Description
Blown glass hot air balloons!
Our blown glass hot air balloons are one of a kind and handmade by the two of us. We have been making these specialty ornaments at the Robbins Ranch for almost 25 years! We blow the balloon from a gather of molten clear glass and add to it concentrated color chips. Carefully laying out the designs on a big steel table, we roll the hot glass into the different color mixes. After shaping the gather of glass, we blow out the balloon top and place it into an annealing oven to cool overnight. Once cooled, the balloons are removed from the oven and ground flat at the break off spot. We then wire wrap and attach a miniature wicker basket to the bottom to represent the gondola. When this step is completed, it’s time for pilot placement. Every balloon needs a pilot to fly safely, so we place a tiny little worry doll into the basket before we send it on its way. Its quite a process, but we wouldn’t have it any other way!
You have choices…
The balloons shown here are samples of our most popular designs. You can call us and ask for photos of the hot air balloons we have in stock, ready to ship. Mention the colors that you like and we will send images for you to pick from. If we don’t have them, you can special order your balloon and we will make it for you the next time we blow glass. As soon as we complete it, we will send you a photo. Then, when you confirm you are happy with it, we will call you for payment and ship it out the next business day. To see all of our color options, please refer to the color samples on this site. These include a list of all the solid colors, stripes and mixes that we create.
Replicas too!
Need a miniature replica of a real hot air balloon? Feel free to send us a photo for review. If its a fairly simple design, we will do our best to make it in blown glass. Note these special ornaments require extra consultation time and materials. There will be an additional fee for us to create a replica, but you will only have to purchase this item if we make it to your satisfaction. If you are not completely satisfied, we will keep the balloon and not charge you for it.
Please email robbinsranch@earthlink.net or call us at 505-832-2272, If you have additional questions about our blown glass hot air balloons. To see a little slide show on the process of creating these, click here.
