Frederik Rombach

Frederik Rombach is an activist glass artist, designer, and cultural entrepreneur

based in Antwerp, Belgium. He is the founder of RERO Glass (formerly Rombachs

Glass), a public-access studio specialising exclusively in upcycling post-consumer

and waste glass. Raised in South Africa and trained globally Rombach combines

structural, architectural engineering backgrounds with classical glassmaking. As the

pioneer behind the Green Soda Movement, his practice challenges traditional

consumer capitalism by intercepting waste streams (such as window float glass and

discarded bottles) and reshaping them into high-end collectible design pieces,

tableware, and lighting installations.

Rombach famously built his very first custom reheating chamber (glory hole) out of a

discarded industrial heater, mounting the entire rig onto a standard shopping trolley.

This highly mobile, makeshift furnace allowed him to begin reshaping consumer

wine bottles and experimenting anywhere, long before establishing a permanent

studio space.