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

WHY WE LOVE GLASS AND ACTUALLY...WHAT IS GLASS?

Here is one of the articles which we recently wrote.

We use them every day. Glass vases, plates....They are usually made of glass, often painted in various colours or richly decorated. But...

What is "Glass"?

Don't be afraid-I will not provide you with a chemistry lesson. Nevertheless, I'm not a chemist but a person who is fascinated with the beauty and functionality of glass and who has already gathered a number of beautiful glass vases.

All of us are aware that glass as a final product is solid, typically brittle and often transparent. Before becoming a fragile vase or a piece on our dinner table, it is actually silicate sand melted with alcalic additives. In a little bit more complicated terms, glass is a silicon dioxide (70-75%) melted with sodium or potassium oxide in a temperature of 1300-1500 C. Another important compound which needs to be mentioned here is the calcium oxide which stabilizes the whole structure. The glass-forming liquid becomes actual glass when it is rapidly cooled.

Glass shows fascinating properties which change depending on its composition. Soda glass is soft and plastic. It slowly changes its structure when becoming solid so it can be shaped into various, often complicated forms. Potash glass is harder, and it was used for the greenish forest glass as well as for the crystal glass when the technology of cleaning and decolouring had been mastered.

As in this place we do not intend to analyze physics of glass, we want to refer you to the literature of glass making available in your local library.

Glass in Our Lives

The term "glass" originates from the Germanic word for transparent, lustrous substance. It was developed in the late Roman Empire, in the Roman glassmaking centre located in Trier (today Germany).

I find glass to be fascinating. This material has a few thousand year-long tradition of making. Today, glass products are taken for granted-we use them on an everyday basis when serving food, decorating our homes or as purchasing them to make them gifts for our special ones.

It is impossible to mention all areas in which glass is used nowadays. My interests focus on glass as a gentle material which can be extravagantly used in home decoration. I'm talking here about unique glass pieces used as accessories or gifts, such as glass vases or decorative bowls. Contemporary glass artists and glass works create artistic vases, bowls or candle holders which bring to our homes distinctiveness in their functionality and decoration. Elaborate centerpieces can be used in a variety of ways and in various settings. Place it in direct sun or light, and you will create a rainbow of colours which will enlighten any, even the darkest, room.

However, it is easy to become deceived by cheap copies of so called "artistic" glass pieces. You can easily find glass pieces advertised as "Murano glass vases" or "Murano bowls" which are in fact not original products-they do not originate from Murano Island (Italy), represent lower quality and can be purchased for lower prices. The same goes with the Bohemian pieces which are often manufactured on a massive scale in anywhere but not in the Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Always check if your supplies can provide you with a certificate of authenticity of a product you are interested in. Only when buying original glass vases, centerpieces, bowls, etc.you will fully enjoy the beauty of this grateful material.