Hand/Mouth Blown
Talented and skilled glassblowers use molds to produce the finely and uniquely shaped ornaments. The mold is carved into two pieces with a space for the tube at one end. These are fastened together and the glassblower inserts the glass and his pipette. The result is an ornament that conforms to the shape of the mold with a long “pike”, ready for finishing.
Machine Blown
The age of the ornament does not define whether an ornament is machine or hand/mouth blown. In the 1930’s, Corning Glass developed ‘ribbon-blowing machines’ for blowing glass ornaments.
On any hand/mouth blown ornament, you will always find a “dimple” where the glassblower touched the ornament while the glass was hot, to shape and form it.
Free Blown
Proficient glassblowers are able to make a sphere and other shapes by turning the ornament as it is blown, pulling it into a shape, etc. This results in a free blown ornament.
Free Blown ornament:
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