design Group (RDG), is closely connected to Holmegaard Værk. When the historic glass factory Holmegaard Glassworks – whose legacy the museum now preserves – went bankrupt in 2008, RDG acquired the entire factory archive of samples and donated it to the newly forming museum. Today, it forms the core of the institution’s collection. RDG also purchased the Holmegaard brand and began designing glassware – glasses, vases, decorative objects – inspired by the factory’s heritage, approach, and design tradition. While these products are made abroad due to the high cost of manufacturing in Denmark, the Holmegaard brand remains vital to the continuity of Danish glassmaking because household glassware is now produced only by small artistic studios in limited series, while the country’s sole remaining factory, Ardagh Glass Holmegaard, manufactures only packaging glass.

Gua ša (The Gua Sha), proizvod Rudolph Care, reciklirano staklo; dizajn i izrada: Rosendahl Design Group & Holmegaard Værk || fotografija: ljubaznošću Rudolph Care
Gua Sha, a Rudolph Care product, made from recycled glass; design and production: Holmegaard Værk & Rudolph Care || photo: courtesy of Rudolph Care

The company behind this initiative, Rosendahl Design Group (RDG), is closely connected to Holmegaard Værk. When the historic glass factory Holmegaard Glassworks – whose legacy the museum now preserves – went bankrupt in 2008, RDG acquired the entire factory archive of samples and donated it to the newly forming museum. Today, it forms the core of the institution’s collection. RDG also purchased the Holmegaard brand and began designing glassware – glasses, vases, decorative objects – inspired by the factory’s heritage, approach, and design tradition. While these products are made abroad due to the high cost of manufacturing in Denmark, the Holmegaard brand remains vital to the continuity of Danish glassmaking because household glassware is now produced only by small artistic studios in limited series, while the country’s sole remaining factory, Ardagh Glass Holmegaard, manufactures only packaging glass.

Gua ša (The Gua Sha), proizvod Rudolph Care, reciklirano staklo; dizajn i izrada: Rosendahl Design Group & Holmegaard Værk || fotografija: ljubaznošću Rudolph Care
Gua Sha, a Rudolph Care product, made from recycled glass; design and production: Holmegaard Værk & Rudolph Care || photo: courtesy of Rudolph Care
Rosendahl Design Group also owns and governs the development of several other leading Danish design brands producing furniture, tableware, textiles, toys, and clocks (Rosendahl, Kay Bojesen Denmark, Lyngby Porcelæn, Kähler, Bjørn Wiinblad Denmark, JUNA, Arne Jacobsen Clocks). Its philosophy blends tradition with innovation, insisting that good design – functional, durable, free of unnecessary ornament, aesthetically assured, and made to last – should be accessible to all. Since 2024, RDG has been certified as a B Corporation, signifying that it balances profit with a strong commitment to social responsibility. The company is focused on sustainability, recycling, and circular design – challenges that, as they put it, are not easy to meet, yet worth striving for every single day.
The Holmegaard Værk glass museum, opened in 2020 in Fensmark on the site of the former glassworks, places equal emphasis on sustainable development. While its permanent exhibition presents the region’s artisanal and industrial glass heritage in a contemporary and engaging way, the museum also runs a glassmaking studio, a gallery for temporary exhibitions, a community-focused events centre, public lectures and workshops, a restaurant and café, a shop, and even a small tourism office with an information centre promoting the natural and cultural resources of the surrounding area.

The Holmegaard Værk glass museum, opened in 2020 in Fensmark on the site of the former glassworks, places equal emphasis on sustainable development. While its permanent exhibition presents the region’s artisanal and industrial glass heritage in a contemporary and engaging way, the museum also runs a glassmaking studio, a gallery for temporary exhibitions, a community-focused events centre, public lectures and workshops, a restaurant and café, a shop, and even a small tourism office with an information centre promoting the natural and cultural resources of the surrounding area.

In 2022, the museum received the prestigious Meyvaert Museum Prize for Sustainability – one of the most significant honours in the European museum sector, awarded annually by the European Museum Forum under the auspices of the Council of Europe since 1977. Holmegaard Værk earned this recognition for its clear commitment to confronting sustainability challenges in its environment – demonstrated through its practices of collecting, documenting, exhibiting, and interpreting its holdings, as well as in the stewardship of its social, financial, and physical resources.
The museum’s glassmaking studio is itself one of the most compelling inheritances of the former factory. Preserving the most valuable remnants of the site where glass was produced for more than 180 years, it is now equipped with state-of-the-art furnaces, including an electric one, and is powered by energy from solar panels (Allouche, 2025). Former factory workers are employed daily to demonstrate traditional glassmaking techniques to visitors, and the studio is open to Danish artists for the development and realisation of new projects. At the initiative of RDG – prompted by the challenge of dealing with large quantities of glass products that cannot be sold due to quality imperfections – the studio has also proved to be an elegant solution for recycling such items into entirely new objects.

The Gua Sha massager is the first successful example of this practice. It aligns seamlessly with the philosophy of Rudolph Care, a brand of natural, certified skincare that champions clean formulas, ethically sourced ingredients, and thoughtful design. Instead of the usual mass-produced plastic tools, Rudolph Care can now offer a handcrafted and socially responsible alternative. This brand is also a B Corporation, holding two important certifications – Ecocert COSMOS Organic (guaranteeing natural and organic ingredients) and the Nordic Swan Ecolabel (ensuring sustainable packaging and environmental responsibility).

Detalj snimljen tokom procesa izrade Gua ša (The Gua Sha) proizvoda Rudolph Care od recikliranog stakla, u ateljeu muzeja Holmegaard Værk || fotografija: ljubaznošću Rudolph Care
A detail captured during the making of the Rudolph Care Gua Sha from recycled glass, in the Holmegaard Værk || studio photo: courtesy of Rudolph Care

The Gua Sha massager is the first successful example of this practice. It aligns seamlessly with the philosophy of Rudolph Care, a brand of natural, certified skincare that champions clean formulas, ethically sourced ingredients, and thoughtful design. Instead of the usual mass-produced plastic tools, Rudolph Care can now offer a handcrafted and socially responsible alternative. This brand is also a B Corporation, holding two important certifications – Ecocert COSMOS Organic (guaranteeing natural and organic ingredients) and the Nordic Swan Ecolabel (ensuring sustainable packaging and environmental responsibility).

These high standards stem from the personal journey of the brand’s founder, Andrea Elisabeth Rudolph, who began by prioritising her own health. At the start of her first pregnancy, she realised that the market offered no skincare free from harmful substances, prompting her to create her own line. In 2009 she launched her first products, based on the Brazilian açaí berry. She has since built a brand recognised for innovative and responsible care, and today leads a company offering more than forty luxury products. The unique, limited material used for the Gua Sha – and the handcrafted variations that make each piece singular – reflect Andrea’s belief that every woman is unique and deserves care designed specifically for her. Naturally, the promotion and purchase of this unusual tool also encourage sales of complementary products (oils, creams, serums) as well as personalised treatments offered by Rudolph Care.
What becomes clear is that thoughtful, responsible business practices across different fields – design, industrial glass production, the revitalisation of intangible glassmaking heritage, and the creation of natural cosmetics – can give rise to innovative models of circular economy. Industrial surplus no longer ends up as waste – instead, it is redesigned, recycled through traditional craftsmanship, and transformed into a new product under an ethically grounded brand. In such a process, everyone benefits.

Reference

This edition is the part of the programme “Glassmaking Tradition Meets Innovation” funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.