Topic: Swedish Glass in 2012

[Bill G]

The radio announced today December 11, 2012 a surviving glass studio in Sweden has gone bankrupt.
Bergdala-Strömbergshyttan has left the scene and now there remains a few glass
works in studio.
It is a sad day for me to slowly watch the death of a cultural tradition in my adopted country Sweden.
Bill Geary

[kisslikeether]

 

[chopin-liszt]

All we'll have left soon is one massive supermarket.

It's appalling, I'm really sorry to hear this, Bill.

[a40ty]

Oh no, this is terrible     Yet another  in a long line of closures.
OH and I have, for 20 years, driven over to Småland to visit all the glass studios; not necessarily to buy anything, more to see what was on the pipe. When we first started, our trips were meticulously planned in order to pack in as many studios as possible. It used to take us 3 glorious, inspiring days. Sometimes we went twice a year.
Now we can do the trip in one day and it is heartbreaking to drive through the villages and see old, familiar workshops closed and lifeless. It's so sad.

[Fuhrman Glass]

Oh no, this is terrible     Yet another  in a long line of closures.
OH and I have, for 20 years, driven over to Småland to visit all the glass studios; not necessarily to buy anything, more to see what was on the pipe. When we first started, our trips were meticulously planned in order to pack in as many studios as possible. It used to take us 3 glorious, inspiring days. Sometimes we went twice a year.
Now we can do the trip in one day and it is heartbreaking to drive through the villages and see old, familiar workshops closed and lifeless. It's so sad.

That's the problem, everyone went to see but no one bought anything and it is all dying. People have less desire to own something but have the desire to experience something. I'm having a lot more people want to do classes than I have people wanting to buy merchandise. The times are still a changing!
I see few people here that buy from studios or the few factories that remain. Most are buying at boot sales and thrift shops and that does nothing to continue the existence of handmade glass. Don't complain about the disappearance of the craft if we all don't support it.