Spent 3 days in Jablonec and the surrounding area to donate my books to some people, buy more sample cards and generally enjoy the glass and bead culture.
Generally, the bead industry is still in decline, or so it seems from shops closing. Still plenty of interesting stuff to see.
We went to Desna, about 6 miles from Jablonec, and home to the old Riedel factory (now Preciosa) where for example the first Czech uranium glass was produced.
Along a path in the woods we found interesting bits of glass and beads in a pile. They have probably been there for decades. The man who lived at the end of the path saw us and started giving what wat probably a very interesting lecture on the history of local glassmaking. My lack of Czech language skills made it so that I understood very little. Basically: First, Riedel made his factory, and there were were many businesses. Everything was busy, and there were chimneys everywhere. Then came the war, and then came the communists. All the glass people left. And now, it is all gone.
And that, dear friends of BCN, is the history of Czech glass in a nutshell.
