Working with glass has become a family tradition and source of income for a family from Bulgaria’s capital Sofia. Borislav Korudjikov is a pioneer in this craft.Today he is among the most famous master glassmakers in Bulgaria. He lectures glass and porcelain design at the National Academy of Arts. In Bulgaria, glass processing is taught in the National Academy of Arts, New Bulgarian University in Sofia, the Technical University of Varna and the National School of Applied Arts –Sofia. This craft will not disappear, as long as there are families like Borislav Korudjikov and his daughter Gabby. Borislav and Gabby believe that working with glass is more than a craft. It is their passion.

“I have the feeling that there is glass in my blood. Sometimes I do glass design even in my dreams. I am happy that my daughter has also become a glassmaker”, said Borislav Korudjikov.

Borislav and Gabby have a small studio where they create art glass with style, like the glassmakers in France, the Czech Republic and Northern Europe. “My father and I make glass items together. We appreciate each other’s success. Currently I am making a new type of jewelry”, said twenty-seven-year-old Gabby Korudjikova. She graduated from the National Academy of Arts and studied in her father’s classes, majoring in Glass and Porcelain Design.

“My father and I strive to diversify our collection. One can definitely make a career in this profession. Well, we do not sell that much now because of the new situation related the coronavirus pandemic over the past year. All our items are handmade. We use the cold processing method to make the glass elements of our jewelry. People compare our jewelry to the one made of natural gemstones. We have also worked with natural stones. My father’s machines are so precise that they can even grind diamonds.

My father also makes large glass sculptures. They are quite massive and it takes months to make them. Some of them weigh over 40 kilograms and he uses a water-cooled angle grinder to process the glass. This art is labor intensive and not everyone can afford it.  We want to make a kind of a video and film different stages of making glass sculptures, because people cannot imagine how we work. When people see a sculpture displayed in an art gallery, they do not realize how difficult it is to process such an item.”

Borislav Korudjikov created a series of statuettes for the Golden Lyre Award, Manager of the Year Award and various music competitions.

“My father has supported me in everything I do and I love this family craft more than anything. I would not change it for anything else, no matter how many difficulties I go through. I strongly believe that this art will develop in Bulgaria in the future. Currently, there aren’t any great connoisseurs in this country and most of those who can appreciate it are people with fewer opportunities.”

English version: Kostadin Atanasov