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 unique and limited edition kosta boda at iapetus
During our trip to Kosta Boda we were allowed to go shopping in the artists own studios! Of course, we couldn't walk out empty handed so you'll be please to know we picked up some absolutely stunning unique and limited edition pieces from Bertil Vallien and Goran Warff. You can find out more about each one by clicking the link below. see our kosta boda unique & limited edition pieces >  'glass works' - an exhibition of kosta boda art glass at iapetus gallery
We will be holding an exhibition of Kosta Boda artglass at our lovely gallery in Great Malvern. Entitled “glass works” the exhibition will showcase an extensive range of work from the studio including eleven unique or limited edition pieces by two of their most famous current designers - Bertil Vallien and Goran Warff. The exhibition will also feature some very special unique works kindly leant to iapetus by the prestigious number nine the gallery, from Birmingham. If you pop along you will also be able to learn more about the Kosta Boda glass works, their artists and the techniques used to create the glass. Kosta Boda has been renowned as Sweden’s finest glass makers since 1742 and their artists are recognised worldwide for their skill & creativity. As an added incentive to visit, any customer who makes a purchase at iapetus gallery from the Kosta Boda range during the exhibition will be entered into a draw to win a gourmet dinner for two at Pepper and Oz, The Brasserie, on Abbey Road, Great Malvern. Prices in the range start from only £8.50 so you don't need to be a lottery winner to take a piece home. The Kosta Boda exhibition will run from Saturday 28th June until 26th July, 10am -5:30pm, Monday to Saturday.  a little story about our trip to the kingdom of crystal
Arriving in Copenhagen on a sunny Tuesday morning we set out on our (very punctual) train to Kosta Boda in the province of Småland, traveling under and over the sea to reach Sweden from Denmark. A few nibbles and a lovely chat with the friendly ticket inspector later and we'd arrived in the sun drenched town of Kosta.
Our first night was spent in Kosta Boda's beautiful guest house right next to the glass house. Full to the brim with stunning unique pieces from the studio we had a riotous evening with our hosts as well as a number of other gallery owners and buyers from all over the World including Sydney, the Netherlands and the lovely buyer from London's famous Harrods (we really are mixing with the elite eh!)
Our second and only full day held for us a whirlwind tour of the studios of Kosta, Boda and Afors. Starting in Kosta we were shown around the glass works, seeing first hand how many of the pieces Kosta Boda make are created. What struck us was the level of skill, precision and team work that each master glass blower must have to craft each piece. From a molten piece of glass these highly skilled glassblowers would form some incredible objects using tools that have been around for centuries. Seeing glass blowers moulding 1,600 degrees celsius hot molten glass with only damp sheets of old newspaper between their hands and the glass has to be seen to be believed!!
We were then taken to meet the Grandfather of Kosta, Goran Warff. He's a gentle giant and towering above us Goran invited us in to his studio full of incredible pencil sketches of his designs & stacks of beautiful one-off pieces he's not quite ready to part with yet. He talked to us about his passion for glass and how his designs are based on celebrating and enhancing the effect of glass reflecting and absorbing light. For a man of 75 years of age and having worked at Kosta since 1964 we were amazed that his passion for glass and Kosta Boda was so fresh and alive.
Before we left we were allowed a sneaky preview of a display of some of the latest pieces soon to be added to the Kosta Boda range ... needless to say there is some very exciting new work coming your way!
From Kosta we travelled to Boda where Kjell Engman has his studio. Kjell (pronounced "Shell" we discovered) was away living it up at the Eurovision song contest, having designed the winner's trophy, so we got to have a good nosy round. His studio is an Aladdin's cave full of bit parts of his fabulous work - bodies of glass guitars, heads of mythical creatures and ornate vases and sculptures are stacked floor to ceiling. It's just one of those places you wish you could spend all day rooting around in when you were a kid! Allas we had to move on and so ended our tour in the town of Afors where we found the studios of Bertil Vallien, his wife Ulrica Hydman Vallien, Anna Ehrner and new designer Ludvig Löfgren.
Now, we meet artists all the time and never feel nervous or awkward, but with Bertil Vallien, the most famous and highly regarded Swedish glass designer of present day, it felt like we were meeting a rock star! It's not often we are lost for words but we were a little star struck! But Bertil kindly invited us in and after a few initial pleasantries we were nattering away about some of his new projects including a rather incredible installation he's planning for a Swedish newspaper's reception. He must have liked us because he gave us a signed copy of his new book. And for a fan of Bertil's work his studio was a feast for the senses - scribbles and sketches covering every wall and shelf, nooks and crannies holding incredible experimental glass boats, heads and sculptures. If we weren't such honest folks we'd have been sneaking out with half of them under our jumpers! Finally, having been dragged away we pottered off to our evening's entertainment... a Hyttsill-dinner in the Kosta Glass Centre. A Hyttsill is a very old tradition in the Kingdom of Crystal which goes back to the times when the glassworks were the meeting place in the village. In the evenings the visitors are invited to enjoy traditional Swedish food prepared in the furnaces where the glass  has been left over night to slowly cool down. It also seems the tradition includes a jolly band, a great deal of drinking (we abstained of course) and a glass blowing demonstration from one of Kosta Boda's master blowers. It was a fantastic end to a very inspiring trip.
So, if you'd like to know more about our trip to Kosta Boda or would love to see our beautiful unique and limited edition pieces we picked up whilst we were out there then pop along to our exhibition at iapetus gallery - "glass works". It will be running from 28th June until 26th July and will be well worth a trip into Great Malvern.
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