Fine Crystal Shop

Like all Czechs, I grew up around fine crystal. Because this centuries-old craft is ever-present in the Czech Republic, virtually all families own at least a small display of fine crystal, no matter their social or economic status - a few heirlooms, some wedding gifts or pieces bought by family members during their trips through glass-making towns.

As many other Czechs, I passed the myriads of crystal shops you can find downtown Prague with disregard. Too much is too much. I always considered crystal "the tourist thing" and stayed out of the way of Prague's visitors, walking around with their oversized plastic bags full of boxes with the blue "Bohemia Crystal" label.

It wasn't until my trip to United States in 1999, that I realized that we indeed have something special here. Traveling around the entire country, we didn't come across anything even approaching the quality and style of Czech crystal. Plenty of modern glass, lot of it really good, outrageously overpriced classic cut crystal, but nothing like the things you see in Prague.

What we did find was the fame of Czech glass. When we told people we came from the Czech Republic, most of them had no idea where this country can be found, but many knew that it produces finest of the fine crystal. Despite the fact that for centuries, the glass made in the Czech lands (Bohemia and Moravia) was exported under the label of Austrian-Hungarian Empire, the name Bohemia Crystal means a lot. After all, this is where Swarowski learned his trade.

We came back with the idea of exporting Czech glass, but knew nothing about it. We set off to do the footwork, visit factories, talk to makers, find out the standards of the trade. We encountered a world of incredible craft, honest workmanship, fascinating design and tradition that is alive through young and enthusiastic people.

We didn't find the old masters in leather aprons we expected, we found young kids in Nike T-shirts and Birkenstock slippers, the kind of people you can imagine at a local disco or ski-hill. They casualy flip-flop around in shorts, handling red-hot nearly liquid glass. Their beer on the edge of the kiln is getting too warm to drink, but hey, how else are you gonna get a proper Czech beer belly? This too, is part of the tradition.

When I asked about the safety standard, they gave me a smirk. "If hot glass drops into a boot, it does a lot of damage before you get your foot out, this way you just shake it off," they'd say pointing to their bare feet in flip-flops. Their insurance policy is pretty simple too - if you got hurt, you were stupid, you learn not to make mistakes next time. Natural selection Darwinian-style.

But the product coming from their hands was stunning - bubbles, swirls, twists, stripes. Over and over, we look at is and say: "How could they do this?" and want to see the production. Then, visiting the factories, we see the rubble piles or hear glass being broken and it sends chills down our spines - all that work went into it! But the quality controlers are merciless - one cut too long, one tiny bubble too many - it goes. In each factories' backyard, you will find amazing broken pieces of cut or blown crystal, with flaws that were invisible to untrained eyes, ready to be melted into beer bottle glass.

By the time Czech glassmakers are twenty-five, they've had ten years of practice, because most started in the Inustrial High Schools of Glassmaking at the age of fourteen or fifteen. There are thirty-five year-old Masters of the Kiln, who oversee the whole production. But the old masters are around as well, you see them in the corner, controling quality or overseeing the shift. They come to the kiln when things get complicated.

There was a particular candlestick we liked and the manager told us: "This we're not going to have anymore. The old master retired, another guy is sick long term and the young kids don't know how to do it yet." There were only two people around who knew how to do it and that was that. In those moments, we become very aware that we are dealing in top quality craft, no matter how casual everyone seems.

We soon learned that glass designers collect royalties for the pieces produced from their designs and that this is the reason behind the mass production (even machine production) of the domain traditional designs you see everywhere in Prague. We immediately decided to seek out small companies which do hand-made crystal only, supporting inventive and young designers. We bought our first stock and built a small website - an online store you can find at www.FeelBohemian.com

Having seen the meticulous glass production, I've grown to really appreciate fine crystal. I went back to look at my family's display case. My mom has a set of beautiful cognac glasses, which, although clear, display an iridescent splashes of colors as the light hits the smooth long facets. Despite all the footwork we've done, I've never seen glasses like hers offered.

The Czech glassmaking still holds its mysteries for me. As I uncover them, I'll be sure to add my discoveries to our FeelBohemian.com selection. It's my great joy to be able to send these magical pieces to people around the world. It is the one part of Czech culture I'm really proud of and the one part I enjoy sharing with our clients worldwide. I hope it makes them truly Feel Bohemian.