Topic: Blue vase with dots, czech?

[robert1960]

Ikea likes to borrow Scandinavian design elements

IKEA is a Scandinavian company that employs mainly Scandinavian designers, so they're not strictly 'borrowing' 

[astrid]

IKEA is a Scandinavian company that employs mainly Scandinavian designers, so they're not strictly 'borrowing' 

Ah, OK. What I mean is that Ikea glass design frequently falls back on designs that have been put on the market decades earlier by Scandinavian glass companies. And if the original designer or his heirs are compensated for that in any way, I haven't read about it...

Astrid

[Jindra8526]

Well Mike,
We are trying to discover what has happened with Czech glass industry in 90ties and the explanation or solution of this issue is not unambiguous and easy.

In 1990/91 all Czechoslovakian industry previously fully owned by state was subject of restitution and privatization. Huge concern of Crystalex was divided into several corporations, same has happened with Sklo Union and other factories. Restituted it means given back to former owners was only glasswork in Skrdlovice - Beranek glassworks you have remembered. Privatized was also trade organization Glassexport.
The privatization was made by so called "coupon method", each adult Czechoslovakian citizen had got exact amount of coupons that he could exchange for shares in any corporation just according his wish. This environment was exploited by several groups of financiers who founded many investment funds, bought shares from individuals and got corporations under their control.
It has to be remembered that these people were financiers (mostly with communistic or secret police past) not managers or experts for glass industry.

Their aim was not to produce glass but money and as soon as possible. With many legal or not legal tricks that management led out the money from corporations to their private companies or accounts. It has happened to Glassexport, so very fast glass producers had lost their markets abroad, the trade contacts and links were broken. Because of collapse of Soviet Union also our glass producers simultaneously lost their big customer who had bought almost all production in past.

Former state organizations like Crystalex owned not only the glass factories but also many other properties like recreational centers in mountains or hotels in attractive locations, plots and land. The value of such properties was sometimes bigger than value of glass-shop; we must not forget that aim was to get money asap, not to establish long term profitable glass production.

Because glass producing was very traditional and profitable in past, it was not difficult to get bank credits.  Borrowed money was not invested to glass production but again, tricky led out from privatized corporations to private accounts of management.

Later, when nothing to steal more persists, the insolvency and bankruptcy was was declared.

So it was not incompetence of management but they had rather another business plan how to get money for themselves. This plan did not consider to produce good glass.

Jindrich
www.webareal.cz/ceskoslovenskesklo

[glassobsessed]

All the more reason for proper regulation and the rule of law, providing an environment that suits only the sharks leads to destruction.

And if the original designer or his heirs are compensated for that in any way, I haven't read about it...

Those designers probably 'borrowed' from (inspired by) the designers and their work that came before. They had built their work on the ideas of their predecessors and so it continues..... The vast majority of design is a chain, a process of refinement, a truly original idea is rare.

John

[scimiman]

Hi Jindrich
My original statement still stands (Once the government took away all the subsides they used to give all the Glass factories they just couldn't survive)
that as a State owned business it was well subsidised by the State but once all State subsidies were taken away in this case by privatisation they like business all over the world just could not survive in the privates sector.
I just didn't put the detail in.
I am still of the opinion that this is Berenek.
Regards Mike

[scimiman]

Hi Astrid. Here is a link to the designers that worked at Beranek.
http://www.beranekglass.com/default.aspx?menu_level=3&subMenu_level=8&lang=EN&maxpage_=0

I would love to spend time going through as I love to see what those wonderful Master Glass Blowers came up with. My son is getting married this weekend and as you can imagine that despite having everting planned down to the last detail there are still a million and one things to do most of which I pointed out months ago.
Regards Mike

[astrid]

I have now seen a few of these type of Beranek pieces 'live' at the Leerdam Glasbeurs, but while the designs indeed look similar, I have to conclude that the Beranek pieces are of a far better quality than my piece.

Having talked to a stand holder that sold Czech glass, and had pieces with cut out little lenses that he said were of small glass companies who sort of followed earlier designs by other companies, I think this vase may be something similar: a cheaper produced item by a smaller glassworks,  following the style set by Beranek.

Astrid

[Jindra8526]

Mike, expecially in case of Beranek the state role was minimal.
Vlastimil Beranek - grandson of founder of Skrdlovice glasswork Emanuel Beranek has got the fully equiped and modern factory with production program with pieces of the best Czech designers in restitution. The "privatisation" issues that I mentioned above, could not be applied there.

The collaps of Beranek's factory I see in mistakes in managing of factory and investing the profit from good years to private benefits rather to saves for bad years. Note please, that former director of Skrdlovice - Jaroslav Svoboda - did build hsi glasshop few miles from Skrdlovice in same year when Beranek has got his heritage back, and Svoboda is still running his factory. The fabrication program is almost same.

I have spent many hours with speaking with former workers and designers of Skrdlovice glasswork and their opinion about the reason of Beranek colapse is unique.

Well, this piece could be made in Beranek glassworks, but I have no evidence that it was made there. It is not in pattern books nor in catalogues, I have not seen this model here. Single colour of piece would lead me to suspiction that if Czech, than manufacture in some small, as we say "garage" glassworks with single pan furnace.

Jindrich
www.webareal.cz/ceskloslovenskesklo

[scimiman]

Jindrich
The very fact that Beranek was state run would mean that it wasted money hand over fist and was run poorly.
Every state run business I have ever heard of is always top heavy with pen pushers and is constantly in need of funds.

You can always pick the bones over and say well this one was different because of this or that but the main underlying problem with any state run business is that it will hemorrhage money and once the state stops giving then the whole thing collapses like a pack of cards.
So I go back to my original statement being correct.
I went to the Beranek factory on many occasions and saw what went on, there was absolutely no way it could have survived by standing on its own two feet.
Great shame because the glass that came out was of the highest quality and I loved it.
Mike

[Jindra8526]

Again, it has nothing to do with state, Mike.
The example of AGS Svoboda is clear proof that the colapse of Beranek was not caused by lack of state funds but poor management of factory.

My oppinion is that generaly state owned factories work worse and not economicaly. Czechoslovak and later Czech republic situation was specific becouse we had to transfer from state owned form of busines to private busines. Some companies like Beranek failed, another had been created.
The crisis of glass industry that has appeared two years ago did shake with many glass factories in whole Europe.
I hope that we will recover it back and to again better quility as in many times in past.

Jindrich
www.webareal.cz/ceskoslovenskesklo