Blown glass is one of the most famous craft techniques around the world and especially in our country. Throughout the history of Mexico, this technique has been preserved thanks to the generations of glassmakers who continue to work on this ancient art, giving it a modern touch and attached to Mexican traditions.  

Discover in this blog the magic behind blown glass crafts! 

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What is the glass blowing technique? 

The glass blowing technique consists of creating air bubbles in the molten glass mass with the help of a metal tube or straw. Once the bubble is created, the glassmaker proceeds to mold the glass to shape it according to the desired product.  

The creation of blown glass figures consists of several stages to obtain the final product. The first stage involves melting the glass in furnaces at high temperatures to obtain a thick and moldable mass.  

From there, is when the mass is collected with the tube and the artisan is responsible for providing the air blowing through this and inflating the mass. It is worth mentioning that, with the evolution and over the years, many blown glass factories have machinery that is responsible for doing this process in an automated way.  

After obtaining the bubble begins to shape the mass to give the desired shape, this with the help of different types of tweezers and scissors.  

Finally, the blown glass figure is returned to the oven for 8 hours to finish hardening the dough and get a good result.  

Although it reads as something simple, this process really takes a long time of execution to obtain high quality products. 

Learn about the history of hand-blown glass in Mexico.  

This ancient technique is not as such native to our country, because throughout history there have been found traces of the use of blown glass in different civilizations, in fact, it is believed that the oldest vestige dates from the first century BC.  

The overlapping glass came to New Spain in the mid-sixteenth century, settling in Puebla de los Angeles. And although at first the glassblowing factories and establishments for the sale and manufacture of this were managed by European craftsmen, Mexicans began to become increasingly involved in the technique until they became true glassmakers.   

Thanks to this intrusion, glassblowing began to gain even more popularity in Mexico, especially in the central zone, as from Puebla factories began to be established in Mexico City, the State of Mexico, Oaxaca, Aguascalientes, Guadalajara and Tonala, Jalisco, a city considered one of the top manufacturers of this art.  

With the passing of generations and the popularization of glass blowing, Mexican artisans began to capture the cultural richness of our country through the figures, shapes, colors, and symbols they added to their pieces. These pieces began to be sold throughout our country and abroad, positioning glassblowing as one of the most beautiful and representative crafts of our country.  

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Los Cinco Soles, the experts in Mexican handicrafts. 

In Los Cinco Soles we distinguish ourselves for being the maximum reference of traditional Mexican handicrafts in the Yucatan Peninsula. In our stores you will find an endless number of handcrafts made of clay, silver, wood, ceramics, talavera, and of course, hand blown glass.   

Get to know Mexico through its traditions with Los Cinco Soles.