The Art of Swedish Glass Blowing - A field trip to Bergdala
No blacksmithing today! Instead follow along as I take you for a trip to Bergdala glassworks to check out the amazing craft of glass blowing. The teamwork is pretty mesmerizing and you can easily spend hours watching these skilled craftsmen work. I was also fortunate enough to give it a go myself - no easy task though!
Visit Bergdala glassworks!
www.bergdalahyttan.se/
/ bergdalahyttan
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:40 Interview
05:49 Making a Jug/pitcher
11:52 Another Jug/pitcher
17:14 Making a small tumbler
20:50 Another small tumbler (fast)
22:03 Me trying glass blowing!
26:45 End
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#glassblowing #hotglass #artglass
*Torbjörn, thanks for taking us all along on this tour. Thank you to the men in this company for giving up their time to show & inform us. It is amazing how skilled these men are to make these items all by hand. Good on you for giving it a go....*
Thanks Andrea!
It was nice to hear Swedish being spoken again! I was thinking about trying blacksmithing as a retirement hobby, but now, maybe glass blowing? Here, in the States, OSHA would shut that shop down and fine everyone into oblivion. Handling molten glass in sandles and shorts? Their heads would explode, but I would LOVE to work in that shop. Your drinking glass may be the crudest to ever leave Bergdala, but I'll bet it's your favorite!
Ha ha, Swedish authorities are no child's play either... especially when it comes to environmental issues, like lead and other heavy metals used in glass... lead is mostly gone nowadays luckily, but old deposits can be tricky to handle...
Yeah you say that but you clearly haven't visited the blenko glass factory in west Virginia which has hardly changed in a hundred and ten years of operation lol
This was great. I’d love to see you do exposés on some other crafts! I hope you feel free to pursue more projects like this.
As someone who's done a bit a glassblowing, I find this fantastic to watch! The timing that these men have developed an implicit understanding of between themselves is amazing. Thanks for the awesome video!
Indeed! Thanks
Factory work is it's own unique thing. I miss production work. I definitely do not miss piece rate pay scales. I'll keep my current hourly work as an engineer hehe
Insanely cool. Another one of the Dark Arts involving hellish fire and talent. Blacksmiths and Glassblowers are like wizards
im more like a fiend for the experience. the glass furnace is my happy place. its where my soul experiences bliss. i get cranky and easily annoyed when i dont do it for extended periods of time.
I love cobalt glass. Beautiful work. Thanks for showing this!
Copper in certain concentrations makes a similar but opaque color.
Mr. Åhman, thank you for this glimpse into a different world. It is very apparent that you approached this with a respect of a master of one craft to another. These experiences are so important for our growth and understanding of others. I bet it feels special to drink water from a glass you have made :o)
Thanks! The glass at the end was not mine, sorry to say... should have made that more apparent :)
Wow! Glass workers are just like us. They have their own anvil of sorts and they have swages made of wood and weird tongs.
:) Indeed they do!
I never considered the wooden blocks as swages but pretty much yes lol
Believe it or not there's a hefty number of glassblowers that do all of that shaping with wet newspaper. I would never want to omit the use of wood blocks myself but some folks absolutely hate using them
I made stained glass kaleidoscope and jewelry boxes as a hobby for years always wanted to try glass blowing. Thanks for amazing video👍
Cool! Thanks
As a glassblower myself, cheers for spotlighting our craft!
Cool, thanks!!
Thank you Torbjorn! Amazing channel. I have a hand blown glass product from Skruf Sweden called a “thunder bottle” or Goethe water barometer , I cherish it, it’s very special . It’s not only beautiful to look at and enjoy but it will let you know when it will rain or storm. They are so cool! My family enjoys watching the water moved up in glass before a storm. They are made in Sweden with the highest quality! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you! I own one of them as well, and they are very cool! Sadly we used normal tap water in our for years and it has left some "residue" on the inside... distilled water is probably the best option.
@@torbjornahman yes I agree, distilled water is the best option. In the U.S there is hard water as they call it here. One of my barometers has build up inside, I’m going to try soaking mine in a lite chemical solution with water to try breaking it up. Torbjorn all your KZhead content is amazing to watch. Wish you the best in all that you do!
These little field trips to see other hand crafters are lovely! Well done on your first try too!
Thank you! I get to help in a local hot shop. Glass is magical. Loved seeing this video, as with all of your content.
That was unexpectedly but throughly enjoyed video. No surprise with your metal and wood working talents that you handled the glass very well. Please post any other craftsmen you find interesting 👍
What a lovely video! Brought back some memories, visited Boda Glasbruk in the 1980's, never knowing it would all end. There were so many glas factories then. On my last visit to the Glasriket, 2019, I was stunned by how little is left. Thank you, Torbjörn for this video! Tack så mycket, det var trevligt att se! Greetings from Belgium 🇧🇪
Thank you! Yes, it's sad...
Kosta boda still exists
Really liked how he said you could walk right in and watch if you wanted to learn about glass blowing.
Yes!
Glass, like metal, has its own soul. With a start!✋
That was amazing to watch! How each man without a word, knows to come and do his part. The finished pieces were so uniform, without flaw. Beautiful! Tusen takk!
As someone who has done a fair amount of glassblowing I’m really impressed with how much these artisans accomplish off of each heat. To gather, shape, elongate, and go into the mold all without reheating is very difficult and takes a lot of practiced intentional movement. Any wasted time or touching the glass more than needed is wasted heat and would result in needing a reheat. Great video!
Yes, it's amazing!
More field trips like this please
Such a joy to watch skilled craftsmen at their craft, a wonderful video, thanks for sharing it with us. Your country has a long history of skilled people, I’d like to visit it one day, might start working on that tunnel again 😂. You did very well for your first attempt 👍, I’m sure it was a day to remember. Regards from Down Under.
Absolutely, it was great fun! I heard tunnels were outdated... might be better ways :)
Love your sense of humour 😂🤣
Fantastic to see one craftsman amongst fellow craftsmen and their craft!
Excelente vídeo, y gran trabajo de los artesanos del vidrio, excelente tradición, muchas gracias por compartirlo!.
Отличное видео! К творческим людям, особое уважение! Удачи!👍👍👍
This is the first time I've heard you speak English, well done! Glad the CC is in English in the factory. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Amazing experience i imagine, Thanks for showing this.
Absolutely, thanks!
True craftsmen just like yourself. Like you said towards the end it's good to see other materials worked and to give it a go yourself. Credit to you.
Thank you Torbjörn from a Spanish who lives in Estonia, your channel is awesome
Thanks!
Очень интересный опыт , здоровья и удачи !
I do so love this channel! That was a very pleasant surprise. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Glass Blowing is Hypnotic
You can look at the fire, the flowing river and the work of the Master forever! Thank you Mr Ahman!
Great job as usual. Thank you, for bring us along!
This brings tears to my eyes....the timeless art of hand blown glass by artisans that will NEVER be reproduced by machine. Being a crocheter I can relate to the unique art of something that will and never be recreated by machine. SO very satisfying to watch!!!!!
Yes, it's an amazing form of art.
Я переживал, как за себя!)))😜
I understood "welcome" and one time "no" but the language barrier did not present a problem in watching the amazing process . Thank you for sharing this video.
Thanks. Watch it with the captions again!
Thanks. I've been able to watch glass blowing several times in the past. It's always fascinating.
Thank you for sharing. I love watching glass blowing and learning about other countries.
Thanks
He has a voice!
😂😂😂😂 yes he does. It's just very rare he uses it.
It amazes me that they just have the feel and eye when the glass is right for working. Every step they just flow with it like I lace up my boots. What’s not surprising is that you were pretty good at it your first time. Another great video, thanks for taking us along.
23h ? Pas grave ! C'est parti pour une heure de pure plaisir 😂
Amazing! I know one thing for sure though, if it was difficult for Torbjorn, craftsman that he is, I would have made an absolute disaster of it 🤣
Det var en fantastisk tur! Tack så jättemycket Torbjörn, det var väldigt intressant! 👍
They make it look so easy ! I'd love to try glassblowing sometime, we have a local glassworks where I live, just have to find the time ! thanks for the tour and great work on your own cup !
Thanks! It's fun so I really recommend it!
Wow, that handle move at 11:03 was smooth. Master indeed.
my great grand dad was a glass blower back in the late 30's in up state Pennsylvania that is until the factory blew up one night. even today you can find massive chunks of the green glass they used to work with all over the area for miles around . back in the 60's when I was a little brat we used to find chunks of it in the woods or on the edges of the river near the old factory . it's the one thing about that little town that I wish had survived in to the modern day.
its the same thing no wants to pay for handmade craft
This state hosted dozens of large blowing factories as well as sheet glass production facilities. Now all thats left is us independents. There's a handful of companies that blow glass and make artisanal sheet glass nation wide but barely a tenth of what there used to be.
@@jank330that's not true. I make a ton of small items like Christmas ornaments and solid Valentine's hearts and pint mugs and I get by. It's just nobody is buying big centerpiece cases or intricate chandeliers. But even now in these hard times people absolutely support arts in the states. Just gotta sell what they can afford
@@jank330it's my passion but it's also my job. I have a responsibility to make what sells first and maybe if I'm lucky what I want as a lunchtime special. I have to think like the old time factory worker AND the man that owned it in other words.
Most glassblowers today aren't fortunate to work in a factory like these guys are and I was. And the only way I had a factory job is that I got paid by the piece not the hour as if it were 1870.
Wow, that's amazing to see, thanks for taking us along for the ride. I grew up in Cairns, Australia and there was a one man, glass blower in the night markets. I remember watching him as a kid of single digit years old and just being in awe. He was still there last time I went to the markets in 2017 at 31!
Very interesting, thank you for taking us there.
Ein wunderschönes Glas, meinen Respekt und vielen dank für einen Blick über den Tellerrand.
"Glassworker is just fine!" Having worked a bit with both glass and iron has left me with considerable respect for those of you who are skilled at working with these materials. To watch these craftspeople work in a hot shop wearing shorts confirms for me that they have worked in this environment for some time and know what they are doing. Your ability to both work in the forge and record what and how you work brings a special depth to this video. Thank you for that and these craftspeople for letting us watch!
Trust me it is extremely uncomfortable to have sweat chafing your legs in jeans all day. Shorts every time for me.
First time I ever set foot in a hot shop in college I was wearing a t shirt and shorts now that I think about it lol
Tack för tipset, har tänkt att ta med mina barn till ett riktigt glasbruk som inte är en turistfälla. Utan ett ställe med levande hantverkstradition. 👍🙏
Då har du hittat rätt!
I've seen enough glass blowing videos and shows to know the what's and why's of everything they were doing, but I still thoroughly enjoyed this video. It was fantastic!
Have to say Torbjörn, beautiful country you live in. That's one of the things I love about Sweden. Breath taking.
I’ve been blowing glass about 5 years now as a hobby. I’ve found that many things I do in glassblowing require metal components afterwards, sculptures and yard art as a for instance. Lighting is another area where you’ll find yourself building metal parts for glass components. Working metal and glass share a number of traits, heat and heat management, getting material to move or to stay put while you move something elsewhere. For me, glass is the more complex, though I suspect that is significantly colored by my lack of skill, knowledge, and opportunity to work metal. Doing both though and bringing them together into a single vision on a piece is great fun.
I bet it is!!
4:00 That light fitting is absolutely spectacular!!!!!!
It is awesome! Many hours into something like that.
That workshop remember me a perfect ballet choreography, very impressive
I love watching glass blown. I work 10 years in the glass factory all hand blown glass.
I 👍 glass. Good lungs are necessary and good hands too.
Such a beatifull craft! Small glass forges are just pinacle of glassmaking, we had a lot of them in Bohemia 🙂
As with most craftsmen , they make what they do look so easy you wonder what all the fuss is about till you try it yourself . This is due to the 8 million tiny little things that these guys have trained their brains to notice that only comes with doing a job for hours and hours . I think you did really well to be honest and in another 9999 hours you'll be just as good as those guys lol That said , I could do that for 10 years and still only make ugly blobs of glass with blue bits stuck to them . :)
Glass blowing is another of my watching obsessions and didn't expect to see it on your channel! Lovely to see you try!
Thanks!
Wow! That was amazing! I really like that blue rimmed glassware. Artwork with functionality and purpose, and what an awesome crew and shop that you can just walk in and watch it all happen! Well done my friend for sharing this with us! ✝️🇺🇲👍
Thanks!!
Thanks for the English subtitles!
Amazing work and workmanship... Well done on your first piece!
Amazing! Very nice video and a very nice job you did Thunderbear! It's a fascinating craft and it's so nice to see that the traditions lives on. Thank you for sharing :)
Really good result for a first time at it, looks like a lot of fun
This was so great. I am SO glad you gave it try. The masters made it look so easy - watching you do your best showed just how good they are.
Obrigado. Campinas SP Brasil 19/05/23
I was fascinated by the old photo of the men and boys. They all looked as miserable as sin, except one small boy who was laughing his head off. Maybe he had been accepted for an apprenticeship as a blacksmith! Great video Torbjorn, you learn fast. Nice airy workshop too, with plenty of room to move freely.... no bashing your legs on the horn of your anvil! I thought you did very well, understandably tentative to begin with but quickly becoming as bold as necessity dictated. Magnus is a good tutor. Thanks for sharing this interesting departure from your normal videos. Variety is the spice of life.
Thank you!
During childhood I lived in Tranås. Nowadays I am in Stockholm, but I work for a company with main production in Emmaboda/Lindås. And we recently made a trip to the factory and stayed at Kosta Boda Art Hotel.
You are a true craftsman! A glass of which you can be proud on your first day in the glassworks. Truly one of the finest KZhead channels on the planet! Totally off the subject; when are you going to build a loom to weave the flax you so carefully grew from seed, and prepared by hand? It must be anxious to become cloth by now 🙃.
:) So many things to do.... hmmm.
Thanks for taking us into this adventure. All these guys are true craftsman.😊
Thanks!
Absolutely wonderful video. Fascinating to watch masters at work. Thank You sir for bringing this to us.
Thanks
It was a nice contrast seeing him do it himself...and mess up...he was all of us at that moment...
These dishes are absolutely beautiful!
Mamma mia che meraviglia, è stupendo grazie mille caro
Material and tools feeling must be for all crafts. Thanks.
What a wonderful video, of course it always is! Thank you for sharing!
Приятно смотреть на работу профессионалов.
Anche noi in Italia abbiamo grandi artigiani del vetro ma piacciono di più le lavorazioni di ferro sei il numero 1
Absolutely gorgeous hand blown pieces and more than anything a great demonstration of team oriented production: exemplifying seamless transitions from one employee to the next. They really do an excellent job letting the soul of glass blowers shine by leaving the entire operation up to hand skills.
Impressive! The making of each jar looks like a movie replay, it is so perfect and precise. Congratulations to all of you! Thank you very much!
After you've done a few hundred of the same object it becomes like record grooves in your head.
Same as batch producing knife blanks in a knife factory.
I watch the glass blowing here in the USA they put out a video about twice a month with all different kinds of glass work. I love watching but it can be a long watch for me. One of those things I knew more about before I messed up my back wielding. Corning Museum of Glass has a channel here on KZhead Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up💙💛
3:00 a small "beehive" furnace. larger factory operations would often employ furnaces like that capable of holding twenty or thirty giant crucibles of material.
Amazing craftmanship. I think you made a great effort.
Hej Torbjörn, It's a great idea to try and also show us other crafts. Do you plan to do more similar videos?
What a joy to watch! Thank you for bringing us along!
You’re a natural at it❤
❤
Great video, thanks for taking us along.
Roger is great guy in real life! Hope you had a great day in Bergdala
Absolutely!
Glass blowing is like Chinese Painting on wet paper - you can't do it slow (even when you're a beginner). You have to do it at the speed the materials dictate, even at your first attempt. Full speed ahead! And you did stunningly well - I've seen a few TV shows cover this, and the presenters invariably make a complete balls up.
Yes, that's pretty apparent when you first get that blowpipe in your hand!
hello torbjörn a very nice video as always. Congratulations to you for having tried this beautiful job of glassblower and as always you did really well
Simply wonderful!
Glass Blowing has always fascinated me. Thank you for taking us there. I turned on CC and it translated it all for me too.
Thanks, yes it took me half a day to make the CC !
Thank you for the awesome content and great videos!!
You’ve done an absolutely amazing job of capturing the beauty of this craft and the quiet competence of these craftsman. But there isn’t a decent hammer in the whole workshop of glass. Imagine that.
Thanks!!
Awesome episode! And great job jumping in on the glass-blowing!
That was an amazing video. I love watching the craft of glass blowing and seeing the beautiful works of art being created right before your eyes.
Thank you, nicely done 👍
Wonderful video. Very skilled craftsmen. What an honour to watch it.