Seeing the glass half full: How this Romanian company finds its place on a delicate market

Galle Glass Buzău, a producer of decorative glass items, has managed to overcome a market downturn a few years back and is now exporting most of its output outside of Romania. The producer employs a special technique, associated with the French artist Émile Gallé.

From the many producers of Galle-type glass items that were once open in Buzău, Galle Glass is one of the few still standing. The company uses a technique that goes back to French artist Émile Gallé, considered a major representative of the French Art Nouveau movement and is one of the founders of École de Nancy (The School of Nancy), also known as the "Alliance Provinciale des Industries d’Art". The movement marked an important, renewal moment in the decorative arts, through the use of glass, furniture, stained glass, ceramic, leather, iron, architecture, and other artistic mediums.

In his work, Gallé employed an original style, using opaque glass, often layered in several thicknesses, carved or etched with botanical motifs. In time, he established a workshop that produced larger series of his designs and that of other artists, nonetheless keeping the high-quality of the items. Gallé’s research resulted in the registration of two patents in 1898, one concerning glass marquetry and the other glass finish. His glass work proved very successful at the Paris Exhibition of 1878, an appreciation which would endure to the present and inspire many later on.

Today, the Buzău producer, in eastern Romania, is exporting 80% of its output, manufactured using the Gallé technique.

“The production process is an ample one. We still use the technique of Émile Gallé, which is difficult to understand and put into practice. The glass is layered at temperatures of over 1,000 degrees Celsius, it is then blown into a matrix, and engraved chemically and mechanically. The attention to detail, the personal, close way of relating to the clients in the sale process brings many to visit our plant, some coming even from India,” Răzvan Romaine Alexandru, the manager of Galle Glass, explains.

Most of the clients are individual ones, from Japan, China, US, France and Canada, who appreciate arts and interior design and are interested in owning a Galle-type decorative item. Among the plant’s best-selling items are the vases and the lamps, with an average order of EUR 500. The company also produces other types of glassware and lighting items, and says it stands out on the market with the diversity of its product portfolio, the production technique used and the efficiency of its customer services.

The company uses dedicated fairs, various conferences and networking sessions, social and traditional media to spread the word about its products, which can currently be purchased in stores in Bucharest, Timișoara, Sibiu, Ploiești and Buzău.