The single bloom vases were first displayed at the 11th Milan Triennial in 1957. They were made by fashioning small, narrow bud vases and then gathering glass over them. Subsequently, the vases were cut. Their small openings, which permitted at most a single flower, were criticized for not being functional. In fact, many of these vases were not functional because they could not hold anything. The single bloom vases demonstrate an interest in abstract art on the part of the designers. They are not really flower vases, but small abstract sculptures.