The Art of Glass-Blowing in Hebron

Once upon a time, Hebron was a busy town for glass-blowers. In the old city’s Al-Kazazin quarter (Kazazin meaning ‘people who make glass’), three families operated 14 glass factories. Today, there are only two of them left, run by the Natsheh family. The first Intifada, combined with the affluence of cheap goods from China and the rise in oil prices forced the majority of glass shop owners out of business. Both remaining factories have relocated to the entrance of the city, because tourists are sometimes fearful to go too deep into the old city.

Mr. Hamdi - who runs the Hebron Glass & Ceramics Factory together with his brother -started working when he was 17, in 1967. Nowadays, he exclusively deals with administrative aspects, but he is still capable to tell which one of his workers did which piece just by looking at it. The savoir-faire is passed down from father to son, but some are more talented than others and each glass-blower insufflates his own personal touch into his work. The job is hard, sitting seven hours a day next to an over 1000°C hot oven. Workers learn from early childhood and continuously refine the skill.

Mr. Hamdi, who runs the Hebron Glass & Ceramics Factory

Mr. Hamdi’s son Tawfiq, who learned his trade from his father.

Sand is the main ingredient. The Hebron Glass & Ceramics Factory uses 100 to 150 kilos of it a day. But they also recycle used bottles into new pieces. They buy the bottles for 1NIS each from poor people who collect them in the neighborhood. Mr. Hamdi jokes that his factory is a green one, as they also recycle used oil from cars to power the oven. Used oil does not smell or smoke, thus making it a combustible of choice.

Exports make up 50% of the factory’s turnover. Germany, France, the UK and the US enjoy the unique pieces that come from Hebron - turquoise-colored glass is one of Hebron’s signatures - and M. Hamdi has travelled to some of these countries to present his work at exhibitions.

Mr. Hamdi, observing his employee’s work with a professional eye.

Glass alone is not profitable anymore however. It only makes up 25% of the factory’s production nowadays. The remaining 75% are ceramics, which Mr. Hamdi and his brother started making some years ago, in order to stay open and competitive. They learned from scratch, with the help of books and specialized workers they hired. Today, out of the 25 people who work in the factory, four of them only are glass-blowers, while 15 work in ceramics. The Natsheh brothers and their workers also try to keep clients coming to them by being creative, inventing new pieces all the time and accepting any special order.

Making this beautiful swan did not even take three minutes.

There are some days when Mr. Hamdi’s workers produce more than they sell. Still, they cannot afford to close the factory even for one day. ?If the oven doesn’t work, the tourists don’t come”, says Mr. Hamdi matter-of-factly. Unfortunately, tourists often use Road 6 to come to Hebron, which does not pass by his shop. He tells the story of how some visitors do not dare to buy his merchandise, afraid it is going to get them in trouble at the Israeli checkpoints. He recalls an occasion when tourists came to his factory and left without buying anything because they were worried. Instead, they went to Tel Aviv to get his products. There, they got ripped off, so they ended up coming back and buying from him after all.

Mr. Hamdi regrets that foreign embassies warn their nationals that going to Hebron is dangerous and that many people believe they might be attacked if they go there. ?There is a long tradition of respecting foreigners in Hebron that does not always exist in other parts of Palestine", explains one of the men present. ?We learn if from our fathers and grand-fathers.”

Diversification is the key to keeping the business afloat.