NEW ADDRESS OF OUR BLOG

For those of you who are interested in finding out more about us here at Glamorous Glass, we would like to invite you to visit our blog at http://www.glamorous-glass.com/blog/

See you there!

SOME IDEAS HOW TO UTILIZE OUR GLASS PIECES

A few weeks ago we got in touch with a company called Kozzi Images and got the opportunity to have some of our products professionally photographed. The pictures are available at www.kozzi.com so check it out for more of great photographs. The Company offers free downloads of professionally taken pictures of things, landscapes, natures, pets and so on. It's a great source of wonderful photographs.

Here are some examples of how you can use our glass vases and glass bowls. Pictures were taken by Kozzi Images. Tell us what you think.

BEST HOUSEWARMING GIFT IDEAS

How many times we all were facing a problem of finding appropriate housewarming gifts for our friends and family. Buying an apartment or a house is an enormous step for them, and we want to contribute and make it an unforgettable event. We can do it with a unique housewarming gift.

There’s no doubt that there is a great variety of home décor products in the market which can serve as housewarming gifts. However, only some of them are unique enough so they can stand out among other gifts of this kind. Fine glass art is a great choice when deciding on housewarming gifts. The best thing is that glass art works come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and functions so you will find some excellent pieces for any home decor.

Glass Artworks as Centerpieces

When it comes to centerpieces, a unique, hand-made glass piece can become a focal point of any room. A new host will be grateful for getting a high-quality blown glass vase or other centerpiece which will dress up their room or office.

Home Décor Glass Pieces Ideas

A glass vase is one of the ideas for housewarming gifts. You will find a huge variety of glass vases that you can choose from. However, only some of them can be called a piece of art and constitute an original way of decorating a new home. A glass vase in its best will make a statement about uniqueness of your host, so while choosing a housewarming gift, pick the one which will match personality of a new home owner. Also, bear in mind that a glass vase will not be necessarily utilized by the owner to hold flowers. Therefore, select the piece which is a decoration in itself.

Glass bowls are excellent housewarming gift ideas. They can not only be a piece of home décor but also be utilized to serve food or hold small decorating items. Possibilities are endless. Hand-made glass bowls are underutilized as centerpieces. However, properly displayed, they can wonderfully complement home décor.

Glass art candle holders are truly exceptional in home décor. They are loved by new home owners as they are a wonderful way of warming, often still unorganized and under decorated rooms of a new house.

Colour and Type of Glass Housewarming Gifts

While picking a glass housewarming gift, the type of glass, its colour as well as size need to be taken into consideration. However, very often we do not have the knowledge of what the new house owner’s ultimate décor idea is, and what each room’s style will be. That is why it is recommended to either enquire about the colours and décor which will dominate in the rooms, or simply choose the pieces which are neutral in its colour and style, such as a beige vase or a greyish bowl.

If none of these are possible, take your glass housewarming ideas a little further and simply decide on getting a dinner set. There is no doubt that a couple of hand-blown glasses or/ and fused plates will make the host happy. Also, it is easier not to make a wrong choice when picking the plates or glasses as their colour and style can be easily accommodated by the host through matching the set with an appropriate style and colour of the table cloth.

When it comes to http://www.glamorous-glass.com/Galicjan-Poland/">housewarming gifts , glassware and glass homes décor pieces will surely be a winner at the housewarming party.

TIPS FOR SELECTING THE BEST WEDDING CENTERPIECES FOR UPSCALE WEDDING RECEPTIONS

Wedding centerpieces provide a focal point to your wedding reception table and increasingly, they are doubling as gifts for a lucky table guest. Deciding on the perfect wedding centerpiece is often a design challenge, however, fine glass art is an incredible choice. The best thing is that glass art works come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and functions.

Glass Artworks as Wedding Centerpieces

When it comes to centerpieces, an upscale wedding is truly complete with fine glass art pieces originally crafted for your event that will also translate well as a home decor piece.

Glass Vases, Bowls, and Candle Holder Art Pieces

Imagine a gorgeous glass vase as your wedding centerpiece in fine glass art. The beaty of these means little or no flowers need be incorporated. Often they can stand alone or be highlighted with simple accents. Fill them with confetti (smaller ones) or surround them with soft mini-candles!

Glass bowls are wedding centerpiece ideas with endless possibilities. A new favorite is to fill them with water and place floating tea light candles or better yet, water activated diamond lights. These elegant centerpieces will translate well and fit into most home decors!

Candle holders in glass art are truly unique centerpiece ideas. Bold yet warm, glass centerpieces allow you to light up each table for the ultimate focal point for the ultimate reception table setting. Sprinkle reflective confetti lightly to surround the candle holder for a shimmering effect.

In each case, selecting the type of glass is important, as is the color and size.

Glass Art Type and Color

Murano glass art works come in brilliant colors and become gorgeous focal points for your reception tables. These hand blown glass pieces are more art yet maintain high function and practicality. In terms of color, anything is possible. Select a color to match or for fabulous contrast. Despite the term "white wedding", bold dark colors - including black - often make a big impact and add drama to your occasion.

Bigger glass centerpieces do not necessarily mean better. What you are really going for is scale and to ensure proportion is achieved just as much as the color and shape of the glass. Many wedding planners and designers who have a knack for staging gorgeous wedding venues and spectacular table settings do just this. It's the combination of color contrast and achieving balance. Glass vases, bowls and centerpieces are often at the heart of any great wedding centerpiece and the focal point of the table - and conversation!

When it comes to wedding centerpieces, highlighting glassware will surely be a winner for your wedding or special reception event.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK...

A few days ago we came back from our first trip to New York City. And we must say we fell in love with this city. So majestic and classy...at least Manhattan where we spent most of our time:) Three days in NYC resulted in painful feet. After all we were walking around for 12 hours straight three days in a row as we wanted to get as much as possible from this trip. And we did. Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, the New York Public Library, Broadway, Time Square...And our favourite-Central Park.

We also decided to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the MET) where we spent a couple of hours admiring ancient and contemporary art. We could not resist to spend a lot of time looking at ancient and medieval pieces of functional and artistic glass and ceramics. It is amazing that such fragile material like glass survived hundreds 0r even thousands of years. A number of pieces are examples of Roman and Greek art, and are dated to even the Hellenistic era. There was a lot of large footed bowls, possibly used for mixing wine, often belonging to a small group of luxury glass vessels. Some of the glass bowls represent masterpieces of glassmaking from the period when cast glass was beginning to be supplanted by vessels made using the newly invented technique of glassblowing. There was a number of pieces with engraved scenes from Greek or Roman mythology. Besides art glasswork coming from early centuries of human civilization, there are also vessels representing trends in the XIXth or early XXth centuries. One of the examples are beautiful glass vases designed by Loui Confort Tiffany. The shapes, colors, and finishes of Tiffany's vases and plaques were inspired by the natural world and by ancient glass.

Here is a couple of pictures of the pieces we had a chance to admire, as well as a wonderful panorama of New York City.

HOW TO BEST DISPLAY GLASS ART WORKS - ARTISTIC GLASS VASES AND BOWL PLACEMENT FOR UNIQUE DECOR

When you have gorgeous pieces of glass art, it is important that you make the most of their elegant beauty. Whereas they may look fantastic merely set upon a table in a corner, a piece of art really should be displayed in a manner that draws attention or ties a room together in a creative, innovative way. There are endless ways to display glass art-- and how it is displayed will ultimately depend on the shape and the type of piece it is. Here, we will suggest three ways that you can incorporate your glass art effectively into a space to make a statement that is strong, but elegant.

Entryway Accent Tables

The entrance into a space is incredibly important, as it serves as the first impression of your home. For this reason, it is the perfect opportunity to display a beautiful piece of glass art. This is particularly important if you have a uniquely shaped piece. If you have a simpler piece, it is still incredibly effective. There is so much that you can do with the piece beyond setting it on a table, however. Glass vases with one long, poetic branch of flowers will create a bit of drama, adorned with some natural pieces-- such as smooth stones or shells. Think of your entryway accent table as a sort of shrine if necessary to visualize. You can make it incredibly ornate, or incredibly simple, as long as it is a statement of your home, and how you would like your guests to feel within the space.

Rows of Glass Plates on Shelving

If you have one or a set of gorgeous glass plates, then they certainly should not be hidden away in a cabinet! Displaying plates outside of a table, however, can be a bit tricky. One great way to get decorative plates into your decor is to display them in a set on shelving units. This groups them for a more dramatic but cohesive look. You can easily install one to three rows of shelving, depending on how many plates are in your set. Once installed, finding plate stands to set them upright will allow their brilliance to shine through. For a bigger statement, try painting a rectangle behind the shelving units to provide more contrast. Play with colors and arrangement until you find what speaks your personality the most.

Using a Glass Art Display Case

Though perhaps not the most creative of these tips, displaying a glass art piece in its own case is a great way to draw attention to its beauty. Gorgeous hand blown glass vases and Murano pieces are perfect examples. In this case, your art becomes a main focal point of the space-- and is great for intricate, unique, or colorful pieces. Display cases come in all shapes, sizes, and materials. You can find them in furniture stores, or you could even purchase one used. A white interior with soft lighting is great for colorful pieces. If you have a larger, multi-tiered case, you can display multiple pieces of glass art. Larger pieces, however, can make a bold statement all alone.

No matter what type, shape, or color of glass art you own, it is important that you show it off! From glass vases, bowls, candle holders and dishes - glass is highly versatile and can be worked into any style of decor-- you just have to know how to display it right!

WEDDING RECEPTION CENTERPIECE IDEAS - MAKING GORGEOUS GLASS BOWL CENTERPIECES FOR YOUR WEDDING

When it's your big day, you want absolutely everything to be perfect. We spend hours, weeks, months planning the wedding of our dreams-looking at every minute detail to be sure that all is exactly as it should be. The last thing you want at your celebration, then, is anything that can be considered generic or unimaginative. Unique, gorgeous centerpieces are a great way to personalize your reception and you don't even have to be crafty or creative to do so! Artistic glass bowls and vases are versatile, and beautiful in their simplicity. Here are a few tips for incorporating these pieces of art into your wedding reception décor.

Gorgeous Displays - Flowers in Glass Bowls

A glass bowl can of course look good all on its own, but to make it more festive, decorative, and to add a bit of color it's often a good idea to fill it with something or other. There are many routes you can take when filling a glass bowl to create a beautiful centerpiece. One option is to use the same flowers that were featured in the wedding ceremony itself. This ties the reception decor to the ambiance of the ceremony easily, and creates cohesion between both parts of your celebration. Play with arrangement of the flower within the bowl, or if you have larger flowers, consider filling the bowls with water and floating the flowers. Adorn the bowl with ribbon, or surround it with candles to add a bit of oomph. Remember that there is beauty in simplicity, however, and sometimes less is more. Be aware of your decor and what works.

Jellybean Centerpieces

At first glance, jellybeans may seem like a rather unusual choice for wedding reception centerpieces, but given the vast array of gorgeous colors that are available, they can be quite elegant. Finding a unique, transparent glass bowl is a great first step. You can either fill it completely with one color of jellybean, or layer multiple coordinated colors within the bowl to make it a bit more interesting. Play around and have fun! Once the jellybeans are layered and in place, you can arrange a few branches or flowers within the bowl as well. Be sure to get creative with this one - there's nothing more fun than playing with jellybeans!

Natural Elements for Bowl Centerpieces

Using objects that you can find in nature is a great way to elegantly accent a glass bowl centerpiece without spending a whole lot of money-- and it is an easy way to coordinate your wedding decor with the season, as well! Consider filling a unique glass bowl with earth moss, cool rocks in neutral colors, or perhaps shells. Pair these natural pieces with ribbon or rhinestones to create an interesting contrast that has a lot of visual appeal-- or find a bit of Zen at each table by setting the glass bowl on a bamboo or papyrus sheet. Coordinate each centerpiece to the place settings, treating it as a cohesive unit.

The wonderful thing about your storybook wedding is that you get to write it-- down to every minute detail. Allow your creativity to flow through gorgeous glass bowl centerpieces. There is so much possibility, after all!

ROBERT HELD AT GLAMOROUS GLASS

Few days ago a shipment from Vancouver arrived. The package contained a number of glass paperweights and glass perfume bottles hand-made by an acclaimed Canadian glass artist, Robert Held. These small items are great and affordable pieces of art. From now on, besides European glass, we will also carry Canadian and American artists.

The paperweight will present wonderfully on your desk. They are also great corporate or teacher's gifts, presents to your special someones, or simply a piece of home decor. Our favourite is a cranberry glass heart from the Heartline collection. Beautiful colour, shape and texture...

We also have several perfume bottles from Robert's new collection, Cherry Blosom, as well as from the established California Poppy Collection. No need for a perfume bottle? Use it as a piece of home decor or a gift.

Check out often to see what other Robert Held glass art pieces we will carry.

WE KNOW...IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE OUR LAST POST

Time flies and we're ashamed to admit that, as you see, we have not been too consistent in updating you about what is going on at Glamorous Glass. We'll do our best to post more often.

We spent the last few months on getting the word spread out. We want to inform local communities (and the world:)) about the existence and uniqueness of Glamorous Glass. Therefore, we keep working on developing appropriate marketing techniques. And it's not easy, we must say. Everything requires a great amount of time as well as some knowledge of what is most appropriate for this kind of business. We really value advice of professionals in this field so we do not hesitate to catch opportunities to speak with these who can provide us with valuable marketing help. Having an online store requires a lot of continuous effort to have the website optimized so it is found by web searchers. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become the most often used term in our lives:) We've learnt a lot during the last few months about how important it is to constantly work on optimization, both on site and off-site.

We've also learnt how to approach one of the most busiest period in retail industry, the Holiday season. At the end of January, we visited two shows organized in Toronto, that is the Interior Design Show and the CGTA. While the first one was open to the public and provided us with a lot of opportunities to see how glass can be utilized in interior design, at the CGTA, the show for retail buyers, we established a number of partnerships with potential vendors.

All of you who have already started thinking about mothers day gifts, should definitely take a look at our extensive inventory. Our glass products, unique home accessories such as glass vases, table centerpieces, or fused glass art are excellent for this occasion, as well as housewarming gifts, corporate gifts or wedding gifts.

GLAMOROUS GLASS AT THE INTERNATIONAL HOME SHOW

Between October 8th and 11th Glamorous Glass participated at the International Home Show which took place at the International Centre in Mississauga, ON. The show was highly anticipated by us. Starting in June when we booked a booth, we were planning and arranging a display for the show. And here we are. The Show is finally here.

We must say that the International Home Show impressed us with a number of vendors. The variety of offered products was really remarkable. You could have found great deals on furniture, home renovations, cleaning products etc. There were only few vendors offering home decoration products, which was the advantage for us, of course. Besides having our glass vases, table centerpieces, candle holders, etc. sold, we also got a great opinion on what we carry. We were happy to hear from the public that we “have a great taste in choosing the inventory” or that we will do “well when opening a store front”.

Although the Show was an experience worth of going through, we found it not popular enough. Certainly, great weather during this long Thanksgiving weekend was not helpful as whoever could, rather than staying in the city, was heading up north to catch the last rays of sun before a long winter. As a result, all vendors were disappointed with such a low attendance at the Show.

END OF SUMMER AT GLAMOROUS GLASS

Our autumn leaf collection of bowls, glass vases and table centerpieces are perfect as part of your fall home decor. Check them out at http://www.glamorous-glass.com/Deco-Glass-Poland/ . Although we can't believe the summer is over, this year's fall is expected to be even more fun and exciting for us, at Glamorous Glass.

We kicked off a new season with some great people at the Milton Tweet-up which took place on a first Friday of the fall. We have finally met some of the Glamorous Glass twitter followers and those who are followed by us. This event was an excellent opportunity to put a face into our twitter profiles, and to finally meet each other outside of the virtual world. We were able to present Glamorous Glass as a real thing, with real us :) as the owners. We met some wonderful people, got a lot of advice and hopefully, established meaningful business relations.

Glamorous Glass became a member of the Women Who Excel networking group in Burlington. The group has been operating for over 20 years, and is led by a charismatic business person, Christine. Being a member let us participate in monthly dinners which are often combined with mini trade shows. This month dinner took place on September 28th. Not only did we have great meal at the Mandarin Buffet, but also had an opportunity to present our products during the trade show organized for the members of the group. We got some great feedback on our products, as well as on the idea standing behind Glamorous Glass. We had a chance to speak with retailers, real estate agents and beauty consultants. Overall, it was a fun evening.

The highly anticipated by us (and not only us) International Home Show begins on October 1st (Convention Centre in Mississauga, ON). Remember to visit our booth (#364). We hope you'll like our glass vases, table centerpieces, candle holders etc. which are wonderful as... Christmas presents. Yes, this time of year will soon be here, so go ahead and start shopping for special gifts at the International Home Show and of course, at Glamorous Glass :) Hope to see you there.

SIMPLICITY WITH ELABORATE FUNCTIONALITY OF GLASS VASES

Vases, first made of ceramics, later of glass, could have been found even in the ancient cultures. Nowadays, they vary in material they are made of, design, colours, shapes and sizes. Functionality represented by their capability to hold flowers, and decorative purpose are combined in order to create an exceptional item which can easily transform your room.

An artist’s touch can add exceptionality to a glass vase. A vase can provide an artist with a surface for his craft. In this manner these decorative items can become pieces of art no matter if they are with or without flowers. Beautiful shapes, curves and colours make vases wonderful enhancers of whatever you put in there.

Why would you need a glass vase?

No matter what your age, social status or interests is each of us wants to be unique and stand out from the crowd. We want our personality and our individual style to be highlighted. It is often achieved through a smart home decor. One of the simplest, inexpensive and quick ways to dress up your room or office is through a stylish display of high-quality glass vases or other centerpieces.

A vase is definitely not a simple container where you hold your flowers. When exhibited properly, it will become a point of focus of your guests. It will emphasize beauty of your new coffee table, or take away attention from a little bit scratched walls. Vases can do the trick to make a statement about your uniqueness and individual style. They don’t always need to carry flowers; use your imagination to utilize your vase in the most original way. It will definitely draw attention to and awareness of the vase as a key element in the room.

Glass objects can be a huge focal point for your home or office. However, as decorative items, they need to be properly matched with the design of your room and, if the purpose of your vase is to hold flowers, with the kind of flowers that will be placed in there. Recently, interior designers started relying on utilizing two identical double glass vases when creating the mirror effect.

High quality, hand-made glass vases are a decoration by itself. They are often placed on a pedestal in order to enlighten a room and become a centerpiece. Placing a glass vase near a window will beautifully reflect the light and illuminate the room. A pair of large vases can be placed near the entrance to your house. If they are made of high-quality glass, do not put anything there. They are the attraction and decoration by themselves.

When we think about a vase we almost always think about flowers which complement the vase. Although the real ones will bring wonderful colours and scent into your room, more and more often we lean toward artificial flowers. Indeed, you can easily find artificial flowers which are hard to distinguish from the real ones.

One of the most known types of glass vases are bud vases. A bud vase is fairly small and is usually created to hold only one flower. They are an expression of simple elegance. No matter if you decide to use your bud vases to hold flowers, a few bud vases placed together in the same room will bring sophistication and grace into your house decor.

You may have a vase in your house which has not been displayed or utilized for a long time, besides when holding fresh flowers. If it is a large, cylinder-shaped vase, why won’t you use it as an ice bucket, a fruit bowl or a gold fish bowl (if it is a clear-glass vase)? A medium-sized clear-glass vase can hold colourful marbles, stones, or sand and star fish brought from your vacation. An original idea would be to fill the vase with water and place there a floating candle. It will be a wonderful decoration of your table. Small vases can become decorative jars to hold your bathroom items, such as cotton balls, or office supplies, such as clips, pens, etc. They can be filled with shells, glass beads, or flower heads. All depends on the theme of your home.

A high-quality, hand-made vase can be a relatively inexpensive way to decorate your house and increase the overall appearance of the rooms. It is necessary to remember to choose vases which style and colours is a good match for the overall design of the room it will be placed in.

GLAMOROUS GLASS AT THE SOUTHSIDE SHUFFLE

It was a crazy, but fun weekend! After a long anticipation for the Southside Shuffle to begin, it is now the history. This three-day long event in Port Credit was full of great music, festivity and wonderful people.

Our adventure with this year's Shuffle started on Friday when we arrived at the Memorial Park in Port Credit to set up our booth (we were one of the vendors). The first person we met was Beatrice, vendors coordinator. Very dynamic woman who contributes her time to be a volunteer during various events in Port Credit. She did a great job during the whole Southside Shuffle. Way to go Beatrice!

We didn't even finish setting up our booth and displaying products when the first attendees to the festival stopped by to have a peak at our glass items-glass vases, bowls, centerpieces, candle holders, etc. And the ball started rolling. We really got an amazing feedback on what we carry. The people were emphasizing that the products are unique, great ideas for gifts and excellent pieces if somebody wants to change a bit in their home decor. Some of them even admitted that the prices were reasonable. All comments were a confirmation for us that Glamorous Glass is a viable venture, and that it will fulfill needs of those, who know what good art is, and who want to have their individual taste and personality highlighted.

The Saturday afternoon brought crowds to the Southside. Everyone enjoyed blues and jazz played on several stages set up in the Memorial Park and on Lakeshore, even though the weather in the evening did not spoil us (rainy, windy Saturday night). Sunday was an excellent, early-fall, sunny day so we had a lot of visitors and clients in our booth. Great day with great music! We especially enjoyed the performance of the Australian singer and guitarist, Kim Churchill. Check out his website. Very talented young man.

Time flies when you're having fun, and the Southside Shuffle is over. Now it's time to get ready for the International Home Show (October 8-11). Remember to visit our booth (#364).

Traditions of Murano Glass

The world capital of decorative glass is located in beautiful Venice, on the island called Murano. For ages, Murano has been a place of origin for most famous and most beautiful glass vases, bowls, figurines, etc. When you possess an original piece from Murnao, you are a real connoisseur.

The beginnings

In 1960 the oldest furnace for glass, dated for the 8th century, was discovered on a Venetian island. The 8th century established Venice as a prominent center for glass-manufacturing. The origins of glass making in this region are traced back even to the times of the Roman Empire, when glass was used to illuminate bathhouses.

In the 13th century, producing highest-quality glass items became the main industry of Venice. It led to creation of the Glassmakers Guild which was responsible for shaping and voicing rules and regulations which the Venice craftsmen were supposed to follow. The Guild was serving two purposes. Firstly, it was supposed to stand on guard of the secrets of glass making trade. Secondly, the aim was to make sure that the industry brings profit. In order to meet the above mentioned objectives, in 1271 a law was introduced that prohibited importation of foreign glass as well as employment of foreign glass workers.

One of the most significant events in Murano glass making history is the 1291 move of all furnaces used in this trade from Venice to Murano. The law triggering this event laid the ground for establishing Murano as a center of glass manufacturing. Several theories exist which try to explain why Venice wanted to move its craftsmen. One of them states that Venice was afraid of fire from the furnaces spreading over the city. It could lead to a complete destruction of Venice as the city`s building were primarily made of wood. What is more, such a fire would greatly endanger enormous in size population of Venice. However, other sources claim that the real reason behind the 1291 law was related to making the craftsmen isolated so they would not be able to share their trade secrets with foreigners. Locating them on the island in close proximity to Venice would serve the purpose: it would reduce the craftsmen contacts with outsiders, but on the other hand would let them sell their products on markets in Venice. What is interesting, in 1295 the law which forbade the glassmakers to leave the city was passed.

Venetian government was also undertaking less direct steps in order to keep glass making secluded and make Venice a leader in this industry. It was providing glass makers and their families with special treatment and high location in the Venetian social ladder. Privileged status and related to this perks were a great incentive for glass makers who encouraged their offspring to stay in the trade and carry the tradition on. Internal politics as well as convenient location of Venice as a city on a path of trade between East and West allowed it to flourish as a European monopolist in making and selling high quality glass products, such as glass vases, bowls or figurines.

Time of booming

The 15th century brought another innovation into the world of Murano glass when Master Angelo Barovier discovered the process for producing clear glass, called cristallo. Furthermore, another innovation was a discovery of lattimo which was the white glass reminding popular that time Chinese porcelain. The greatest times in Murano history also made glassmakers experiment with new techniques in production more sophisticated pieces of art. By using glass rods with inner threads of white, golden or coloured glass which twisted or intersected, they were creating filigrana glass. They also started enamelling and gilding glass as well as creating ice glass which appears as it is finely crackled.

Twilight

The 17th was not too lucrative for Murano glass and its makers. Decline of Venetia’s influence as a centre of commerce as well as emergence of other glass centres in Europe, specifically located in Bohemia, England and France, led to a decrease of influence of Murano in the industry. However, it did not stop the glass makers from inventing new techniques in glass making such as avventurina which is embedding metal flecks in glass so it looks very sparkly or calcedonio which bring illusion of an item made of semiprecious stone. Murano glass was popular for its bright colours and complex floral and animal motives as decorations.

Turmoil of the 18th and 19th century

The 18th century was definitely not the best time for glass makers in Murano. Competition located in Bohemia and France and later Napoleon’s conquest of Venice, which led to abolishment of the Glassmakers’ Guild, put the industry in jeopardy. Even worse for the condition of Murano glass making was overtaking of Venice by the Habsburg Empire. The rulers, preferring their own glassmaking centre in Bohemia passed the law which led to virtual impossibility of bringing necessary raw material into Murano as well as exporting ready products due to the cost introduced by the law. Only 5 furnaces stayed alive and kept blowing glass.

However, the tradition still lived. The breakthrough came with arrival to the city of Antonio Salviati who opened a factory producing traditional Murano glass. Soon he was granted a fifteen-year contract for restoration of the mosaics in St. Mark’s basilica. At the same time interest in old traditions of glass making in Murano came from Venice government which embodied in establishment of school for glassmakers who were taught the forgotten techniques of the craft. For the next few years, recent glass works were displayed in various exhibitions on the Italian, as well as international level. Following multiple successes, Murano regained its reputation as a centre of glass making and again became a booming economy.

Modern history

The end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th can be characterized as years of reproduction of classical styles and rediscovering ancient techniques of glassmaking. These pieces were greatly appreciated by international collectors and admirers of beauty of glass. However, modern times brought new European works of art in avant-garde and art nouveau style, which showed a gap that existed between pieces offered by modern artists and Murano artisans still deeply attached to the past.

The first Murano artisan who started adopting new trends was Vittorio Toso Borella. Although his first products did not completely satisfy glass connoisseurs, his later pieces became appreciated masterpieces. Borella was later accompanied in new style by Gino Rossi, Arturo Martini and Guido Marussig.

Later, art deco came. In Murano glass craft, it was represented by less decorated pieces of Vittorio Zecchin. In the 1920s-1940s, Murano glassmakers became famous of producing glass animals, glass statues of female nudes, engraving on glass, modern lighting fixtures, glass tableware and glass vases. An innovative glass making technique was introduced called vetro sommerso which let the makers produce thick glassware, which showcase one colour on the inside and another on the outside.

Minimalism, functionality and simplicity were the trends present in Murano glass making after the World War II. Such techniques as filigree, murrino and lattimo saw their come back and produced pieces which harmonized outline with colour and decoration of the pieces.

Today, Murano is again considered a capital of glass art of the world. It creates trends in glass blowing and becomes a destination for those who appreciate beauty of glass.

This and other articles written by Glamorous Glass you can find on http://ezinearticles.com/, http://www.articlesnatch.com/, and http://www.articlesengine.com/

OUR TRIP TO EUROPE

It was a blast! Too short though. Well, that's how it is when you're having fun-time flies, and our three-week trip to Poland and Lithuania ended few days ago.

The trip was a combination of pleasure and business. Pleasure, as it was my little sister's wedding (well, I guess not that little anymore). And you must know that Polish weddings are quite pompous :-). Although the wedding ceremony is important, this is always a party that all guests are waiting for. And this one brought enjoyment to all of the 100 guests. The banquet hall was located in a beautiful part of eastern Poland, facing a picturesque river and being surrounded by wild forests. It was a country-style party, with traditional Polish food, drinks, roasted over the fire ham, fireworks, and dancing until 7.00 am!

We traveled a bit in Poland looking for new suppliers who offer unique hand-made glass products. Indeed, we established several contacts and are hoping to start fruitful cooperation.

Our trip to Lithuania was amazing! If you have a chance, do not hesitate to visit Vilnius, the capital. This beautiful city provided us with time to relax when strolling along the streets of the Old Town. Impressive history, wonderful food, enormous number of relics. We stayed at the monastery led by Polish nuns. They provided us with unbelievable hospitality, tasty home-made meals, and a lesson of history. Amazing people!

Vilnius is a home for Stiklo Paslaptis, a glass artists' studio where we found extremely beautiful glass art pieces. We're looking forward to bring some of them to Canada so our clients can enjoy warmth and cosiness provided by these pieces. Above is a sample of their work.

Meanwhile, don't forget about Glamorous Glass when you are looking for a special gift or an original piece of home decor. We have both :-)

DELIBERATIONS ON DECORATIVE GLASS

Glass does not only have industrial and practical value. Its characteristics are widely used by glassworks and artists who make original pieces of art-highly valued collectibles.

The artistic decorative glass products are shaped of liquid glass. This liquidity allows an artist to create various, rich in shape products-real pieces of art. Glass can be called a medium for artists.

It is impossible to talk about decorative art glass without mentioning the Murano glassmaking history. Their tradition of precision in glassworks is maintained since the 13th century. Due to its uniqueness Murano glass is often referred to as “cristallo”.

There are two opinions on how Murano, the island in the Venetian Lagoon became a centre of glassmaking. It is being said that in 1291 the Venetian Republic, fearing that fire used by glassmakers might burn down Venice’s wood buildings, ordered its glass artists to move their foundries to Murano. This way the glassmakers became the noblest citizens of this island. Another, more frequently suggested opinion, is that the move was made to isolate the glassblowing masters and prevent them from sharing their knowledge with foreigners. Glass making became a trade exclusively for those born on the island of Murano, and whoever glassmaker left the Venetian State was condemned to death as a traitor.

In the 1400s, the Italian island of Murano became the centre of glass luxury. Many new glass making techniques were developed there and Murano played a main role in the export trade of dinnerware, glass vases, mirrors and other luxurious items. A distinguishing feature of glass pieces made by Venetians was their content and a technique of making. Local quartz pebbles were almost pure silica ground into clear sand and combined with soda ash obtained from the Levant.

The contemporary Venetian glass art flourished in the 50ths and 60ths of the 20th century. Murano is still a Mecca for artists and glass lovers. The Murano School remains one of the most important in the world, and the art of glassmaking, just like centuries ago is still handed down from father to son.

However, not only the Italians became famous of their glass making skills. It is worth to mention that the Czech Republic Region of Bohemia and Moravia is a significant source of European glass making traditions. From the earliest days, the Czechs were setting tone in European and world art of glass making.

The United States are famous for making artistic glass items as well. The American glassworks tradition comes from the colonial times, when green glass house ware was produced. Currently, there are a lot of individual artists, and the art in glass is practiced and taught in the universities.

Beginning in the 19th century, a variety of extravagant glass items, such as glass vases started to become an important part of the decorative art. Particularly significant impact on development of decorative glass had the Art Nouveau movement. The members produced coloured pieces, often in cameo glass (a form of glass art involving etching and carving through fused layers of differently coloured glass; the main characteristic are white figures carved on black background), as well as using the lustre technique.

With the 20th century came an era of revolutionary technology. Machines were developed which replaced traditional mouth blowing with a semi-automatic process, and transformed the craft into an industry. A new mould-etch process was invented which allowed to reduce manufacturing costs. This led to cheap glassware in the 1930s, later called “Depression glass”.

Classical man-made glassblowing maintaining the tradition and knowledge of ancient glassblowers became an art. Today's glassblower still utilizes the basic blowpipe, but now they have a vast number of supplementary tools to aid in working the material.

Here are the most common techniques to produce glass art:

• blowing: a glassblower works at a furnace full of molten glass using metal rods and hand tools to blow and shape almost any form of glass;
• kiln-casting: can be done at the furnace at the torch or in a kiln; generally the artist makes a mould out of refractory, sand, or plaster and silica which can be filled with either clear glass or coloured or patterned glass;
• fusing, slumping: usually glass is only heated enough to impress a shape or a texture onto the piece, or to stick several pieces of glass together without glue;
• flame working: the artist generally works at a bench using rods and tubes of glass, shaping with hand tools to create their work;
• hot sculpting;
• cold-working;

The most common glass objects include vessels such as bowls, glass vases, bottles, etc. as well as paperweights, beads, sculptures and installation art.

WHAT'S NEW

Nothing you can do alone in the world of business. Especially if you are a starting company looking for advice and guidelines. That's why last week was the time when we decided to research various networking groups available in Halton. There's a plenty of them and you can choose the one which is the most appropriate for you and your kind of business. The meetings provided us with an opportunity to introduce Glamorous Glass and to become familiar with other small businesses operating in the Region. One-on-one discussions are great to get valuable advice from already established businesses. On the other hand, group discussions gave us an insight into importance of marketing, especially social media. It wont't be a surprise when I mention that the most talkative groups are the ones which gather women only :-) Should I say the most fun and dynamic too?! Anyway, it's great to be a part of a group gathering those who decided to leave corporate world and work for themselves.

Have you checked our contest yet? You can win this handmade Greek platter. Simply follow the rules at http://www.glamorous-glass.com/CONTESTS.html . Can't wait to find out who the winner will be. Go on, enter it now!

UNCOMPLICATED STORY OF GLASS

The art of glass making has been practiced for centuries. The history of man-made glass dates back even to 3500 BC, and the origins are traced to Syria, Mesopotamia or Egypt.

Naturally occurring glass in a form of obsidian was used even by Stone Age societies whose members utilized it to produce sharp cutting tools. However, the archaeological evidence suggests that the first true glass was made somewhere in north coastal Syria, Mesopotamia or Old Kingdom Egypt. Egypt, with its preserving climate, is a place where we can find a lot of early glass items. Glass beads are thought to be the earliest man-made glass products and date back to 3500 BC. They have been found in Egypt and Eastern Mesopotamia. The oldest fragments of glass vases are said to originate in Mesopotamia 1600 BC.

A rapid growth in glass making techniques is assigned to the area of Late Bronze. By the 15th century BC, Western Asia, Crate and Egypt became extensive glass producers. They knew and safely guarded a technological secret of initial fusing of glass from raw material. Glass workers in other areas of the world had access only to imported pre-formed glass forms.

There is lack of evidence how glass advanced between 15th and 9th century BC. Over these years glass production was centred in Alexandria. From this place it spread to Italy.

The Hellenistic period brought many new techniques of glass production, and glass became to be used in making larger pieces, such as table ware. During this period, colorless and decoloured glass became valued, and methods to have it created studied in a more comprehensive way. However, it was only the first century BC that brought a real revolution: glass blowing technique was discovered on the Syro-Palestinian coast. This technique involved blowing glass inside moulds by using a long thin tube which since then has changed very little. This way they produced a variety of hallow glass items, such as glass vases. Until then the process of creating a small glass item was very prolonged in time; it could take several days to make the product by casting, core forming or cutting. The introduction of glass blowing led to significant changes in the glass making process and contributed to making glass vessels easy and inexpensive to produce. Then, ancient Romans began blowing glass inside moulds which increased shape possibilities for hollow glass items.

The Romans were responsible for spreading glassmaking technology and creating foundations for developing glasswork traditions across Western Europe. During the rule of Emperor Augustus, glass usage flourished across France, German and other European countries. Also the Romans as the first ones began using glass in architecture when clear glass was discovered in Alexandria around 100 AD.

However, the decline of the Roman Empire led to the slowing down of the progress in glass making. The archaeological discoveries from the 7th and 8th century show the transition from ancient to Middle Ages ways of producing glass, and in the 10th century a new technique of glassmaking, when soda glass is replaced with potash obtained from the burning trees, was initiated. The Middle Age introduced Venice as a main actor in glass making in the Western World. In 1271, the ban on imports of foreign glass and on foreign glass artists wanting to work in Venice was introduced. In 1291 the Venetian Republic ordered the glass makers to move their foundries to Murano. The second half of the 15th century brought quartz and potash made from sea plants to the Murano glass making tradition. Pure crystal started to be produced.

In 1688 French glass making introduced a new process for production of plate glass, which can be used in mirrors. The “plate pouring” process resulted in glass with good transmission qualities.

The 19th century was a beginning of a significant change: glass making started evolving towards industry more than the craft. Mass production of glass products was introduced along with an invention of the tank furnace by Friedrich Siemens. It allowed produce greater quantities of molten glass.

With the 20th century came an era of revolutionary technology. Machines were developed which replaced traditional mouth blowing with a semi-automatic process, and transformed the craft into an industry. Classical man-made glassblowing became an art, maintaining the tradition and knowledge of ancient glassblowers. Today's glassblower still utilizes the basic blowpipe, but now they have a vast number of supplementary tools to aid in working the material.

This and other articles written by Glamorous Glass you can find on http://ezinearticles.com/, http://www.articlesnatch.com/, and http://www.articlesengine.com/

SUMMER AT GLAMOROUS GLASS

We've learnt a lot about the world of business in the last few months. We've also had a chance to meet great people who provided us with their valuable advice and help. On the other hand, it was impossible to avoid those who were less than willing (or able) to provide us with the appropriate level of service or support. Each such an encounter is a lesson for us. For instance today we have learnt how we should not treat our clients. Well, one of the flower shops in Milton decided to hang up on us no matter what the reason of our call was! In this way they did not only loose a potential client (we will sooner or later need to purchase a bouquet for a special occasion-now we know where not to do this; what is more, we will definitely not recommend this place to our friends), but also a partner in business. Glamorous Glass, contrary to this flower shop, is aware that professional customer service is one of the most important aspects when running a shop.

We currently pour a lot of time into creating a good marketing campaign. You can find our ads in the Oakville Connected or the Burlington Post Here's My Card edition (page 20). Glamorous Glass has also established a partnership with Discover Milton, a company which promotes local businesses in Milton, ON. Check out the part about Glamorous Glass.

We are also looking for new alliances with other local firms so we can promote and support each other. If you own a business or you know someone who would be interested in establishing a partnership with Glamorous Glass, give us a shout.

And don't forget to purchase some glamorous glass vases, bowls, or plates in our web store.

GLASSBLOWING TECHNIQUES

Glassblowing Techniques