A glass blower must have flair, it should be his calling.
When one goes in the morning, into the blowing hall, that is special. Everything is quiet, the furnace is too, and then when opened the fire radiates out from the furnace, and then come the glassmakers, each knowing his stuff - there is a works rhythm, and that has to be experienced and you must also feel it .
Works Foreman, born 1949
It begins with the gatherer. The gather maker blows a bubble on the pipe, a small bubble. Then he passes the pipe to the blower. Who then over-gathers the bubble with fresh glass and forms it over the trough. In a Bohemian glass workshop the blower then blows the bowl of the glass into the mould, then he transfers it to the stem puller. He pulls the stems.
And then comes the man for the beginnings of the foot who makes the front of the glass stems a bit off, then he gives it to the master, and the master finishes the foot and knocks it off.
Normally the master has the most beautiful work. He cuts in his foot and transfers it to the carrier. But to get there you have to come far. This is simply the master!
Glassblower, born 1922
This has always been made in the break times. This, what has been called "friggers", ("whimsies"). Whether it has been at midday or in the break that has been the same for me. I've always want to do my friggers.
Then the Gistl banned work over the lunchtime. But that did not go with me. Like I had said, "If I cannot make friggers, then for me the glass making is come to an end."
Glassblower, born 1922
In 1952 I came into the glassworks, the company Poschinger. I've worked there for four years, and then I went over to the Eisch. Then making of whimsies slowly evolved. And over time, the making of snuff bottles came, I was quite a little interested in that. And my father had told me a little about it too.
Before the whimsies was different, because then we made "Sputniks", with triangular, oval shells. Then I switched to snuff bottles. And now it has me so interested that I have made my own collection. Today I have 1200 snuff bottles, there's no seven, eight the same there.
Glassblower, born 1938
Yes, the glassworks that pursues one lifelong. This one has it in the blood. My father has already been a glassblower, then, we were always together to the Schott, in the works there, went as a pair on a moped.
At that time they still needed many young people. Then that was a profession where you said you have a future. This is no longer the case today.
Many of my relatives were Glassblowers - my uncle who used to work in the Regenhütte glassworks, and has also worked for years long at Rosenthal. Then, another uncle of mine - actually half the gang.
Glassblower, born in 1965
Let's follow one of those glasses: It comes out to the cooling conveyor, and there must be a first time look at the glasses. When she sees a mistake she throws it away, for example, if a fleck is in there that breaks at some point and is no good. This we put away, then we gather all the glasses into the wagon until the whole lot from the cooling belt is done.
Where they can take off the caps by hand, it does itself. But most glasses need a machine. Except when they are vases or something like that, she takes the caps off and then into the wagon, and then we continue.
Then, it goes once to the belt sander. And then the glass is washed and rounded at the edge of the mouth - we say "burnt", which is done by different people.
Once it is burnt, it gets looked at. She controls it again. Then it is passed as either first or second quality. Then it is packed.
Unless the glass is still to be engraved and polished. Then the glasses come into a trolley and taken to a certain worker, the engraver or the cutter.
Glass factory worker, born in 1972
I washed glasses and packed those where nothing was wrong with. And I've got for the whole week five Marks. When I've got the money, it came in these small bags, and the fiver was inside that.
For half a year I worked that way, but then I said, now I do not like it any more. Five Marks for a week’s work! My father was horrified, when I said I do not go into the works any more. "I'm not, I've already canceled."
At that time, they couldn't find enough women to employ, it was always changing - in the packing area and the washing area, as well as in the painting studios there have been a bunch of people. Direct from school and into the works, and most worked until their retirement, that’s how it was!
Glass factory worker, born in 1923
