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Post by lagatta on Mar 19, 2009 3:05:01 GMT
Does anyone know if these are still available (in France or anywhere else)?
Those are the cute little round stackable gobelets with a number from 1 to 48 on the bottom, but they are also eminently practical. I'm looking for the little ones (15 cm).
No, I'm not a "collector", I just like them.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 19, 2009 3:21:55 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2009 8:33:48 GMT
Duralex used to be the #1 supplier of drinking glasses in the world, so its long decline in France was very sad when it finally went bankrupt in 2005 (due to all of the Chinese glasses). It was bought by a Turk but went bankrupt again in 2008. It is now limping along under French management again but only has about 200 employees.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 19, 2009 14:35:57 GMT
Yeh, kerouac, I was aware of the sad story of Duralex - and the utterly breakable crap Chinese glasses. Used to be one could find Duralex anywhere here, even at the most ordinary shops, and at supermarkets etc in France. I had the little Gigogne glasses when studying in Italy but left them behind for other students.
Was wondering if one could still find them, in dusty shops with old stock? I've been very disappointed poking around places in Barbès, Menilmontant etc as they are full of Chinese crap now.
bixa, I've seen the hits, but am really not one for shopping online, except for more arcane things if I have absolutely no alternative. I'm of the generation that likes to see and touch merchandise.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 19, 2009 16:50:10 GMT
What I got from the hits was that the glasses are still being carried by wholesale suppliers to restaurants and the like. Have you gone to any of the restaurant supply houses in Montréal? You may wind up having to buy 24 or 48 glasses, but the excess could become wedding presents or suchlike.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 21, 2009 15:46:45 GMT
I've seen other duralex glasses, but not the adorable gigogne. I wouldn't mind having 24 of them, as that would be about the most party guests I could fit in here. They are sturdy and easy to wash, so I'd rather have them than buying those horrid plastic glasses.
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Post by palesa on Mar 21, 2009 15:49:17 GMT
I keep reading Durex glasses .....
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2009 16:13:10 GMT
I've seen other duralex glasses, but not the adorable gigogne. I wouldn't mind having 24 of them, as that would be about the most party guests I could fit in here. They are sturdy and easy to wash, so I'd rather have them than buying those horrid plastic glasses. I've always liked the way you can drop most of the Duralex glasses on a concrete floor and they will just bounce.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 23, 2009 1:00:13 GMT
Then, the odd time they DO break, they shatter into a million blunt little fragments. But they are certainly incredibly sturdy. Unlike the Chinese crap that has replaced them in euro or dollar stores and all other cheap shops.
Guess I'll have to go on a Duralex quest next time I'm in France.
Contraceptive glasses? The opposite of beer goggles, I guess.
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Post by Jazz on Mar 23, 2009 2:08:03 GMT
Lagatta, I had never heard of the Duralex Gigogne but , being a glass person, I searched for them. Here it is, It is a beautiful design. Here is why they are obviously not readily available, www.le-tom.com/suppliesIt seems that they are available online... www.globalfse.co.uk/product.asp?p_part_code=GL351and, www.mixingclub.fr/mag/en/list-136083.htm(scroll to bottom) I checked the Canadian sources (mostly restaurant supplies) in Montreal and Toronto, but was always led back to about four online distibutors. Like you, I enjoy the 'hands on' experience the most, but this doesn't seem to be possible, unless you get lucky. Whatever, the Duralex Gigogne is a beautiful design and I may order some for myself.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 23, 2009 15:11:03 GMT
Perhaps we could even order them together if one has to order a large quantity. They'd be easy to ship overland by coach or whatever as they are very sturdy. Yes, I love the design. Children always used them at school and "colonies de vacances" (summer camps), but as you can see the bowl is also like those trendy stemless wineglasses - it is great for juice or wine, and since it is tempered glass, also for tea or coffee.
Did you see the TEENY (9CL) gigognes? For coffee, rum, or...
The English text is very strange - is that a computer translation?
By the way, they have a physical address, in an area of Paris I know well. Perhaps I could pick some up next time I'm there - I'd write to them first.
Mixing Club 42, rue de la Folie-Méricourt 75011 Paris Tel : +331 43 55 02 74 Fax : +331 43 55 25 77 E-mail : info@mixingclub.com Subway: Saint-Ambroise, Oberkampf or Parmentier Schedules: Tuesday at Saturday of 10:00AM to 10:00PM, and Sunday of 11:00AM to 7:00PM
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2009 18:27:58 GMT
Actually, there is still another company in France that makes glasses like this, if you are not a total Duralex fanatic. Cafeterias, canteens, schools, etc., are also big users of Arcoroc products. What made me think of this was going to Monoprix this evening for groceries and seeing glasses for sale which for a moment looked like Duralex gigogne glasses. I looked underneath -- it was indeed tempered glass, made in France, but it was Arcoroc. This is the most common Arcoroc glass that you will see in company restaurants or schools. The name of this model is "Norvège uni" although I have no idea what Norway has to do with it.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2009 22:17:59 GMT
For me, the real classic is the Picardie model. It's the glass of my childhood. It was much more common in homes that the Gigogne model which was the glass of schools canteens, army, etc.. I remember my father drinking his coffee in a Duralex glass. Like in many working familes, cups were reserved for guests and for Sunday lunches.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 25, 2009 3:19:09 GMT
Yes, we still have a lot of Arcoroc - though alas crap from China and elsewhere is displacing it. I went to a restaurant supply place nearby and all they had in the way of bistro glasses was the Bormioli Perugia, also supposedly tempered ... but I didn't see "Italy" on the bottom and fear they are made in a low-wage country. tinyurl.com/dge227 As you can see, it is a bit like the Picardie, but I don't find it as harmonious. I think the Norvège glass is very ugly. Askar, yes, that is what is so appealing about this glasses - they were an item made for the mass of working people, but not crap, and attractive, classic designs.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2009 6:17:36 GMT
What always makes me laugh is how American visitors are often perplexed that normal French people drink wine out of these glasses instead of using elegant stemwear. They just don't understand when I explain that being served in this kind of glass is an honor, because it indicates that you are considered one of the family rather than as an outsider.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 27, 2009 14:58:40 GMT
I got a taste of that just recently, attending a conference in Amsterdam. Bunch of us, mostly from France, Belgium and Italy, were sitting around drinking a bottle of wine - obviously out of little bistro gobelets, and a friend from the US came along and said, "don't you want to use these?" as there were also high-stemmed wine glasses and proceeded to pour our wine into the "coupes" as if we hadn't noticed them.
The reason there are "coupes" (glasses with stems) is that the centre we were in also hosts commercial events. We'd never have thought to use the stemware. Far too breakable, with enthusiastic conversations around the table.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 27, 2009 15:48:50 GMT
Stemless wineglasses make converts of practical-minded people. I've never understood why so many people think that wine must be drunk from stemware, since movies show people in France, Italy, etc. drinking it from tumbler-type glasses.
I was eating dinner at a friend's house when he broke a wine glass at the kitchen sink and commented that he does it all the time sticking the sponge in to wash it. I asked why he didn't use small regular glasses for drinking wine and he recoiled in horror. This amused me because I never drank wine in his house unless it was wine I brought along. That's because his wine of choice was red Gallo in the quart boxes -- instant headache and nasty-tasting to boot.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2009 17:03:24 GMT
Did anybody ever find any of these?
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Post by lagatta on Aug 13, 2009 19:25:27 GMT
I'm glad you've revived the thread. I found a couple of small Picardie glasses at a charity shop, but no luck finding a set of any of the classic Duralex patterns, You're the person in Paris. They don't have any in supermarkets any more, any old stock?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2009 19:28:11 GMT
Well, as I said, the Arcoroc glasses are still on sale. That's close enough for most people.
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Post by Jazz on Aug 13, 2009 21:34:52 GMT
Well, as I said, the Arcoroc glasses are still on sale. That's close enough for most people. Not close enough for me. I still love the Duralex Gigogne which Lagatta is in search of and pictured in reply #9.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2009 21:48:58 GMT
I will go back to the flea market one of these days!
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Post by fumobici on Sept 8, 2009 4:58:04 GMT
I grew up drinking everything from what I now know to have been the Provence style. They were seemingly ubiquitous- to the point where I completely took them for granted. I can't understand how they would go bankrupt, being so nice and they were always inexpensive. Who cares about saving a few scant cents if it means buying likely inferior knock-offs? I'm as big a cheapskate as you'll find and I'd never even consider such a false economy.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2009 5:24:32 GMT
Same here -- I just can't imagine how they went bankrupt. When I first arrived in France, it was as though they had 80% of the drinking glass market locked up -- in cafés, cafeterias, cheap restaurants, homes, schools, etc....
It might be one of those problems like the one Crocs is having right now -- making a product that lasts too long, so people don't need to keep buying it.
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Post by lagatta on Oct 7, 2009 23:26:04 GMT
There was a spate of articles about a new management team preparing to relaunch Duralex and save the Orléans factory. afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jc08UUutcJ8zFiIG-bHow5vVCVEgOf course they can't leave good enough alone and want to "relook" the brand: "Il faut réorganiser la société et proposer des produits plus tendance, au goût du jour, avec des formes nouvelles, de la couleur, mais toujours avec la caractéristique de solidité qui a fait sa renommée internationale et un prix abordable", a expliqué M. Jullien. "Nous allons moderniser les outils de travail et nous tourner vers les arts de la table", a-t-il ajouté. But everyone I know who wants Duralex glasses and tableware wants the old classic ones, as they are perfect. Why would they need "colour"? Some may remember the coloured wine glasses, coffee and teacups and table settings made by one of those firms in the 1960s or so - think they were made by arcoroc, not duralex...
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2009 5:20:43 GMT
Yes, they have colored Arcoroc glasses at Monoprix...
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Post by lagatta on Oct 8, 2009 12:54:24 GMT
Oh, they still make those? I really remember them as a 1960s artefact.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2010 18:18:30 GMT
Any progress on this problem? I saw that Ikea is now selling extremely similar retro glasses, obviously not the real thing but pretty close.
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Post by lagatta on Aug 20, 2010 21:43:12 GMT
The Ikea ones are crap. Not "durable" at all, and too heavy.
Waaaaah! And my heart had leapt at your new post.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2010 21:46:15 GMT
Yes, I know. You can throw an Ikea glass on the floor and it will shatter. Not so a Duralex glass.
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