Description
Blown glass hot air balloons!
We have been creating these specialty ornaments at the Robbins Ranch for almost 25 years! Each blown glass hot air balloon is one of a kind and handmade by the two of us. First, we blow the glass tops from molten clear and concentrated color chips. We carefully lay out the designs on a big steel table and roll the hot glass into it. Then we blow out the balloon shape and place it into an annealing oven to cool overnight. The balloons are removed at room temperature and then ground flat at the break off spot. At this point, we wire wrap and attach a miniature wicker basket to the bottom of the glass. When this step is completed, it’s time for pilot placement. Every balloon needs a pilot to fly safely, so we place a tiny 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 pieces shown here are samples of some of the most popular designs. To see all of our blown glass hot air balloon color options, please refer to the color samples pages on our site. These pages includes a list of all the solid colors, stripes and mixes that we create. You can call us and ask for photos of the hot air balloons we have ready to ship. Mention the colors that you like and we will send images that include those colors. 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. Note, if we are not blowing at the time you contact us, there may be a 3–4 week turn around to create your special order. As soon as we complete it, we will send you a final photo. Then, when you have confirmed you are happy, we will ship it out the next business day.
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 blown glass hot air balloon ornament. But you will only have to purchase this item if we make it to your satisfaction. We always want a happy customer and if you are not completely satisfied, we will keep the balloon and not charge you for it.
If you have additional questions, please email robbinsranch@earthlink.net or call us at 505-832-2272. If you would like to see a little slide show on how we make our blown glass hot air balloons, click here.
