Ever wonder what goes in to making those beautiful glass chargers and vases you love so much? A lot. We’ve posted some videos below from an IMAX factory in China to give you a behind-the-scenes look at the making of some of our hand-crafted glassware. These skilled artisans, and we do mean ARTisans, leave little doubt that glass is art.
A hollow metal pole is used to spin the glass while still hot. This shapes and allows for the addition of color.
This skilled craftsman makes it look easy, but it’s not. Spinning the glass uses centrifugal force to not only cool the glass, but also to shape it. The glass is then held upside-down to allow gravity to do it’s work.
This craftsman is using a tool to form the vase’s opening. He is careful to pay attention to detail. If this is not done correctly, the glass vase will have to go back in the fire and the craftsman will have to start over.
The craftsman is making sparks by using wood to soften the extremely hot glass and further form the edge. This type of hand-crafting makes each piece of glassware unique. In fact, imperfections like air bubbles and streaking are desirable in this unique art-form.
Constant spinning helps ensure consistency of shape. Here is an interesting fact, you can actually determine which direction a piece of glassware was spun by examining the unique air bubbles within each piece.
