Just back from a whirlwind trip to Prague and the glass museums in the country side.Just beyond all my expectations all that magnificent glass showcased in places that are hours outside Prague which i feel is a great pity as many people would not travel that far in two different directions.The kindest man i have met in years schlepted me to the well know museums such as ....
Museum of glass and Jewellery in Jablonec....Museum Zelezny Brod...Glass Museum Harrachov...and then discovered a stunning little workshop that specializes in minatures and loads upon loads of beads.Watching a young lady do her thing and although repetitive they all turned out perfect and i felt i wanted to buy it all and here i must say that the price was next to nothing.
We were then referred to another man who did glass figures to order and he would whip up a figure for u in a matter of hours and they were just amazing...not cheap but then its a one off if its your own idea.
So Jindrich drove me from end to end at speeds that would have most people pee in their pants but i hung in there so that i could experience first hand all this manificent glass going back many many years to present day designs.Vizner was well represented and I was rather thrilled to see close up these clean timeless pieces that are so highly sought after....makes one drool...and then a flick of the head and carried on with what i had set out to do....take photograps if possible...to my graet surprise each museum kindly gave us permission and i took over 700 photographs showing the entire collections...so time for others to drool.(hehe)
At one museum we met the director who took time with us answering questions and he has a new book out...its in Czech language only...sadly ...but a stunner! He has a Phd and handed a copy over as a gift.
Such wonderful people all in all and very kind indeed.On the way back from one museum i was shown where Mr.Vizner lives and whilst driving through his village we stopped at a secondhand shop....and guess what...i found this great piece by the master himself...costing a pittance...ironic that i would find one of his great designs in his village !! Shocking he would say but hey i was lucky as Jindrich made a beeline for some other glass and i was able to discover this piece on another shelf.

So came back home loaded up with designer glass.....some not that cheap but then again find another piece.Visit my reference library which displays Designer Bohemian pressed glass which is so exciting with exoctic shapes and brilliant colors
library
How much of Prague did i get to see...very little in fact but then again the square was most important where i took these pictures.....


Oh and a warning should u need a loo in central Prague....make a beeline for a hotel or restaurant as the public facilities are the remnants of the communist era and so are the staff.....screaming grumpy and down right rude and here i must add it was at least clean...before u enter the loo be sure to check for loo paper as this hangs outside her glass cabin and should u take too much she yells at you.
A wench from hell ...but as she did not understand English i kindly told her to sit down relax and have another Vodka.
Its great to be back home in the land of mountains chocolates and good food.So the quest has been extended and a new venture in hot worked pieces will also be collected and at a later stage i will form a directory of the found pieces which i hope will delight and tittilate all interested parties.
If you are looking for something special drop us a line and we wil search for you and perhaps you would like to visit our shop which is in Saas Graubuden which is loaded with treasures from around the world.
Have fun.
shop

After 4 years of collecting Fat Lava German ceramics i have now decided to move on and have another pet collection and have decided to sell my collection of over 1500 pieces as a collection.Included in this collection one will find a huge cross section of all the factories
that produced these colorful pieces and some rather rare pieces.
Ruscha/ Dumler Breiden / Scheurich make up a large part of the collection and the majority is in very good condition with few having tiny chips as in general i never bought damage goods unless the item was rather rare to find.
Vases / plates / bowls etc form the basis of the collection.Together with this there is a large amount of 1950 vases ranging from small to large in the most bizarre patterns and a delight to have.
I am looking for a reasonable offer that could be negotiated and all one would need is a large truck to take it all away and i would gaurentee the buyer would do well making handsome profits.
The entire collection is situated in Switzerland and can be viewed anytime.Email pics are also available.
So looking forward to hearing from all interested parties.

A year has nearly flown by and it has been an amazing ride as i scoured the land for designer examples of Czech glass.Here i must add that i have also put together a lot of tableware...ie..sets of 6 of each plates/bowls/3 divisional bowls and all the rest that goes with tableware except for the cutlery side.Candlesticks galore butter & cheese dishes waterjugs and yeah wait for it....Vases...and more Vases
Imelda Marcus thought she had a thing with shoes...well now the secret is out all my friends...HOWL ...with laughter when they see my collection and a new nick name is given...but i am hush about that!
There is so much i still need to find but where will i store it all...help!
The colors strike a stunning display with all the vases and various items ...remembering that it dates back to the early thirties and the designs are still so modern and pleasing.
The more common designs.....many produced...still pop up from time to time and i have found that more and more dealers now know pretty well what price to ask.So lucky me that i started early and have all those examples and most reasonable prices.Remember i had mentioned in one of my earlier blogs that this will be the collectors dream at affordable price whilst enjoying the designs and their structures.
The decorative plates are one of my favorites......reference library
So i hope u browse through and see if grandmama has somethin similar tucked away in the bottom of her kitchen cupboard.

After skipping going to the Jazz festival last year due to the big increase in ticket prices,this year i wanted to experience Miss Grace Jones live and off we went.The cost per ticket being Sfr90.00 per person which i thought ok ......a special treat.
Why a disaster u may ask....let me describe what we had experienced...on arrival in the main entrance a change from previous vists there was a live show right there which certainly did give an instant atmosphere and lots of people standing listening...first get your bangle so that there is no long wait at the last moment and i must say that the group of young people this year were proficient and polite.
Next to have a quick smoke we went out on the terrace and that had also changed having seating to the right filled with bodies and to the left a narrow run also fitted with seating and every available seat occupied...looking over the terrace there we saw a sea of people and we thought oh this is going to be hell even to get a drink let alone something to eat.Down the many wooden steps we went and just there was a pancake stand doing large pancakes stuffed with various delicious goodies...so we stood and waited to be served and lo and behold we experienced excellent service and great ...once again...young staff.There was no going further as the mass of people was too much of an effort and besides the concert would start at 8pm with a supporting group who always open for Miss Jones.
Friends had taken up positions at 7.30 and were right in front and we ambled in at 8.10 where we found the room ¾ full and the stage set at an odd angle with two screens on either side.
Miss Jones was to take to the stage at 10.pm so just before that we went in search for a drink and a smoke although smoking was allowed inside the venue we rather went outside as my friend had his T-Shirt burnt and i had a burn on the arm.
On returning to the room we noticed that there were so many more people and we squeezed our way to more or less the middle and that seemed very rude to those who stood their ground...well we all paid the same price so make best of whats there.The star was due at 10pm and at 20 mins past Miss Jones,who is famous for keeping here paying guests waiting made her appearance dressed in a somewhat revealing outfit with what one has been come to expect space age hat.
Her voice was great and the music as one knows of Miss Jones.Second song came with a black out first and a few words from her in the dark and voila there she was changed into another outfit with a different hat.The outfit looked like a g-string covering her cabbage patch which i thought was a disappointment for me as i was experiencing an older woman...sure she must be 60 something and then when she turned around we saw her bare butt!!Why with the great voice and music all this.
Each song brought on a new outfit with a hat...fashion show...waiting to see what she would be wearing next.The mirror ball hat was a sensation but after that we decided that was enough as by this time we were being shoved by the hundreds more pushing to get in and the room was full of smoke.It was at this stage that i said i am out of here as should there be a fire we are toast.
Why so many people ,well all those that have special passes as they work for little apparently and may visit any event free of charge and this bore out the fact that there were a LOT of people wearing their special badges.
As one exists the double doors u are faced with ...what looks like..cattle rails which stand on four protruding feet...i happened to trip over the second one...what a laugh!We took up a position on the staircase to the left with many others sitting on the same and watched as more people squeezed into the venue with space left for another 30 .This is where i become rather concerned and ahead of us was and exit door with a step up..the first rather deep and then a smaller one and this led onto the balcony and here people were coming and going in both directions.We ventured to the balcony to get a drink and what a shock there were thousands of people everywhere and as we proceeded down the narrow passage the girls ahead of us fell and when we got to that spot we noticed that there were three large plastic dustbins which caused the trip...here the coming and going was restricted to one way traffic so we had to wait our turn to pass this deadly trap.Drink in hand we went back to the inside staircase as there was just no room outside...unless of course we went down to the bottom where a stream of people were milling about.
Then we waited for the concert to finish as we wanted to chat to friends and merely watched how this room would empty .They came out rather ark like two by two.....so imagine if there was a stampede...with only one personnel on the gate!In the case of emergence exit up those dangerous stairs to the balcony or up the stairs to the main exit and this is where i thought enough people on that staircase in a panic and we would have a picture of...Dante`s Inferno.Mangled bodies as each trampled the next.
So after 30 mins we left and at the top of the staircase there was the fire department kiosk with three personel.I decided to ask(do u speak English and he replied also French and what ever language) why so many people were allowed to cram into the venue and at what risk should there be a fire.
He simply looked at me and said ...Yes..i then said should i write to someone and he said....Yes write.Should he care........ there was no fire!
So this will be my last visit to a wonderful Festival as why should i pay for high risk with little control as to how many people are allowed in the venue.I guess they will tell me to read the small print:HUH!!!
This would have made some reporter very famous with true Pictures not only of the crush possibilties but the amazing collage of a colorful people at their best...buzzed up to have a good time dressed in what every which way and those falling about from whatever and with wide glazed over eyes.Best seller headed....A Day in the Life Of the Jazz Festival.

Jazz Fesitval

This particular plate design caught my fancy when i first saw it in The Book..see link right.
On my travels far and wide i found everything else bar for this plate and that annoyed me as i had thought well it was only 1990...not so long ago...so there should be one around.
The first one in colorless glass was found in a shop that i frequent weekly and i was rather delighted...then on my way the following week at another far out place was a super light blue one starring me in the face and i could just not believe the good fortunes and had a rather special feeling as all those that collect donot have examples...that i know of.Three weeks later lo and behold i find a striking electric blue one on the bottom shelf of the shop where by the way i bought my first piece of designer Sklo Union....and a whoop of delight i had it tucked under my arm and could not wait to get home and give it a good wash.
This last week i took some time off to rest and had quite a lot on my mind not to mention that i did not go out shopping the whole week....torture...so today i had a feeling to visit a store that i seldom drive past but had this feeling of finding something special...perhaps a little intuition one could say....and there again on the bottom shelf under a pile of three plates this one jumped out at me....and with a whoop of delight i snatched it up...such a reasonable price on top of it...and made my way home with a broad grin.


What is it that delights me so much with this design i really have no idea....until later i smiled to myself and thought perhaps its the knot...being tied up...fantasy perhaps but never been down that road although it has had a twinge of interest of late.
So here i present my latest find a Rose Pink String plate giving me four examples in four different colors...just great.Would love to find one in a striking green but not sure whether that exists....only time will tell.
As the site is growing daily there is a lot to be seen and these are all the examples i have found thus far..Reference Guide