03/07/2026
Lauscha glass!
This style of glass is specific to the city of Lauscha and nearby areas in the German state of Thuringen. It has a wild origin story and it starts with Christmas trees!
First off, did you know that the Christmas tree originates as a German tradition? Also, did you know that well into the 1800's people were still decorating them with nuts, apples and lit candles?
Well that all changed abruptly in 1847 because of a famine: apples and nuts were way to expensive to put on trees, so a glass maker in Lauscha by the name Hans Greiner had the idea to make some ornaments out of glass.
The Christmas tree tradition by that time was already spreading throughout Europe thanks to the relations between royal families and just one year later queen Victoria of England (who had caught wind of this new product) had some glass ornaments sent from Lauscha to decorate her own tree. A new tradition was established.
The manufacturing technique is s called lamp work: a glass tube is heated under a torch and then worked by hand or blow-molded. Some glass makers in Lauscha still keep this tradition alive today!
But there was a huge "hickup" after WWII: Lauscha became part of East Germany and new laws banned the production or Christmas ornaments. During this time the advancements in technology made in other parts of the world (USA first and then China) permanently took Lauscha off the map of Christmas ornament mass production.
But in this very period the glass makers from Thuringen developed new products and new styles to stay in business: these are the small vases, candle sticks and free-standing sculptural pieces that All'Origine selects! Many of them have a very 1960's space age look. Their aesthetic was absolutely cutting edge in its time and era-defining today.
These pieces were all made using the same techniques previously adopted for Christmas ornaments. They became very popular and really helped save the glass industry in Lauscha.
Oh, they came in many colors by the way, not just blue. I think we were a bit too focused on the darts when we made this set and didn't really choose our most representative pieces 😅
Picture by Luciano Paselli