RUSSIA: At the oldest glass ornament factory in the country, workers create handmade decorations for holiday trees

Record ID: 589178

  • Title: RUSSIA: At the oldest glass ornament factory in the country, workers create handmade decorations for holiday trees
  • Date: 24th December 2010
  • Summary: KLIN, MOSCOW REGION, RUSSIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIOR OF YOLOCHKA FACTORY VARIOUS GLASS NEW YEAR ORNAMENTS INSIDE OF FACTORY VARIOUS WORKERS MAKING GLASS ORNAMENTS BY HAND OVER FLAMES FINISHED GLASS ORNAMENTS VARIOUS WORKER BLOWING GLASS ORNAMENT FINISHED GLASS ORNAMENTS VARIOUS WOMAN WORKING GLASS OVER FLAME WOMAN WORKING GLASS OVER FLAME FINISHED GLASS
  • Embargoed: 8th January 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Russian Federation
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVAML0D94HRWNVXLDRVL5HQDW5A
  • Story Text: At a factory in a sleepy town near Moscow, workers are busy creating the blown glass, hand-painted ornaments, for which the factory is famous.
    The town of Klin has been manufacturing the glass ornaments since the mid-19th century and is considered one of Russia's centres of ornament production for Russians' New Year's trees, which are similar to Western Christmas trees. The factory "Yolotchka," which translates to "New Year tree," is the oldest producer of glass ornaments in Russia.
    At Yolotchka, glass blowers work over open flames, shaping molten glass with their breath. After the glass is set, artists paint the ornaments by hand.
    Galina Vladimirovna, a tour guide at the factory, said the level of difficulty involved in creating hand-blown Christmas ornaments was incomparable to mass-produced types, and the work shows.
    "Our workers do everything by hand. We don't use anything automatic. The ornaments are thus delicate. And there are other types of tree ornaments like samovars, swans that are made only by glass blowing artists. First the ornament is blown into and then separate small details are added. This is a very complicated process," Galina Vladimirovna said.
    The factory works year-round and often allows groups to tour its premises. Ten year old Vera Yefremova from Moscow school number 61 was inspired by her class tour of the factory.
    "I want to say thank you to those who make new year tree ornaments, those who learned how to do this difficult work, and those who make little children happy every day," Vera said, after meeting some of the artists.
    Some of the designs shaped by Yolotchka's glass artists include miniature painted teapots, samovars, animals, and figurines from well-known Russian fairy tales, and many of the glass blowing techniques have been passed down through several generations.
    Factory worker Svetlana Zubachyova said she enjoyed her job painting ornaments.
    "Yes, creative work is really interesting of course. We're trying hard for children, so that it will be interesting and beautiful for them to decorate the new year tree in winter time," Zubachyova said.
    A red-coloured building in the centre of Klin hosts a small museum of antique ornaments from the town. A majority of the museum's ornament collection is from the carefully guarded stores of local residents.
    Museum tour guide Zinaida Izmailovna expressed pride in the local factory's handmade work and hoped that the children visiting the museum would walk away with a similar pride.
    "I think that after visiting our museum, children begin to treat our Russian ornaments with more reverence. Because, of course you can't compare our ornaments with Chinese production. Soul is placed in every ornament, and when they leave they understand that every ornament is warmed by a warm human hand," Zinaida said.
    Yolotchka has won numerous awards for its work at Russian and international exhibitions.
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