Of all the symbols we associate with the Christmas season, the Christmas tree ornament is one of the most special. Whether simply adorned, handmade, or ornately designed, an ornament can commemorate one of life’s important milestones. It can memorialize a fun vacation or a cherished pet. An ornament can celebrate an achievement, a talent, a hobby, or another year successfully completed. Ornaments can do all of these things and more – which is what makes them such personal gifts and cherished collectibles too.
This year, in The Ornament Shop, we’re excited to share an expanded selection of unique and often irresistible glass-blown ornaments for you to share with those you love – or add to your own growing collection.
Christopher Radko
Many years ago, the Radko family was startled awake in the night by a terrible sound. Their Christmas tree had toppled to the ground, smashing over a thousand vintage, hand-blown glass ornaments. These were priceless family heirlooms, collected and treasured over the years. Devastated, Christopher Radko set out to replace them, but nothing he could find matched the quality workmanship and meticulous attention to detail that characterized his family’s cherished ornaments. So the only thing left to do was to find a way to make them again. Christopher sought the help of a Polish glassblower who combined his own amazing skill with Christopher’s memories to recreate as many of the precious ornaments as he could. And that, it turns out, was just the beginning.
Today, the skilled artisans at Christopher Radko – now the fine Polish glass ornament company – still meticulously handcraft every ornament they create. Sculpting the original mold, hand-blowing the glass, and hand-painting each piece, every ornament is an individual labor of love. From gingerbread houses to jolly Santas, from breathtaking carousel horses to a Beatles tribute, and from this year’s Designer’s Choice selection to those adorable Little Gems, the Radko team’s painstaking dedication to perfection shines through in the tiniest detail on each exquisite ornament.
Joy to the World
The master artisans at European ornament maker Joy to the World take pride in their refusal to buy into the mass produced, more-is-better approach to production that the world has come to expect. Each of their intricate glass-blown ornaments is expertly created, one-by-one, with the skill, precision, and dedication to a craft handed down and perfected over generations.
Every piece starts as an individual clay sculpture – perfect in detail and a little work of art on its own. At the foundry, the sculpture is used to create a mold that – with the glassblower’s skill – passes each fine detail of the original sculpture on to the finished glass ornament. Next, a painter carefully brings each piece to life in colorful detail, followed by a hand-glittering process that brings out the sparkle.
In The Ornament Shop, we’ve chosen to highlight The Pet Set – Joy to the World’s amazing collection dedicated to those furry family members, our beloved dogs. Chihuahua, Great Dane, poodle, labradoodle, dachshund, schnauzer, pug, bulldog, and so many more – each ornament captures the spirit and personality of its breed in delightful detail. You’ll find a few cats in the mix too.
Specialty Glass Ornaments from Poland
The art of creating hand-blown glass ornaments originated in Germany in the mid-1840’s. At first, each delicate ornament was free-blown – crafted individually by twisting and stretching semi-molten glass in mid-air over an incredibly hot flame. Each free-blown ornament was a finely crafted, one-of-a-kind piece that could never be truly replicated. As the demand for hand-blown glass ornaments grew however, the use of molds became popular as another option to create them. A mold allowed the artisan to create multiples of each design, each with the same intricate details.
In our collection of specialty glass ornaments from Poland, you’ll find examples of both methods. Some pieces are free-blown – like the exquisite chameleon in the Midnight Garden collection, the bird dome in Winter Aviary, the hummingbird dome in the Enchanted Forest, and the reindeer head in Santa + Friends. Most others are hand-blown into molds with all their fine detail.
Free blown or molded, each specialty Polish glass ornament in The Ornament Shop is a delight to give as a gift or enjoy year after year on your own tree. With so many traditional and iconic designs to choose from – Santas, reindeer, toys, animals, decorated eggs, and more – the selection seems almost endless. And be sure to check out the green Dodge St. sign – created just for us by a specialty maker in Poland.
Celebrate, Commemorate, Cherish + Collect
Who knew the ubiquitous Christmas ornament could do so much to make this season special for so many of us. Come visit The Ornament Shop and take a walk through our collection of European, glass ornaments to find the perfect gift or add one to your own collection. Looking for something specific? Just ask – we’ll be so glad to help you find exactly the right one.
