Štěpánek und Štefánek – it has taken us a while to pronounce these two names properly so that the mostly Czech people we talk to understand who we mean. They are both very good glass makers in the Czech Republic; Štěpánek in Nový Bor and Štefánek in Desná, which are 80km apart. Since Wednesday we have been with Štěpánek and we have visited Štefanek in his 12 m₂ studio, during our brief trip to Železný Brod via Harrachov and Desná. Five square metres of the 12, are taken up by the furnace in this 2,5m high room with one window. Therefore it gets really cramped when two people are working, let alone three, and it’s not just small pieces that are being made. We were happy to be standing by the entrance with some fresh air as it wasn’t just hot, but also quite smoky. We were given a warm welcome and when we confessed that we don’t speak Czech, he called a friend who translated by phone. After that we managed fairly well with German and a few Czech words, as well as lots of sign language! This way we learned that his big new studio will open next year.

After that we made our way to Štěpánek in Nový Bor. His glass studio is family run and was founded by Václav Štěpánek 22 years ago. He has passed on his knowledge to his sons, Daniel and Martin, and together they produce replicas from the ages of Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau. The plan was to help Václav to produce Art Nouveau glass on Thursday. However, as Daniel and a few days later also Václav fell ill and the two furnaces were still running, we were allowed to make our own glass for three days. This was an excellent opportunity to once again experience a really old glass making tradition first hand. Our knowledge around stemware grew considerably.

There are so many good quality glass studios and companies here in the Czech Republic, like those of Štěpánek und Štefánek, who are really worth a visit.