7 minute read
Crystalex
Michaela Horáková
Czech glassmaker Crystalex is forging new paths for itself – bolstered by a fresh, contemporary brand identity. Tableware International spoke with marketing director Michaela Horáková to learn more about her role and how the company is moving forward…
Michaela, tell us more about your role as marketing director at Crystalex?
I can honestly say that I enjoy everything about it. We are, after all, a Czech glass producer with a long tradition, but we always adapt our style to the times, and in that way, we continue to grow, both as a company, as well as in terms of our product portfolio. Some time ago we updated our logo, visual style, packaging, and effectively used the decorative potential of new technologies. That was the first and most important step towards our current transformation, and it has helped us tremendously. Our brand acquired a new identity, one that was much more contemporary. The marketing team is small, and I believe all of us enjoy working on everything from beginning to end – from the initial idea, through to the product’s final packaging. Our work is very diverse, every day brings a new challenge, nothing is the same, and that is what me and my team enjoy the most about our work.
That takes a lot of creativity. Where do you find the inspiration?
I have been creative since my childhood. Although I can’t draw as much as a stick figure! I’ve always been bursting with ideas. I like highquality fashion brands, follow the latest fashion designers, notice the product packaging on perfumes, luxury foods or alcohol. Everything I see around me makes me want to carry the same designs over to glass. I also enjoy image videos of world-class brands, from which we often draw inspiration, as they are always slightly ahead of the trends, and set the pace for everything, not just fashion.
For example, while trying to come up with the name for our recent and very successful Pralines collection, I was sitting on a couch, eating some Lindt chocolate, and suddenly jumped up with joy – I finally had it! I was thinking something along the lines of glasses, various shapes, small and colourful, just like the chocolates. And there it was – Pralines. And I am very grateful for that. It remains one of the most beautiful collections we have.
One would assume from Crystalex’s collections that you are an art lover. Is that true?
It is. I don’t like when things get copied, but when you bring together fine art and glass with a long tradition, and do a professional job of it, it can be a perfect combination. For example, the new limited-edition Mucha collection. I also very much like the way in which Moët & Chandon connects glass and champagne; it’s a truly subtle and elegant design. There is a very popular brand of sparkling wine on our market called Mucha. We got the idea of contacting the Mucha family, got the license from them, and created a collection of glasses for sparkling wine. We’re very proud of that. It is an immensely beautiful collection intimately connected with art, and perfectly captures the magical perfection and art nouveau style of Alfons Mucha. And while the coupe glasses are decorated with gold on the inside and matte color form the outside, the long wine glasses are vibrant with various images. We’ve included the master’s own authentic signature on both.
Your collections are diverse – take the recent Forest and Glass Gambit collections – where did you find inspiration for those?
We find inspiration in unexpected places – at home, while travelling, at work, wherever. What’s great is that each of us in the team contributes in their own way and
Delicious inspiration
While trying to come up with the name for their recent and very successful Pralines collection, Michaela was sitting on a couch, eating some Lindt chocolate, when she suddenly had a wave of inspiration – hence the name Pralines!
offers their own point of view. With Forest, our designer Markéta was in her joking mood, and it suddenly occurred to her to make a simple décor of a deer framed by a target crosshair. She thought it would be great for hunters or for people who take care of the forest.
The Glass Gambit collection was also quite unique in its conception. We usually offer an assortment of glasses with the same shape and in various colour schemes, which is nice, but it can get a bit tedious. So this time, we thought about giving them the same colour but various shapes, all in the same size. We offer many shapes, one more beautiful
than the next. Ok, but what colour to choose? When we lined up the glasses next to each other – the modern, classic, and rustic shapes, only a truly unusual colour could do them all justice. The decision was ultimately simple: we went for black and white, which let the shapes speak for themselves. And right after we sprayed them with paint, we thought they look a lot like chess pieces. And there we had it: the collection was born. After that, it was just about tweaking everything to perfection, and we now offer each package with its very own leaflet which folds out into a chess board. In this way we provide a little gift to all lovers of this truly royal game.
This year’s Christmas collection is also different. What’s the story behind it?
This Christmas, I wanted to create something fresh, beautiful, and offer something for everyone. I wanted to really make use of all the various decorative technologies we have at our disposal and wanted to combine them in new ways. We worked with our long-term contractor, artist Barbora Zachovalová, and it was again a success. My most favourite items are certainly the Angeli and Silva candleholders, which are ideal for Christmas time.
Angeli consists of four glasses (marked by numbers from one to
four), each adorned with angels. The candlesticks can be arranged on a festive table into a circle as well as parallel to each other, can be adorned with sprigs of fresh spruce or pine. Anyone can simply use them in a creative way and make them part of something special. We also announced a competition, where people can send in their best photographs.
And in the Silva collection, we used a very interesting combination of decorative technologies – gold screen printing – and have given them a white and black outside. When you light the candles, the decors dance on the surrounding walls, and it looks just wonderful.
Your collections are designed with current trends in mind. Does that just happen naturally, or do you follow the trends closely?
As I mentioned before, we do follow the trends closely, but in terms of taste and aesthetics, we always listen to our own intuition first and foremost. Because we ship our products around the world – to Asia, Europe, from north to south – we also follow various world trends and the customs of the individual countries. Oftentimes, it happens that we find our own ideas on market, but made by a different company, and we always tell ourselves “we were there first.” But we are in fact tremendously happy about this and are equally glad to observe and follow the current trends. It keeps our designs contemporary, yet timeless at the same time.
New design
Crystalex has merged the stem of an old glass design Diana and fitted it with a new cup – and because it reminded them of a blossom, they’ve named it Magnolia.
Are you currently working on anything new?
Every year we try to come up with
Pralines
new shapes and forms, which can be very financially demanding, so we must know which shapes will work and will be successful on market. We have a huge array of shapes available, and I believe it takes a collection with an interesting design about one to two years to become successful on the market.
This year, we decided to do something a bit different. One of our most successful shapes has traditionally been Diana, but it no longer fulfills contemporary needs. We very much liked the stem of that glass design, so we fitted it with a new cup, and because it reminded us very much of a blossom, we named it Magnolia. It will go on market in two versions – smooth and optical – and will be decorated with soft pink hues fading away to transparent glass. It has a beautiful shape, and is also very handy for households as well as restaurants. And just perfect for weddings!
Mucha Silva
