Tag: glass ornament

Free Blown Italian Ornaments … the Magic of Soffieria De Carlini

Flamboyant, whimsical, abstract and timeless; these are the words that describe the mouth-blown character glass ornaments of Soffieria De Carlini. Treasured around the world, the De Carlini workshop near Milan has been producing unique and fanciful creations since 1947.

Indicators of the De Carlini commitment to excellence abound, such as their 10-year dominance as the principal manufacturer of Italian glass ornaments over the huge American market. The talented family was “discovered” in the early 1980s by Wally Bronner, of Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, Michigan. One of America’s largest Christmas retailers, Bronner was captivated by the intricate hand painting of De Carlini’s unique pear shaped ornaments, and he shrewdly decided to import them. An immediate success, the De Carlini reputation was about to grow quickly.

Always a family affair, the De Carlini business has maintained a strong artistic presence since the beginning. Using feathers, lace, ribbons, maribou and glitter to elaborately decorate their mouth-blown characters, they became famous for a unique look in a crowded ornament industry.

Doesn't this finial capture the true spirit of Christmas?
Italian Finial

Today, Rosa De Carlini, her husband Guilio Terruzzi and son Luca run the family workshop.  The trio, as well as staff artisans, creates the fanciful figurals using traditional manufacturing techniques while also embracing 21st century technology. One of the best examples of this is their charming web site, designed to showcase their talents and offer exclusive styles directly to collectors.  Each design is limited to 200 pieces, is hand numbered and personally signed by Rosa De Carlini.

Highly collectible, the De Carlini ornaments produced over 55 years ago are as timeless as today’s styles. The infamous Coco Chanel once said, “In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.”  I think collectors everywhere would agree the De Carlini designs fit this to a tee!

— Susan McCann

The Celebrate365 online store offers a wide selection of free blown Italian ornaments from the De Carlini workshop.  Add at bit of whimsy to your Christmas tree!

Antique Spatterware Christmas Tree Ornament

Antique Spatterware China and the Exclusive Spatterware Ornament
Antique Spatterware China and the Exclusive Spatterware Ornament

Exclusive Design from Artistry of Poland

This item is available exclusively at Celebrate365.com

  • Edition size: 25
  • 3″ ball ornament
  • Handpainted in Poland
  • Comes in a red gift box
  • The perfect gift for the spatterware or antiques collector!

The ornament pays homage to a rare antique ceramic design — spatterware Christmas tree festoon pattern.

Spatterware is a brightly colored tableware made in England for export to the United States and other countries between 1810-1850. It reached its peak between 1830-1840.

Manufactured in England’s fames Stafordshire district, the table ware was considered too gaudy for refined British tastes. It made its way to the Pennsylvania Dutch are where housewives purchased it as every day tableware.

Spattware has a finely sponged or dotted look. The spattering itself was applied in black, blue, brown, green, red, purple and yellow paint. There are over 60 known patterns of decoration, along with many variations, including birds, flowers, buildings, fruits and rainbow colors.

Patterns such as the Christmas Tree are rare. Can’t you almost picture a German-speaking farm family enjoying a wee bit of whimsy with this Christmas china?

For more information about Spatterware and its patterns, please visit these sites:

Mexico’s Day of the Dead Celebration

La Ofrenda Ornament from Artistry of Poland
La Ofrenda Ornament from Artistry of Poland

With its headquarters in the Southwest, it’s no surprise to discover this new addition to Artistry of Poland’s collection. La Ofrenda (The Offering) celebrates Mexico’s unique Day of the Dead customs. Contemporary ornament designs often reflect popular culture and this new piece is an exceptional example.

Adding detail to an ornament

Co-owner Sue Myal of Tucson explains how this ornament came about.

I did spend some time in the Arizona Historical Museum photo archives looking for just the right photo to place on the altar. I decided upon Poncho Villa. To me, his image depicted the perfect Mexican grandpa. We reproduced the photo image here in Tucson, sent it to Poland and the workshop added it to the ornament in Krakow.

On the altar, we depict traditional papel picado (tissue paper cutouts), fruit, tequila, a sugar skull, pan de muerto (bread of the dead) and a metate used to grind corn for tortillas. We also added lots of colorful marigolds. They are always an important part of Dead of the Dead observances.

The back features a beautiful Monarch butterfly. Monarchs fly south to Mexico at the same time each year, arriving at the time of Day of the Dead celebrations. Legends say that the Monarchs are the spirits of the children who have died.

Visit the Artistry of Poland web site.