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The entire production process is described as a ‘closely guarded trade secret’
Radal NiedzielskiSunday 30 November 2025 17:09 GMT
open image in galleryWorkers prepare the hand-made Christmas baubles at GlitterLab (Associated Press/Czarek Sokolowski)
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In southern Poland, a company known as GlitterLab is transforming festive fantasies into tangible Christmas decorations, earning them the moniker "the magicians of glass."
Their bespoke baubles adorn the trees of discerning clients, including luxury giants like Swarovski, the French department store Galeries Lafayette, and London’s iconic Harrods.
GlitterLab prides itself on its unique craftsmanship, promising on its website "the ability to create shapes and designs that glass will not normally take."
The entire production process, described as a "closely guarded trade secret," is meticulously manual, ensuring each ornament is one-of-a-kind.
Company owner Barbara Mostowska underscores the enduring appeal of their handcrafted items.
She told The Associated Press: "In an age when you can buy anything anywhere for next to nothing, something made from scratch here in a European country, with honest work and thoughtfulness, is truly valued by customers."
‘In our DNA’
Despite its modest appearance, GlitterLab’s workshop has been operating for more than 80 years in Częstochowa, a town of 200,000 in southern Poland.
It was founded by Mostowska’s grandparents in the aftermath of World War II, making her the third generation in the family to manage the business.
open image in galleryThe company’s mix of artisanal methods, new technologies and savvy marketing is very lucrative (Associated Press/Czarek Sokolowski)“They produced glass cigarette holders, then ‘eprouvettes’ — I think that’s the word — tiny bottles for cake flavors,” Barbara Mostowska said, fondly reminiscing about how the workshop operated when she was a child.
“And then tiny baubles, then slow-blown baubles, the ones we all know from childhood, some swans, mushrooms, pine cones, that sort of thing,” she recalled.
When the company accessed the US market, it started producing more molded ornaments, such as angels or Santa Claus.
On its website, the firm also draws from the history of the town, where a local monastery holds the icon of the Black Madonna, an important object of Catholic devotion since the 14th century. Pilgrims visiting the icon would come back home with souvenirs made by local artisans.
“We are their heirs,” the owners of GlitterLab claim. “The techniques we’re using can’t simply be learned. They need to run in your DNA.”
open image in galleryGlitterLab prides itself on its unique craftsmanship, promising on its website ‘the ability to create shapes and designs that glass will not normally take’ (Associated Press/Czarek Sokolowski)The company’s mix of artisanal methods, new technologies and savvy marketing is very lucrative. One of their exclusive designs for Harrods, the “Yellow Floral Bauble,” is priced at £125 (around $168).
It is Mostowska's dream that the ornaments won't just be displayed on the Christmas, but instead “our customers have them in their homes, whether on hangers or in display cases, year-round.”
The company’s products are “jewelry for the home,” she said.
Happy work
To create a unique design, GlitterLab workers take a client’s drawing on paper and turn it at first into a soft clay sculpture, which can be modified until the client’s vision is accurately represented.
Only then do they choose the unique combination of materials that transforms a particular shape into a bauble.
Mariola Koła, the company’s most seasoned designer, has been working for 42 years at GlitterLab. She says the most satisfying moment in her day comes when a client approves a design with “no corrections.”
“It means I’ve met their expectations, their taste,” she says. “That’s the greatest joy for me. I couldn’t ask for a greater reward.”
open image in galleryA worker prepares the handmade Christmas baubles at GlitterLab in Czestochowa, southern Poland (Associated Press/Czarek Sokolowski)The designers work not only with glass but with materials like resin, wood, crystals, and metal, enabling them to craft shapes that go beyond conventional baubles.
But the products also tell a story, often invoking childhood nostalgia.
“Hungry for sweets and play,” says the description of a teddy bear holding a gulf club, part of a series of similar figures in different poses. “These Teddy Bears are a time machine to a happy childhood when nothing tasted as sweet as candy floss licked straight from sticky fingers.”
Amid a heavy reality, a return to childhood and the joy of play may be precisely what Christmas calls for.
“The customers are nice, because how can people get upset and be angry or mean when we’re talking about Christmas baubles?” Magdalena Kucharska, the company’s customer service representative, wonders.
“The fact that we produce a product that brings happiness means these customers are nice too, and it’s a very pleasant job.”
