I was lucky enough to meet and interview the dynamic husband-and-wife team behind glassware and ceramic company Juliska. I have long admired their designs and have put them on the pages of Mpls.St.Paul Magazine
a number of times, but after listening to them recount the tedious and
time-honed way in which their products are made, I became infatuated
with the beauty of Juliska all over again.
Luck for us, Ampersand has upped its dedication to the brand, and the store's center aisle is now solely dedicated to ceramics, glassware, lighting, and linens from the Connecticut-based company. I had a great time interviewing the Goodings, but to gain a more in-depth understanding of their intricate design and production process, I highly suggest watching their videos (links below).
Where does the name Juliska come form?
David: Juliska is originally a Hungarian name, and it is also the name of a woman we collaborated with, who started recreating historic glassware. We thought it was such a beautiful name, and it seemed to work with the glassware that inspired us originally. It has a richness to it that works for the glassware.
How have your different collections come about? Are they all inspired by antique bohemian glass?
Capucine: The glassware we originally found in Paris, and we started with forty authentic reproductions of bohemian glass. We used the design themes represented in the bohemian glass and echoed them throughout our various glassware, linens, ceramics, and lighting. We have expanded that core foundation to include other elements of European design—everything from textiles, to architecture, to jewelry. But all designs are absolutely rooted in history.
David: Juliska started with glassware taken from the last five centuries in Europe. So when we talk about Bohemian glassware, if you look at the original glass pieces that we stated with, most were drinking vessels. Capucine and Elaine, our two designers, used those design themes and created accompanying pieces. But everything was rooted in the original design themes of the European originals.
All of the glassware is hand-blown, so no two pieces are ever exactly the same, right?
Capucine: They are all individually mouth blown by a team of two or three glass blowers.
Other than historic glass, where else do you get inspiration for your collections?
Capucine: I often look at Byzantine jewelry, architecture, textile design, garden design, vintage and antique engravings, and etchings. This may sound so cliché, but inspiration really can come from anywhere—you just see something, and it just hooks you.
David: But still, everything is rooted in the historic design themes of bohemian glassware. We've gone outside of the berries and threads with the line Petit Singe—or Little Monkey—but it was still a part of Capucine's heritage in France, with monkeys being used as emblems throughout history. We wanted to do a little wink to that by incorporating the emblem in our ceramics.
Capucine: The reason we are so tied to history is that we are in this to make classics. We are not interested in following trends or doing anything of the moment in color or design. When we create a piece, it is our ideal that it is a piece that can be looked at, and you might not be quite sure what age it was produced.
How is Juliska's signature look obtained?
David: It is a very intricate process where teams of three glass blowers work in tandem to make the main body and add the decoration. So you have the main body and the threads, berries, dots, or any type of glass-on-glass decoration is applied during the process. And everything must be applied when the glass is hot, so it is constantly being reheated.
Capucine: The specific look is specifically attributed to the manufacturing techniques that have literally been passed on through generations of glass blowers. The tools they use are still very archaic. If you look at Venetian glass, which is made through similar techniques and a similar sweep, Bohemian glass still has a very specific look, and it is due to the rudimentary techniques the glass blowers use. The tools they were using in the fifteenth century are exactly the same ones that they are using today.
David: You can't mass-produce by machine what these glass blowers can produce by hand.
For a deeper understanding and appreciation, watch how the handmade glass and ceramic pieces are made.
Luck for us, Ampersand has upped its dedication to the brand, and the store's center aisle is now solely dedicated to ceramics, glassware, lighting, and linens from the Connecticut-based company. I had a great time interviewing the Goodings, but to gain a more in-depth understanding of their intricate design and production process, I highly suggest watching their videos (links below).
Where does the name Juliska come form?
David: Juliska is originally a Hungarian name, and it is also the name of a woman we collaborated with, who started recreating historic glassware. We thought it was such a beautiful name, and it seemed to work with the glassware that inspired us originally. It has a richness to it that works for the glassware.
How have your different collections come about? Are they all inspired by antique bohemian glass?
Capucine: The glassware we originally found in Paris, and we started with forty authentic reproductions of bohemian glass. We used the design themes represented in the bohemian glass and echoed them throughout our various glassware, linens, ceramics, and lighting. We have expanded that core foundation to include other elements of European design—everything from textiles, to architecture, to jewelry. But all designs are absolutely rooted in history.
David: Juliska started with glassware taken from the last five centuries in Europe. So when we talk about Bohemian glassware, if you look at the original glass pieces that we stated with, most were drinking vessels. Capucine and Elaine, our two designers, used those design themes and created accompanying pieces. But everything was rooted in the original design themes of the European originals.
All of the glassware is hand-blown, so no two pieces are ever exactly the same, right?
Capucine: They are all individually mouth blown by a team of two or three glass blowers.
Other than historic glass, where else do you get inspiration for your collections?
Capucine: I often look at Byzantine jewelry, architecture, textile design, garden design, vintage and antique engravings, and etchings. This may sound so cliché, but inspiration really can come from anywhere—you just see something, and it just hooks you.
David: But still, everything is rooted in the historic design themes of bohemian glassware. We've gone outside of the berries and threads with the line Petit Singe—or Little Monkey—but it was still a part of Capucine's heritage in France, with monkeys being used as emblems throughout history. We wanted to do a little wink to that by incorporating the emblem in our ceramics.
Capucine: The reason we are so tied to history is that we are in this to make classics. We are not interested in following trends or doing anything of the moment in color or design. When we create a piece, it is our ideal that it is a piece that can be looked at, and you might not be quite sure what age it was produced.
How is Juliska's signature look obtained?
David: It is a very intricate process where teams of three glass blowers work in tandem to make the main body and add the decoration. So you have the main body and the threads, berries, dots, or any type of glass-on-glass decoration is applied during the process. And everything must be applied when the glass is hot, so it is constantly being reheated.
Capucine: The specific look is specifically attributed to the manufacturing techniques that have literally been passed on through generations of glass blowers. The tools they use are still very archaic. If you look at Venetian glass, which is made through similar techniques and a similar sweep, Bohemian glass still has a very specific look, and it is due to the rudimentary techniques the glass blowers use. The tools they were using in the fifteenth century are exactly the same ones that they are using today.
David: You can't mass-produce by machine what these glass blowers can produce by hand.
For a deeper understanding and appreciation, watch how the handmade glass and ceramic pieces are made.
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