A thriving cottage industry that began more than four hundred years ago, Inge-Glas of Germany continues to create gleaming mouthblown and hand-painted heirloom ornaments for a new generation of collectors.
Guided by passion and perseverance, Inge-Glas of Germany celebrates a beautiful story that, after four centuries, is still being told. Immersed in the glassblowing industry since 1596, the Müller-Blech family worked diligently to perfect the craftsmanship of mouth-blown Christmas ornaments from their Lauscha, Germany, workshop. The brilliant artistry that evolved from the family’s long lineage was halted only briefly when Russia occupied Lauscha in 1951. It was at this turning point that thirteenth-generation descendant Heinz Müller-Blech fled his homeland at the age of 14 to cross the border into West Germany, smuggling many of the family moulds and glassblowing tools with him.
After settling in Neustadt, Heinz worked to reestablish the business, relentlessly searching for antique ornament moulds and quietly acquiring moulds that his family in East Germany sent only in halves to ensure the pieces would not be confiscated. He eventually married and for years worked alongside his beloved wife, Inge, the namesake for Heinz’s modern-day Inge-Glas workshop. As the business continued to prosper, Heinz and Inge’s son, Klaus, nurtured his own inherent glassblowing skills in the workshop of his parents, thus setting the stage for yet another enchanted story of destiny.
While attending a convention for ornament collectors in the United States, Klaus met Birgit Eichhorn Jeremias-Sohn, who also lived in Neustadt and grew up in her family’s glassblowing business. Kindred spirits with an ingrained passion for the art of glass, the two of them— who, surprisingly, had never met—were finally brought together more than 3,000 miles from their shared city. They soon fell in love, and their charmed romance blossomed into marriage. Then, in true storybook fashion, both families agreed to combine their rich traditions and skills at the Inge-Glas workshops.
Today, the legendary collection contains more than 10,000 antique ornament moulds dating from the 1850s. Every year, Birgit works to create new designs that commemorate Christmas, as well as other special occasions. Recognized worldwide for its heirloomquality treasures, Inge-Glas of Germany continues to inspire new generations of collectors with its exceptional craftsmanship and extraordinary repertoire.
