Producer of the Year
Sklárna Harrachov
Although the family glass factory in Harrachov has been operating for 313 years – making it the oldest still-working glass factory in Czechia – last year was one of the most momentous in decades. The Novosad family has been directing the glassworks since 1993, and they’ve decided to take on board the experienced designers Marcel and Eva Mochal of LLEV studio, who became the Heads of Design and set about dusting off the glassworks’ fading glory and reestablishing it on the Czech market. So far, the glass factory has mostly worked exclusively on commission work for foreign clients, mostly those from Italy, France or Germany, and the current director and owner Petr Novosad decided to onboard the designers with the aim to support in-house production and bring Harrachov glass back onto Czech tables.
The designer tandem, which has collaborated in the past with producers like Jika and Lasvit, decided to first revamp some of the older collections in the Harrachov glass factory’s portfolio. Some of them – for example those originally designed by Milan Metelák and Ivana Müllerová – were given a new and modern coat by LLEV along with a more contemporary morphology. As part of their collaboration, the duo also brought to table their own original collections: Hush, Dot and Honey. This earned them the Impact Award at Designblok and the nomination for the Best Launched Product by Producer (awarded to the Honey collection). Harrachov’s Heads of Design thus built the brand’s new visual and production identity on three pillars: colored glass, the legacy of handcraft and innovation. All these aspects also impact the new collections – Honey for example works with a traditional cup and glass shape which can only be molded by hand, as well as using topaz-colored glass.
The revived Harrachov glass factory, however, doesn’t aim to focus only on the Czech market. This year, it is planning a presentation in Tokyo, will be featured at the Osaka Expo, the Ambiente convention in Frankfurt, and will present a pop-up presentation at Milan’s famous Salone del Mobile.
Petra Cieslar