Decor by Glassor
Czech Glass: For those that value original and artisanal craftsmanship
At Decor by Glassor, we Turn Glass into Emotions
Decor by Glassor is a Czech design and glass-manufacturing company. We pride ourselves on our original and fresh approach to Christmas decorations, as well as our other design collections. These designs are not only present within our glass ornament collections, but have also been applied to high quality glassware, and other home needs. Our in-house designers specialise in creating new collections every year, to bring that fresh and blissful touch to your home. We work hard to perfect our design and crafting techniques to bring the best quality styles not only at Christmas, but all year round.
We specialise in the design and manufacture of mouth-blown, hand-painted and artisanal glass Christmas ornaments. Based in the Crystal Valley of Northern Bohemia, we hail from an area that is famed for its expertise and tradition in glassmaking. Attention to detail, patience and the precious know-how of our artisans is essential for the creation of these unique ornaments. The tradition of glassware and glassmaking in the Czech Republic dates back to the thirteenth century and has been present in the country’s culture since then. The high-quality Czech glass is known worldwide under the name of Bohemian glass.
Glass and glassware are an inseparable part of our Czech culture. This tradition has been handed down for generations and as a family firm, we cherish this heritage. Our mission is to continue this ancestral artisanal production of premium quality hand-painted glass. These unique products are considered heirlooms, and should be adored for generations to come.
Turning Glass into Emotions
Are you wondering how are our glass ornaments made?
See how our artisans bring this glass to life...
All of our delicate pieces of art are mouth-blown and hand-painted in-house by the finest artisans. Each ornament is created through a process that takes several days and that follows an age-old tradition of glassmaking in the Czech Republic. Our mission is to continue this heritage of handcrafted glass, and to consistently uphold a premium quality of hand-crafted glass that is increasingly difficult to find today.
GLASS-BLOWING First, the glass is heated directly above the flame, and then the hot glass is mouth-blown into the required shape freely above the burner or using a special mold. For example, baubles, tree toppers, olives, rockets, spikes or bells are free-blown shapes. Learning how to blow glass shapes takes a long time -- sometimes even years. A good blower of Christmas ornaments can blow dozens of ornaments per day.
SILVERING Silvering is a process that is used for a specific desired look of the final product. Not all ornaments incorporate this technique. During silvering, a silver solution is applied into the mouth-blown glass ornament. Then the ornament with the silver solution inside is bathed in hot water. The chemical reaction between the hot water from the outside and the silver solution from the inside gives to the ornament a magical mirror effect. The silvered ornaments then must dry on wooden stands before base colour application.
BASE COLOUR APPLICATION When the clear mouth-blow or silvered mouth-blow ornaments have dried and cooled down, the base colour application, called “dyeing,” follows. Ornaments that require a base colour before the actual hand-painting are soaked in the colour. Matte, shiny, transparent colours or those that create a frost effect are applied. The clear transparent ornaments do not incorporate any base colour; instead, decorations are applied directly on the mouth-blown glass.
DRYING The next step for ornaments soaked in a base colour is drying. Coloured ornaments are placed into an automatic drying tunnel to dry. This step may take several hours, up to days. The ornaments must be completely dry before the decorating process can begin.
HAND-PAINTING Glass decorations are then hand-painted and decorated. Our painters decorate ornaments with hand-painted motifs of various shapes and styles. Some ornaments are adorned with shimmering glitters, shining stones or feathers. This process together with glass-blowing is the most difficult and artistic part of the production, where true pieces of art are being crafted. Also for certain designs all ornaments made in the line are painted by one person to keep as close look as possible of each piece in a line. Therefore, each ornament is indeed original!
COMPLETION AND PACKING At the end a metal clasp is inserted into the ornament neck. The clasp allows an ornament to hang. Further, our Glassor Decorations label is attached to the metal clasp, followed by the final quality control and packing of ornaments into paper boxes. The second quality check is made prior to shipping of the ornaments to our customers.