If you are looking for a gift that is unique and special, think about hand blown glassware. Although many people do not even realize that others still make glass by hand, there are many individuals and companies that still work hard to produce exclusive pieces of glass. If you have a particular collection in mind, look online to see what type of glassware you can find. There are wine glasses, vases, martini glasses and even pitchers that are beautiful hand blown glassware and make wonderful gifts.

You may wonder how glass is hand blown. It is not as easy as you think. A technique called “free blowing” involves blowing molten glass into a blob of glass with the help of a blowpipe. This technique started in the early nineteen hundreds and is still popular today. It can be done by introducing a little bit of air into the glass. The molten glass is viscous enough to be blown and will harden as when it loses heat. Some glass blowers like to do what is called, “free blow.” This involves blowing short puffs of air into a molten portion of the glass which is gathered at one end of the blowpipe. An elastic skin on the interior of the glass blob is formed and the glassworker can inflate the molten glass. The blob is now worked into the desired shape.

Once the shape is created and then hardens, the glass blower can then paint it and sell the hand painted glassware. The various styles of hand painted glassware are sold online and are all original pieces of art. The vases are some of the most popular pieces of mouth blown glassware. Once you have a taste for it, then you will want more pieces in your home. The nicest way to display your hand blown glass is to buy wine and martini glasses that are hand painted and mouth blown.

What makes these hand blown glass pieces so exceptional is that they were not reproduced in a factory with thousands of other pieces that look just like them. Those that are into glassblowing do not take their job lightly. It is not a hobby and to do it takes a lot of concentration. Glassblowers also have to be trained and it is considered a work of art. So the next time you buy a mouth blown glass vase, remember it is a work of art, not just something to keep your flowers in.