Made of delicate glass, often hand-blown. They can be transparent, colored or covered with glitter. Glass baubles are classic and timeless. In terms of exports, our country ranks third in Europe and fifth in the world. One of the most “babble” cities is . There are as many as three factories here that can be visited at any time of the year. However, it is the holiday season that is the busiest.
A visit to the bauble factory
When you enter the baubles factory, you are transported to a magical world where every step is like immersing yourself in a Christmas fairy tale. The air is filled with the delicate smell of paints and varnishes, and in the background you can hear the sound of fire warming the glass. In the glow of lights, glass balls take shape and their surfaces shine with all the colors of the rainbow. After crossing the threshold of every bauble factory in Gniezno, you feel like a child on the set of a Christmas movie. In each of them you will see the entire production process – from glass blowing, through painting, to decoration.
How are baubles made? It all starts in the blower room
A visit to the baubles factory begins with the blowing room. You can hear the noise of the burner in the room, which allows you to shape the decorations into the right shapes. This is where baubles are made from one and a half meter long soda-lime glass tubes. To give them shape, the glass must be heated appropriately, then it becomes malleable. You can blow a traditional ball or use a shaped box – a box with a recess with an appropriate pattern. Sometimes unique baubles are also created, the shape of which depends on the imagination and skills of the blower. In Kadpol in Gniezno, Mr. Błażej creates glass miracles. His father instilled his passion for creating Christmas tree decorations. He has been in this profession for over 30 years and admits that he does not always pay attention to how the bauble is made in stores. When I ask him if he doesn’t get bored with this job, he replies: – I love my job, honestly. I am one of the luckiest people because some people go to work as a punishment, and I don’t.
Music helps him at work.
– When I listen to strong rock, my work goes very quickly, while listening to ballads, e.g. by Scorpions, I fall asleep a bit – Mr. Błażej laughs.
The profession of a blower or bauble blower is slowly becoming forgotten. It used to be a little different.
– The baubles were blown in chords – says Anita Pawlak from the Bolglass factory, the oldest in Gniezno. The company has been operating for over 70 years. Initially, Bolglass was called the Ozdoba Work Cooperative. In the Polish People’s Republic, the factory operated at full capacity.
– Back then, they worked piece by piece, which meant they had to blow out the so-called norm. The ladies blew balls (round-shaped baubles, editor’s note) from four to ten centimeters in diameter. During these six hours, the women had to blow 450 pieces of balls. Of course, the larger the ball was, the lower the standard was, explains the guide from Bolglass.
Today, blowing baubles in the oldest factory in Gniezno is carried out by, among others, Żaneta Bielecka. She started her job only in November, learning under the watchful eye of an older colleague who was retiring.
Glassblowers with extreme precision form hot glass into the shape of baubles, which are then sent to silver plating.
A bauble like a mirror
In order for the glass baubles to have a deep color, they must be covered with silver before painting.
– Such baubles are made like mirrors, i.e. from the inside. You can’t do without chemicals. We pour silver nitrate and sodium hydroxide into them, then shake them and immerse them in warm water, thanks to which the whole thing is evenly covered with a silver layer – says Mrs. Beata, a guide at the Kadpol factory.
The stage of silvering the baubles can be omitted, then the baubles after varnishing will have the color of colored glass.
Varnishing and decorating baubles
You can feel the room in which the baubles become colorful from afar. When you open the door, the smell of paints and varnishes hits your nostrils, but after a while you get used to it. Silvered (or not), dried baubles are dipped in varnish and placed on special stands. Then the boxes with baubles go to the decoration room. There, in the hands of talented artists, they come to life, taking on colors and patterns that delight with their diversity. In the GabiGlass family factory, decorations are handled by, among others: Mrs. Danuta. At school she hated drawing, today she creates Christmas masterpieces. She started over 30 years ago, in a large bauble factory in Rakoniewice, and after moving to Gniezno, she worked in the above-mentioned Ozdoba Work Cooperative.
– I wanted to go to the air pump, but they didn’t accept me. They saw on my CV that I was a decorator, so they hired me to decorate – laughs Mrs. Danuta, who introduced her son to the production of baubles. It was on her initiative that GabiGlas was created.
The decoration department is a bit like a magical land of elves where Christmas decorations are made. Complex patterns, such as Harry Potter, Santa Claus, the Holy Family, are created in layers.
– Sometimes it takes all day – say Mrs. Beata from Kadpol and adds – To paint Santa Claus, first we apply the beard, when the paint dries, we add another element and so on until the whole thing is created.
Workshops and souvenir shop
Each factory also offers workshops where you can try your hand at creating Christmas decorations yourself. I don’t have much time, so I use previously painted baubles, use a brush with glue to make a few patterns and sprinkle the bauble with glitter. This will dry the fastest. At the end of the tour, I also receive a bauble with my name written on it and I can go shopping. In every factory there is a shop where you can lose yourself. Baubles that remind me of those from my childhood, i.e. gold-plated, in the shape of colorful spinning tops, Santa Clauses, cones and snowmen. There are also more modern ones, e.g. in the shape of a pickled cucumber, a Formula 1 car, or this year’s hit – a green ball with the image of the Grinch.
Gniezno is the Christmas capital of Poland
A visit to the Christmas bauble factory is an unforgettable experience that allows you to immerse yourself in the world of Christmas traditions and craftsmanship precision. It is a journey full of colors and magic that will remain in your memory for a long time. Great fun not only around Christmas time. As I mentioned, there are three Christmas bauble factories in Gniezno – Kadpol, GabiGlass and Bolglass. Each can be visited all year round. The perfect solution for those who love holidays and could decorate the Christmas tree even in July. Each of these factories is unique and I couldn’t choose one that I liked the most. There are passionate people working everywhere, who can’t get enough of Christmas decorations and spread good energy. Easter decorations are also produced in Kadpol, and workshops are held on the occasion of Mother’s Day and Women’s Day. Tour prices start from PLN 25 and end at PLN 75. It all depends on the place and whether we use the workshops. We can take home-made baubles with us.
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