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Kenya invests on hand-made glasses with passion

Post Time:Jun 17,2011Classify:Industry NewsView:533

NAIROBI, June 16 (Xinhua) -- By sticking to the ancient glass blowing technique, Anselm Croze has built a reputation for craftsmanship and uniquely blown glass designs.

 

It's a bumpy exhausting ride to the premises of Kitengela Glass, about 40 kilometers northeast of Nairobi, that borders Nairobi National Park.

 

However, when you get to the bushy location the beauty and the experience of the place charm you forget the uneven and rough tracks prior experienced.

 

As you get closer, mammoth sculptures dominate the landscape while the dazzling display of glass mosaic sculptures litters the environment.

 

A corridor decorated with broken glass leads you to Anselm Kitengela Hot Glass, one of the art studios in the compound. The studio consists of a 50-foot dome shaped brick "hot-shop".

 

Born of a Dutch mother and American father, Croze grew in an artistic family that moved to Kenya late in 1970s. His mother, Nani Croze, founded Kitengela Stained Glass, making stained glass for church windows.

 

Over the years, Nani's company specialized in blown glass, dalle ve verre and mosaic, beads, slumping, cast glass and fusing.

 

It did not take long for Croze to know glass blowing was a craft he wanted to pursue professionally. He undertook glass blowing undergraduate degree in Holland and joined the family business upon his return.

 

But 16 years ago, he started Kitengela Hot Glass, specializing in blown glass and dalle de verre. He says the beauty of the medium, the magic and the difficulty of glass blowing captivated him.

 

Setting up was not easy. Even with the back drop of Kitengela Hot stain Glass, he struggled to raise start up capital. He needed to buy furnaces, gas and oil tanks as well as operating capital.

 

Luckily Mikko Merikallio, a Finnish friend, agreed to design and build the glass blowing furnaces for him.

 

The furnaces is powered by steam injected oil a system that takes into account the fact that there are no amenities like electricity, water or gas in the bush. Today, the firm has 36 employees, five of whom are expert glass blowers.

 

The firm has a zero waste policy, which is important given to the location. It often sources for waste glass from used bottles, construction and renovation sites and recycles it to make glassware.

 

Its packaging is from recycled newspapers. "It is our goal to have an Eco-friendly manufacturing facility," Merikallio told Xinhua.

 

It makes a wide range of glasses, goblets, chandeliers, jars, glass tables, jugs, lampshade, bottles drinking vessel, vases, bowls, plates, chandeliers, lamp stands, to any other glass objects.

 

It undertakes architectural projects such as glass walls, make grilles and large mirrors. The assembly of metal frames for stained glass and dalle de verre for furniture and sculptures takes place at the premises too.

 

One of its recent innovation is embedding lights in chairs, tables and windows, a technique that transforms them into works of modern art.

 

Despite rising use of technology, Croze says he prefers traditional technique. "I prefer this old fashioned way as it gives every item a unique identity, a quality that clients value," he says.

 

The products are sold in domestic market although others are exported. The firm has put up proprietary shops at the Nakumatt Junction, Village Market and Westgate Mall in Nairobi.

 

Learning the skill however takes time. Glass blowers have to be trained regularly to keep up with new styles, techniques and customer demands. The firm often sends them to Holland for training and also participates in exhibitions where their work is displayed.

 

Intense training is necessary because glass blowing is essentially an art. Besides, once glass is melted it becomes difficult and dangerous to handle. "It's alkaline, heavy, and extremely hot and eats away the inside of the furnace so you need very special material and skills to handle it."

 

Making a single item is involving and physically demanding, meaning production is painstakingly slow. "When we are working on simple items like goblets, we can make about two hundred in a day, " he explains. "Large items like decorative glass are more sophisticated and we make about three in a day."

 

In December last year it had a six week waiting list caused partly by an order to make 700 chandeliers weighing 1.4 tonnes. The chandeliers are destined for the main foyer of an office building on Waiyaki way.

 

The process of making blown glass items is complex. Glass has to be heated to 1,100 degrees centigrade before it melts. Using a long blowing pipe, artisans gather a gob of molten glass from the furnace and shape it into desired designs. Once an item is completed, it is gradually cooled.

 

Croze's work is highly sought both by home makers and interior designers. The steady stream of foreign dignitaries to the studio illustrates its global appeal.

 

In 2005, the firm hosted the Swedish king and queen in a visit sponsored by UNEP. Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General, has also visited one of their shops.

 

Presently, Croze is concentrating on strengthening management structures as well as investments in new, smaller furnaces that will enable use of a wider range of colors. He is also working on a succession plan.

 

A hands-on entrepreneur, he says he would like to delegate most of his responsibilities with a view of grooming a successor. "It is great to start this kind of business and build it to this scale. My concern now is ensuring it can survive without me."

 

They make glass with variety of colors; available in furnace are aqua, green, blue, champagne pink and amber. However, quite a few transition colors occur like a blue green, pale green, purple or pale blue.

 

Glass blowing is an art that Anselm says he loves and the death of his studio operations is something he wouldn't want to see. "I am trying to build succession to make sure the company is viable even without me," Croze says.

 

He is also keen to improve middle management to ensure quality management of every level of his business. Plans to build additional smaller furnaces to enable use of a wide variety of colors are into consideration.

Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2011Author: shangyi

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