Crystal Snowballs

Have you ever seen these chunky, icy looking votives? 

They are made by Orrefors Kosta Boda a Swedish glassworks company.  Orrefors and Kosta Boda were two separate companies each founded in the 1700's. They joined forces in the 1980's. Their designs have won thousands of awards and their pieces have been featured in museums around the world. Here's a little info from their website.

"Handblown glass has been produced in this part of Sweden for more than two and a half 

centuries. The story of Orrefors begins with iron and the forest. As early as 1726, Lars Johan

 Silversparre received permission to build a furnace and a smithy at "the beautiful river that 

flows into Lake Orrenas". The iron works was given the name Orrefors, which means "the 

Orre waterfall". Production at Orrefors did not become significant until the 1910s, when 

Johan Ekman of Gothenburg, who had highly ambitious production plans and had realized 

the importance of design, acquired the glassworks. A number of proficient glass artisans 

were recruited. Ekman wanted to place production on a more artistic basis, and in 1916 he, 

therefore, engaged the services of Simon Gate, the portrait and landscape painter. 

The artist Edward Hald arrived in the following year. This laid the foundation for a vital 

tradition of Orrefors, in the form of close cooperation between skilled glassblowers and 

gifted designers."

I started collecting their snowball votives many years ago.  I love the way a small candle glows from within and brings fire to the ice.

I have found several of them over the years while thrifting, but you can buy them new in gift stores or on their website in the $20-30 range.

I've mixed the snowballs in with some mercury glass to really bring out the sparkle!

They make a nice wintery entrance in my front foyer.

For more information check out their website

orrefors.us

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