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Orrefors |
Sweden, with its vast untouched forests and crystal-clear lakes, is renowned throughout the world for its beautiful art glass. In the southern part of the country in particular, in the heart of an area aptly known as the Kingdom of Crystal, the many glassworks lie almost within shouting distance of each other. And Orrefors, whose traditions of fine glass manufacture stretch back to the last century, is universally acclaimed as being their leader. The Orrefors glassworks lies deep in the forests of Smaland yet this has not prevented Orrefors from attracting a team of artists and craftsmen whose skills are second to none in the production of glass of superlative quality. Even in its early years, the company sought the services of the best artists of the day. Simon Gate and Edward Hald are two prime examples. They worked alongside the skilled blowers, engravers and cutters who had been employed by a competent and farsighted management and all were given free rein to exercise their artistry and skills more or less as they chose. It was this conscious striving towards quality and artistic excellence that laid the foundations of Orrefors as we know it today. Orrefors has made major contributions to the history of glass. Its designs, translated into glass, that most delicate of materials, are uniquely its own. To own a piece of Orrefors glass is to look forward to enduring aesthetic pleasure.
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