About Altare Studios
We set out to create an arena dedicated to honouring the craft behind wine and food. Our vision is to create quality design for quality food and drink — made in Sweden in the best possible way in terms of function, form and sustainability.
In our first series, the Temple champagne glasses, we feel we have succeeded. Explore our products to elevate your senses and enrich your environment.
The story of Altare Studios began when its founders started talking about glass after an art course. During the course, we discovered a shared passion for glass — and realised we each had ideas that needed to be combined. One was about the function of the bowls: how to lift specific champagne styles. The other was about design: placing a bowl as if on a pedestal, a tribute to what is poured inside it. Together, they realised their ideas were greater than the sum of their parts — and a new glassware series was born.
In the ancient temples, the columns derived from the trees of the sacred grove where rituals with wine and food were held in honour of the gods. Inspired by those columns, the glasses came to be called Temple. At the centre of the temple's events stood the altar — and so the name of the company was given.
Altare Studios AB is run by Mattias Thoresson and Anders Kumlien.
Mattias Thoresson was born in 1967 in Stockholm and grew up in Öregrund. He has always been passionate about history, culture and the finer things in life. After studying humanities and social sciences at Stockholm University, he gained valuable experience working at the Royal Armoury (Livrustkammaren), where he learned to preserve Sweden's cultural heritage.
His career has taken him to prestigious institutions including NK and Galleri Asplund. At NK, he served as head of the art glass department and later worked at NK Epok. Since his early days at NK Glass, Porcelain and Kitchen, Mattias has organised advanced wine tastings featuring high-quality wines in glasses with tailored functional properties. In 2011, he completed his training as a sommelier.
Today he divides his time between Georg Jensen and his role as CEO of Altare Studios AB, where he focuses on developing the functional properties of mouth-blown glasses for specific wines — particularly champagne.
Anders Kumlien was born in 1972 and grew up in Stockholm, from a family with a deep artistic heritage. From an early age he pursued interests in form and design, developing expertise in brand building and business within the advertising and PR industry. He was one of two founders of Sweden's first advertising agency with an explicit environmental focus. In later years he embarked on a personal journey as an artist, exploring painting and sculpture. After that period he ran a gallery for Swedish contemporary art, and now serves as Creative Director of Altare Studios AB.
Anders Kumlien, CD, and Mattias Thoresson, CEO, at the glassworks at Reijmyre Glasbruk, March 2024.
Altare Studios in the media