I am finishing off a 'glass and bead trip' I did through Germany and the Czech Republic. Thought it would be interesting to share some of it with you guys. Not sure what the best place for it is on here, but as I will also look at the different techniques, this seems right. Please let me know if it is out of place.
There are going to be a lot of pictures in these posts....
I travelled to Idar Oberstein first, where they used to make stone beads. Not interesting for the lampworkers, so I'll skip that.
Next was Lauscha, a tiny town, with some big glass history. They used to be known for their glass marbles and are now mostly known for glasses and cups, and christmas decorations.
The chimney of the Lauscha Farbglaushuette, where they make glass rods, glassware and hollow glass. This is the source for the lampworking glass too.
A view inside the lampwork glass warehouse. Really did not want to leave....
This is where they draw the rods and canes: a two man job where they pull a gather of glass and lay it on the floor to cool.
Lauscha is a cold place in the winter, and lampworking gets tough. This is how their lampworkers set up: they have a pipe with small holes in it running along the table. Propane runs through it, and the small flames preheat the glass rods.
Finally, some of the glass pieces of marbles and canes that I found in a place near the woods where they were digging. As the main focus of my trip was to learn more about the history, this was a great find for me.
Next stop: Neugablonz!