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The craft

The process of making glass.

Orrefors has always been about looking ahead. In search of new techniques, expressions, forms – and designers. Curious to discover more of the endless possibilities of glass. From the very beginning, our signature has been to bring together traditional craftsmanship with contemporary visionaries. Combining history with the present – to shape the future. This formula has resulted in some of our greatest successes.

Way back, glass jars for preserved foods was produced in nineteenth-century Orrefors. As social movements and the notion of “more beautiful everyday goods” took hold around the turn of the last century, artists Edward Hald and Simon Gate were invited to the glassworks. They promptly began making new objects with color and engraving. The results became popular worldwide through exhibitions, interior design and objects for everyday use. Before long, glass from the forests of Småland was incomparable: There is nothing like it! “Il n’y as que ça!” exclaimed the 1925 World’s Fair in Paris.

More artists and designers joined Orrefors and the designs were refined and reconsidered. Hot glass contains infinite possibilities – for those who have mastered the skill. The glass made today is based on expertise generated over more than a century. The very best designers now continue to enchant the world with the brilliance and beauty of glass.

Following the path of the glass from a syrup-like, hot mass to sparkling crystal is an impressive process that takes place in Orrefors’ hot shop in Kosta, Småland every day. Every glass from Orrefors is unique and the result of solid craftsmanship. When the finished glass leaves the glass factory, no less than fifteen different people have participated in the production process.