Orrefors Intermezzo Blue Drop Glass Ornament

Adding a lovely shock of color to the holiday tree, the Intermezzo Blue drop glass showcases a deep cobalt blue teardrop magically floating at the bottom of the ornament. Created by designer Erika Lagerbielke, Intermezzo is one of Orrefors's most popular collections and has received an International Tabletop Award. Handcrafted from lead-free crystal, the lovely 4-inch-wide ornament floats upon a Christmas tree branch, beautifully reflecting the light, and adding a unique quality to the holiday season. Orrefors recommends washing all fine crystal by hand to preserve the quality and brilliance and prevent chipping. --Lea Werbel

From the Manufacturer

About the Designer

After studies in industrial design at the College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm, Erika Lagerbielke, born in 1960, brought her special talents to Orrefors in 1982. Now, for two decades, she has designed glass for Orrefors that has won praise from critics and customers alike. Among her major artistic successes are her Intermezzo, Merlot, and Difference tableware, which have all won an Excellent Swedish Design award. Intermezzo has also received an International Tabletop Award and is one of Orrefors's best-selling services. Color and cut detail are characteristic of Erika Lagerbielke's design, both in art glass and in the pieces she produces for the Orrefors collection. Her track record lists such classics as Lancelot, Zodiak, and Rosebud. Of her newest products, Ceremony, a set of festive glasses with prodigiously long stems, is especially worthy of note.

About Orrefors

Around the world Orrefors is associated with unique glass articles, art glass, and custom glass that all add beauty to our everyday life. Together with its skillful designers, Orrefors presents a new collection of glass every spring and autumn. Orrefors art glass is always produced in limited editions. All Orrefors artists are free to develop techniques and ways of expression as they please.

Orrefors's history goes back more than 100 years. It's a fascinating tale of artists whose creative imagination brought magic to design, of craftspeople whose centuries-old skills transformed ideas and drawings into glass of extraordinary beauty.

The Founding of the Glass Factory

The glass factory of Orrefors was founded in 1898, at a site where an iron factory had been operating since 1726. The name Orrefors most likely originates from the name of the Orranäsa lake, with the Swedish word fors added to it, symbolizing the river by which the former iron factory was situated. Nowadays the word represents a well-designed quality glass from the forests of Smaland.

Handling the iron gradually lost its profitability while the importance of the forest increased. In 1898 a foundry was built for production of technical, medical, service, and dish glass, to make use of wasted wood and the labor force. The glass production thus replaced the less lucrative operation of the iron factory.

In 1913 Johan Ekman, a consul from Göteborg, became the new owner of the Orrefors glass factory and its properties. Albert Ahlin was appointed manager of the factory, and a new era had started.

Gate and Hald: Brilliant Pioneers

Orrefors started its production of crystal in 1914. Besides grinding with purchased patterns and samples, art glass was also produced in layers of colored glass with etched décor. It was evident that artists were needed within the industry.

Simon Gate was hired 1916, followed by Edward Hald a year later. One of Gate's first tasks was to further develop the flashed glass technique. The object with etched décor was covered with clear glass and blown up. The technique was called Grail glass.

A Quick Breakthrough

Gate and Hald's initial attempts in figure engraving were done in 1917. They made naked figures, sometimes covered with a thin veil. This was an entirely new approach that differed considerably from traditional glass engraving.

The new approaches, along with an increased interest for the new engraving technique, caused a fast and strong development for the engraved glass. The peak was reached in the mid-'20s following the Gothenburg Exhibition and the Paris World Exhibition in 1925.

The 1920s: Selling Electric Fittings

In the middle of the 1920s, Orrefors started up a new line of business--lighting glass--which would later make up a quite significant part of the factory's production. The first production consisted of electric fittings for office buildings but was also later to include lighting for the home.

Experiments Directly in the Foundry

The Stockholm exhibition of 1930 with its prominent propaganda for functionalism also affected Orrefors. Artists no longer sketched the glass but began to experiment directly in the foundry. The glass now became thick, preferably with a black base. There wasn't as much engraved décor, as one wanted to bring out the indwelling beauty of the glass itself.

Vicke Lindstrand was hired as an artistic team member in 1928. He made debuts at exhibitions with, among other things, vases and bowls in an enamel-painted technique.

New Big Selling Techniques

Fish Grail, Cut Grail, and Ariel were new techniques that arrived at the end of the 1930s. The Fish Grail with subjects of fish and algae became a big seller and was produced all the way up until 1987. During this period the earlier team workers at the sketching office, Nils Landberg and Sven Palmqvist, became independent artists.

In 1936 the sculptor Edvin Öhrström was hired to enrich the factory's profile before the world exhibition in Paris in 1937. It was he who, together with Vicke Lindstrand, came forth with the new technique Ariel, which received its name after the spirit of the air in Shakespeare's piece "The Storm." The décor is blasted forth in the grail subject and when this receives a coating of glass, air remains in the cavities.

Fuga, Kraka, and Ravenna

In the 1940s the artist Sven Palmqvist brought about a new method, "centrifuged" glass. The series Fuga was presented at the H55-exhibition. Palmqvist also came forth with the Kraka and Ravenna series during the 1940s. In the 1950s came Nils Landberg's tulip glass and Ingeborg Lundin's vase "the Apple."

The Grail Technique Becomes Popular Anew

From April 10, 1987, and onward, the Orrefors glass factory ceased the production and marketing of art glass designed by artists no longer working at the factory. Did one then stop producing all art glass? No. On the contrary, the company's goal was that only current artists at the factory should have their art glass in production. Resources would be used for the development of new design, new techniques, and further development of the old techniques. This would be presented as a totally new gallery collection. The first one came in 1988--it meant a great success for, among others, Eva Englund's figurative grail glass--and was followed by new collections in 1990 and 1992.

Also during the 1980s, a new young generation of artists joined Orrefors: Anna Nilsson, Erika Lagerbielke, and Helén Krantz.

A Strong Offensive in the 1990s

What about the development and future of the Orrefors glass? Following some tough years in the early 1990s, the design process has entered a new phase. The least of which included taking into account the new artists, Lena Bergström, Martti Rytkönen, and Per B. Sundberg, who have joined the glassworks.

In 1998 Orrefors celebrated its 100-year jubilee, with art-glass exhibitions all around the world. By the change of the millennium the professor and well-qualified glass designer Ingegerd Raman was employed.

Taking Care of Orrefors Pieces

Handmade, and especially painted glass, does not well tolerate machine washing. Clean Orrefors pieces by hand in warm, but not too hot, water with little detergent. Repeated washing in too hot water can destroy the luster of the glass. Rinse in water of the same temperature as used when washing. Do not expose the glass to extreme temperature changes. Dry with a soft, lint-free towel to avoid streaking. The edge is the most fragile part of the glass, so glasses should be stored upright, with the rims not touching each other.