I’ve been a lover of hand blown glass for some time, but vintage Blenko holds a special place in my heart! It all started with this amber bud vase, with it’s crooked little top, warm honey tone and bulbous shape- I immediately fell in love!
It’s not often you find vintage glass with the sticker still attached, so you have to watch out for other telltale signs of Blenko craftsmanship. One is an uneven rim, as seen in the above photo. This is the result of being ‘fire polished’, when the item is returned quickly to the fire to remove any tool marks or rough edges. Another is a rough pontil mark, the spot where the punt was broken from the glass during the blowing process- basically the belly button!
Blenko glass is generally thick walled and almost always transparent. An exception to that rule is this handsome guy: a rare, blackest-of-blacks, cased glass vase! And with the sticker still attached, I almost felt like I was cheating- too easy! 😉
There’s so much more to know about Blenko, and many resources online to help you along! The Blenko Museum is a great place to get started:
http://www.blenkomuseum.org/index.htm
Enjoy!
No Name Cat Vintage 