Glass Christmas tree ornaments, with a wet mirror finish on the inside, are the specialty of Farbglashütte Lauscha, which has been based in the town of Lauscha—located on the southern edge of the Thuringian Forest—since 1853. This garden ornament is crafted in the same way as the Christmas tree balls and ornaments that decorate our homes during the holiday season. The frog sits firmly perched on the ball, gazing out at the world with eager anticipation. To ensure it can perch there safely, the glassmakers in Lauscha work with a keen eye and a steady hand. Each piece is given the time and attention it needs.

The manufacturing process is labor-intensive and begins the same way every time: with the “Kölpel,” a hollow form about the size of a plum, which is formed on the glassblower’s pipe. To do this, the glassmakers take only a small amount of molten glass from the furnace. First, the Kölpel is hung on the furnace to cool; only to be reheated later, as more molten glass is added in the next step. The tip of the Kölpel, which has been brought back to a glowing state in this way, is now carefully dipped into colored glass shards. Our frog owes its green color to this special technique. The artistic piece, in turn, gets its shimmering luster through wet mirroring—but more on that later.

For now, the kölpel is “warmed” once more, making the molten glass malleable again. The glassmakers at the colored glassworks skillfully handle specialized beechwood tools—spoons and small boards—to quickly continue shaping the kölpel. Occasionally, they blow air into their glassblower’s pipe to maintain the hollow space inside the sphere. Finally, they skillfully let the still-soft glass “run” down the pipe and, at the same moment, place it into a two-part iron mold. The mold is closed, and the sphere is blown up. A distinguishing feature of this manufacturing method is the seam that remains visible where the two halves of the mold meet.

Finally, the finished garden ball is quenched at the base and separated from the glassblower’s pipe. Only after it emerges from the cooling track—once the edge at the base of the ball has been smelted smooth with a hot gas flame in the fusion carousel and the glass has relaxed—does the garden ball undergo the Liebig silvering process, which has been used in Lauscha since 1867. During this process, silver nitrate dissolved in an aqueous solution is poured into the ball. Under the influence of heat, it deposits as a wafer-thin film on the inner wall of the ball—a process also known as “mirroring.” Just like with Christmas tree ornaments! Good to know: Our garden ball with a frog can stay outside all year round. This way, it adds cheerful splashes of color even during the less inviting winter months and brings a little glow to the darkness. Just make sure that the included cork stopper—which holds the stem in place and serves as a closure—is always protected from moisture.

Certain manufacturing steps are carried out by hand. Slight dimensional and color deviations may therefore occur.