Description
Our blown glass spice jars are all one of a kind, colorful creations that you won’t find anywhere else! We design these pieces with longevity in mind. We blow the glass a bit thicker than some items we make. As a result, these stout little jars are durable enough to use every day. Very handy to keep all your small items, from spices, to jewelry, to desk accessories, you can store almost anything! Some people use them for fresh herbs, paired with one of our blown glass olive oil cruets. Others like to use them with our blown glass soap dispensers, to store cotton balls and cotton swabs. They are also great for small items like paperclips or even coins.
Each blown glass jar is fitted with a 2″ composite cork, keeping the contents completely air tight and secure. Approximate dimensions with the cork inserted is 4”h x 3”w x 3”d. Due to the hand made process, some jars may be slightly larger or smaller. To see a list of colors visit our color samples section of this website. In addition, you can view the jars in stock we have posted in our Etsy store. We hope our bright and whimsical designs bright color and happiness to your home!
Gathering the glass
Dipping a blow pipe into a tank of molten glass, we gather clear glass on the end. Carefully, we bring the gather to a steel tabletop and roll the end of the pipe across a pile of concentrated glass color chips. We melt the color chips onto the surface of the clear. Next, we shape the gather by using wood blocks that look like giant soup spoons soaked in water. The block cradles the end of the pipe and forms this hot molten blob into a ball shape. With a few rolls of the end of the pipe into the spoon shaped block, we are able to compress the color chips into the surface of the clear.
Making the designs
Next we manipulate the color pattern with a little bit of a twist. With pointed tweezers we pinch and turn the color blob to create a spiral patterns on the surface. Then we reheat the gather and block the shape again, compressing it back into a ball. Now it’s time to start an internal bubble and begin to blow out the form. Back back to the oven for one more heat. Every time we blow out a shape, there has to be a reheat in between each time we blow. As the piece gets larger, it is manipulated with tools and shaped into a jar that looks a little like a fig shape. This form however will not stay like a fig. It will get opened up to accept a cork, but not until it has been transferred to another pipe. The top of the piece will become the bottom, and the bottom will become the top.
Time to transfer
Once we have a form blown out we like, we take a solid metal pipe with a tiny bit of hot clear on the end, over to the end of the glass jar. We quickly stick it to the end of the piece. After chilling the neck on the blow pipe with water, we will attempt to release it. Whack…we break the glass off the end of the blowpipe and now the jar is attached to the solid metal rod. Time to reheat the jar again and open up the top to accept a cork.
Cooling and completing
After we get the opening just right to receive a cork, we break the glass jar off of the end of the solid pipe and place it into an oven to cool down to room temperature. We keep the jars overnight in the oven for a very slow cooling with a computer monitoring the temperature. The next day we remove the spice jars from the oven and place them on a table to complete. After a couple days, we grind and level each piece properly and seat a cork into the opening. Then we clean, price and pack each piece, ready to sell. We hope you enjoy the colors!
