Glass jewelry, objects and works of art shine in an artistic palette of colors thanks to a Bulgarian woman who emigrated to the United States with the only task of being... a grandmother. But twenty years later, her company for colored glass near Seattle is thriving - thanks to the rich shades of glass and the exquisite works of artists from all over the world.

At the age of 57, armed with her experience as a chemical engineer, Momka Peeva went to the other side of the ocean. Without knowledge of English language and without a driver's license, she had modest desires.

“The decision to leave Bulgaria was not to do business in the United States, but rather to be close to my granddaughter and be a grandma,” Momka Peeva says. "But in Seattle I found good conditions for working with glass - there are a number of specialized galleries and world-famous glass sculptor Dale Patrick Chihuly works there, too. And despite the fact the U.S. offered me many opportunities to try out my knowledge, it was very difficult to break through initially because I was an emigrant and had no local experience. Meanwhile, I began to study English in order to adapt to the environment, and I soon found a job in Portland as a chemist for a newly created company that wanted me to create colors for borosilicate glass. This is solid glass, quite different from the ordinary soft glass I had worked with. My knowledge in chemistry helped me and I've been able to adapt many of my familiar formulas for that purpose. So, just a few months later, I had the great chance and pleasure of doing something unique in the United States - I created very bright colors.”

The brightly colored glass sticks created by the Bulgarian are used by artists in their works. She soon decided to start her own business together with her son, Geo - also an engineer. At the family-run firm in Arlington, she engaged in the chemical work, while her son focused on the technical aspects of production and they soon succeeded in overcoming the competition of both local firms with high quality and varied colors. Trading online, today their market spreads to Australia, Japan and many European countries.

Momka's company offers 98 unique glass colors. Sculptors use her glass and turn it into necklaces, figurines, glasses, as well as pipes used for smoking marijuana, as borosilicate glass is resistant to high temperature and is susceptible to artistic interpretation when in the hands of an artist. Following the legalization of cannabis in California and in several other states, the pipe business has flourished, and price sometimes reaches 2,000 USD.

“First, a borosilicate base glass is used and later portions of various chemicals, mostly metal oxides, are added to it,” Momka Peeva says. “Then the mixture is placed in electric furnaces to melt. The process takes between 18 and 24 hours before the glass is pulled out using so-called coolers. We do all of this manually and despite this is a slower process; the glass rods have better quality. Several companies have already tried to do this by machines, but the quality is not the same.”

Two years ago, Geo Peev returned to his home country and hired part of the old glass factory in Beloslav, in order to establish a company branch in Bulgaria. It turns out that the European market is still opening for borosilicate glass products and the Bulgarian branch has also received orders from America. Perhaps, the day when the whole family would reunite on Bulgarian land is not far off.

English: Alexander Markov