Paperweight Experience

About this experience

Our famous glass making experiences are back.

Experience first-hand and close up, the extreme temperatures required to transform sand into glass and learn about some of the 2000 year old skills developed by the ancient Romans. During this experience, you will work one-to-one with one of our highly skilled glassblowers who will tutor and support you through each step of the creation of your own multicoloured crystal paperweight. This is a truly unique and educational experience during which you will manipulate liquid glass at temperatures of up to 1200 centigrade.

What happens during the experience?

Your instructor will initially demonstrate the processes involved in making a paperweight. You will select a range of coloured glass granules to add to the molten glass and then heat and shape the glass into an oval or round solid glass paperweight using wet newspaper pad or wooden blocks. You will be shown how to use a variety of glass-makers tools to create unique patterns in the colour. If you wish to include decorative air bubbles you will be shown the secret to achieving this. Metal jacks are then used to finish the shape and prepare the glass for removal from the iron.

Can I take my paperweight home straight away?

Your paperweight must cool slowly to prevent it from breaking from breaking. As it is solid & quite sizable, this will take a few days. Once at room temperature we will grind the base flat for you to ensure it sits nicely on a table.

If you are unable to pop back to the factory to collect it within the week, we are happy to organise for it to be posted. If you require postage, a small fee will be required to pay on the day of your experience.

To ensure a safe working environment a maximum of three participants per hour can participate in this experience. In total a maximum of four non-participating friends or family may watch. When not actively blowing you will be asked to remain seated for your safety. Each individual hands-on experience will last around 15-20 minutes.

Participants must wear clothing that covers their legs and feet. Shorts, short skirts, sandals, stilettos etc. are not allowed. Only one person will blow glass at a time. Your safety is our paramount concern so you will enjoy extremely close supervision & tuition. The minimum age for this experience is 13 years. 

Terms and Conditions Please note, our 10% welcome code is not able to be used when purchasing glass blowing experiences.

Do you want to book for a larger group, maybe a family birthday or a work away day? Feel free to email us shop@cumbriacrystal.com to arrange.

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