Blow Your Own Crystal Bauble at Cumbria Crystal

About

Our famous glass blowing experiences are back.

Experience first-hand and close up, the extreme temperatures required to transform sand into glass and learn some of the 2000 year old skills first developed by the ancient Romans.

During this experience, you will work one-to-one with a glassblower who will tutor and support you through every step of the creation of your own multi-coloured lead crystal bauble. This is a truly unique and educational experience during where you will work with glass at 1200 degrees centigrade.

 

What happens during the experience?

Your tutor will demonstrate the making of a bauble so you know what to expect and then invite you into the hot seat. You will select the colours you wish to use, and with the assistance of the tutor melt them into the glass on a blowing iron. You will shape the glass using a wooden block before blowing down the iron to create your bauble. You may repeat this process a few times in a special reheating chamber to get it right. Metal hand-tools called jacks are then used to shape the glass & prepare it for separation from the blowing iron. Once separated your tutor will apply a hook, formed from liquid glass, so it can be hung and admired once cooled and taken home.

 

Do I take my bauble home straight away?

Your bauble must cool slowly in an annealing overnight which prevents it from breaking from cooling too quickly. You can usually collect your glass within one to two days, however we are happy to arrange postage if it is not possible for you to return within one week.

 

 

To ensure a safe working environment a maximum of four participants per hour may enter the glassblowing area, with a maximum of four non-participants. When you are not actively blowing you will be seated, enabling you to watch and take photographs in safety. Your hands-on experience will last around 15-20 minutes.

Only one person will blow glass at a time. Your safety is our paramount concern so you will enjoy extremely close supervision & tuition. The minimum age for this experience is 8 years.

 

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