June 02, 2021

The Mind-Blowing Craft Of Glassblowing

The Mind-Blowing Craft Of Glassblowing 

“Beldi” might mean “local” and “of the country” with minor (yet charming!) imperfections — but these hand-crafted pieces of glassware are simply perfect to us.

Outside of Marrakesh lies a factory whose production techniques stretch back decades, where magic happens: old bottles are transformed into fresh beldi glasses and pitchers, and shards of glass become pieces of functional, locally-made artwork. 

Indeed, it was in the 1940s that beldi glass was first created out of recycled glass bottles. The pieces quickly became a Moroccan institution found in just about every home, serving up piping hot tea in stackable glassware that was easily identified by its discrete, hand-crafted imperfections and its characteristic form with a bump-out at the midpoint of the glass, like the lid of our Bedside Carafe.

Last year, we embarked on a partnership to bring this local piece of craftsmanship to our customers. Each piece produced by the factory is mouth-blown by one of their expert staff, and goes through four main phases of production that we’ll delve into a little bit more: reclaiming and recycling; heating; blowing and shaping; and then finishing and cooling. 

Reclaiming & Recycling

The first step in creating beldi glass is gathering the raw materials — the recycled glass — and preparing it to take on its next life. At our partner atelier, they use only locally-sourced bottles gathered from hotels, restaurants, and businesses in Marrakesh. A sorting process separates glass based on type and color, ranging from brown tones (amber glass) from recycled beer bottles, for example, to blue, green, or clear colors from recycled water bottles and other beverages. After being cleaned, the glass is crushed into small pieces called cullet, so that it’s ready to be melted.

Heating

Next up is the heating and melting process, where the glass is placed in a furnace that heats it to a temperature of about 1600°C (a steamy 2900°F) for about 24 hours, where it reaches a gooey consistency — think golden honey. The molten glass takes on a white-hot color at this point, and then is brought down a bit to a working temperature of around 1090°C (2,000°F) — ironically taking on a bright orange color at this cooler stage.

Blowing & Shaping

Okay! Now comes the truly transformational part. A craftsperson takes a hollow metal blowpipe (also called a blow tube) and dips it into the furnace, picking up some molten glass and twisting the blowpipe 360 degrees to obtain an even amount of glass on the end. The blowpipe is specifically designed so that it’s long enough to gather the glass at a safe distance from the furnace, but rigid enough to support the weight of the glass when it’s held horizontally. 

Once the desired quantity of glass has been gathered, the craftsperson will take the blowpipe out of the furnace and roll it on a flat, horizontal surface called a marver to shape the ball of molten glass to a flatter, more oblong form (and to control the temperature of the glass — always a delicate dance!). Next, they’ll blow into the pipe from the other end, creating a bubble that grows with each puff. Keeping the glass at the right temperature is critical along the way, so if it gets too cold, it’s put into a second furnace, called a glory hole, to heat it back up. 

Next up, they’ll give the piece a few more blows or place it into a metal mold that will give it its final shape. An extra puff or two and constant twisting of the blowpipe while the glass is in the mold ensure that the piece has the desired thickness and that it evenly fills all the nooks and crannies of the mold — like the delicate curves at the belly of our Moroccan Decanter.

Finishing & Cooling

Once it's taken out of the mold, the piece is near-complete. Additional elements, like a handle, might be attached or a spout formed for our Moroccan Pitcher. Then, the piece needs to be removed from the pipe and opened up, since it’s still an enclosed vessel — essentially a beautifully-shaped bubble, but not quite a cup or pitcher just yet! Another craftsperson, carefully heating portions of the piece to the right temperature with a gas flame, will use oxygen and a turning machine to cut off one end, creating an open, functional piece of tableware. Any leftovers from the process, like the portion cut off from the vessel, are recycled and go back into the melting pot.

The final step is to cool the glass in its third and final furnace, the annealer. This allows the glass to cool slowly over several hours, which ultimately gives it its strength and resilience so that you can put it in the dishwasher or, in traditional use, for hot liquids like tea. When glass is allowed to cool or heat too quickly, it’s prone to breaking, so this process, while perhaps painstakingly slow, is critical. Like so many good things, we know that it’s worth waiting for!