Our story
KLIMCHI’s heart and soul is dedicated to handcrafting beautiful glassware for the moments in life we want to hold onto. The breath-taking. The heartbreaking. The astonishing. The beautiful. As we imbue our designs with a curiosity and passion for life, our vision is to create contemporary glass art that will become part of your own story.
KLIMCHI STUDIO
Nestled in the ‘Crystal Valley’ mountain region of the Czech Republic, the kilns of KLIMCHI studios have been used by glass artisans to sculpt bohemian crystal since 1905. It was then 2019 when entrepreneur Lukas Klimcak brought new life to the workshops. Inspired by the dramatic landscape of the region, Lukas and his new team now bring an exciting and youthful vision to his family’s tradition of handmade glass production.
Since 2020, KLIMCHI has fast become known across the globe for its exclusive and dynamic collections, created under the guidance of creative director Frantisek Jungvirt. A renowned glass artist, Frantisek has pushed KLIMCHI’s designs to rediscover and popularise techniques that have been forgotten, inspiring a new generation of art lovers and designers. Thus, the ancient art of glass blowing and historical decors tell a new story of the young KLIMCHI brand with minimalist modern design and dynamic pigments.
THE ROOTS FROM WHICH WE GROW
Since the founding of our factory, all KLIMCHI glassware is hand-produced in the Bohemian city of Kamenicky Senov, a place widely revered as the cradle of world-renowned glass manufacture. Bohemian crystal ensures a hallmark of quality and glass artisanship hard to find anywhere else.
We like to stand tall and strong on our principles; creating timeless pieces of outstanding quality in close cooperation with glass artisans.“The history of Czech glassmaking runs deep and I like the feeling that we are continuing its legacy. For me, it was very important for KLIMCHI to be strongly connected with the roots and spirit of its home, the people and their craft.” – Lukas Klimcak, owner of KLIMCHI.
Lukas Klimcak, founder of KLIMCHI, and Frantisek Jungvirt, KLIMCHI's Creative Director
THE TRADITION OF THE GLASS ARTISAN
We are not interested in saving time through commercial machine manufacture. We believe that the time we spend with each piece and the years of knowledge invested into every curve tells a deeper story. In order to handcraft a piece of KLIMCHI glassware, our glassblowers can take up to 3 days from start to finish, using the techniques carried down the generations.
First, glass is blown into hand-shaped metal moulds to imprint the finer details before being blown into a wooden mould to give the overall shape to the piece. Handles and other small decorations are hand sculptured and attached whilst the glass is still hot. Next, other companies will usually spray the glass with colour after the blowing, but instead our craftsmen blend the colour pigments into the melting process, embedding the colour deep within the glass itself. The difference in the finished glassware is evident in KLIMCHI’s signature use of rich and effervescent shades of deep violet, crystalline rose and glistening aquamarine, to name only a few. Finally, once the piece is perfected in our cold-working studio, the KLIMCHI mark is engraved onto the base so you can always recognise a KLIMCHI original.
HANDMADE GLASS EARNS UNESCO RECOGNITION
Traditional techniques of glassmaking celebrate a great success. In early December 2023, the handmade glass production was inscribed on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list. We are proud to be part of such a historic moment that will significantly contribute to raising awareness of Czech glassmaking art worldwide.