Cristalino

Mexico has a long and esteemed history in glass dating back to the first half of the 16th century. It was actually the first country in the Americas to be introduced to the magic of hot glass by the Spanish !

These days however, it’s probably most recognized for its celebrated recycled tableware, lighting and bottles, blown and finished by hand – sometimes clear, often brightly colored, but always bubbly.

The process to make a hand blown lamp begins with a tank of molten glass maintained at a constant temperature of around 2000 degrees Fahrenheit (1100 degrees Celsius). Our lamps are made with a team of dedicated craftsman working in the tradition of hand made glass.

Little has changed in the hand making process in the last 500 years, the tools are the same and methods and knowhow are still as they were, shared amongst colleagues and handed down from generation to generation. The process begins with a glassmaker dipping a blowpipe into the furnace and gently “gathering” a small amount of glass onto the tip of the pipe. Taking the precaution to keep the material on centre a small bubble is placed in the glass, this process is repeated over and over gradually building the mass of glass until the desired amount is reached. Using a combination of breath, dexterity, gravity and select heating a form comes to life, through skilled manipulation and assistance from the team of glass makers the piece is handed back and forth, worked, heated and re-worked, until finally a hand blown Luminosa ™ pendant light comes to life