Father and son team Bronek and Damian Cholewka, produce a wide
range of artful glassware at their Crystal Glass factory in Krugersdorp. With a B.Sc. in
Glass Technology gained in Poland, Bronek came to South Africa in 1981 and worked in a
number of local glass factories before venturing out on his own.
Now, with Damian and a small but dedicated workforce, they apply
the full spectrum of glass working techniques in producing their range of products. These
include lampshades and glass furniture, crystal cut glass and smaller, delightful, glass
blown ornaments. Soon they will introduce stylish doors with artistic, sandblasted motifs,
as well as blue replacement liners for antique silverware.
SA Country Life
December 1995
'
Going for Art
FATHER AND son team, Bronek and Damian Cholewka,
produce a wide range of artful glassware at their Universal Crystal Glass factory in
Krugersdorp . With a B.Sc. gained in Glass Technology in Poland, Bronek came to South
Africa in 1981 and worked in a number of local glass factories before venturing out on his
own. Now, with Damian and a small, but dedicated workforce, they apply the full spectrum
of techniques in producing their range of products . These include lampshades and glass
furniture, crystal cut glass and smaller, delightful, glassblowing ornaments. Soon they
will introduce stylish doors with artistic, sandblasted motifs, as well as blue
replacement liners for antique silverware .
Story and Pictures by Alex Cremer
SA Country Life - December 1995
Tres Bien Damian!
Damian Cholewka a pupil at Krugersdorp High School decided that
his school project was to be something worth remembering, so he set to work with
undeniable enthusiasm. His hobby is glass blowing and after three weeks of constant
creativity and engineering skill, he produced a model version of the Eiffel Tower. It was
well worth the effort as he attained a 100 percent mark for his masterpiece.
Krugersdorp News - May 1988
Age is no Barrier to Achievement
If you visit the Bryanston Organic Market
on a Saturday morning you will find a crowd gathered around Damian Cholewka's stall
watching him work. He works so deftly and expertly with his blow torch and glass rods,
creating fascinating glass articles that it comes as a surprise to realize that behind
those dark protective goggles is the face of a very young man. A standard nine pupil,
seventeen year old Damian taught himself this exacting art form by sheer determination and
hard work, He spent many hours watching an experienced glass blower at work and after many
more hours of practice he mastered the basics of glass blowing, With the enthusiasm of
youth he set out to market his work and by sheer good fortune discovered the Bryanston
Organic Market. It is a feather in his cap that his work was accepted, as the market sets
an extremely high standard of workmanship. All this he accomplished at the ripe old age of
14! But he soon discovered that was really when his work began. He had to work long hours
after school to build up stock to sell at the market. He cautiously set up his stand for
the first time, with the whole family rallying around to help carry the heavy gas cylinder
and other equipment. Damian also admits to being extremely nervous at having to work in
front of a crowd for the first time. However he has overcome this initial nervousness and
now hardly notices the crowds.
Specializing in animals, Damian will make anything from a
dinosaur approximately 15 cm high to a tiny mouse 1/2 cm in height. Sandblasted glass
animals with 24 CT gold details exquisite blown
glass flowers, strelitzias, roses, ears of wheat, bulrushes and the cutest hedgehogs are
just some of the articles in his repertoire. He also makes orders up on the spot at his
stand whenever possible.
Damian is a remarkable young man and has obviously inherited
strong genes for excellence, hard work and perseverance from his supportive parents.
Bronek Cholewka (Damian's father) fled Poland for South Africa in 1981 leaving his wife
and children behind until he could establish himself. His wife followed later that same
year but they had to wait two long years before their children were able to join them in
South Africa. Bronek arrived in this country with nothing but his knowledge and experience
in glass technology and has in a few short years by dint of hard work and perseverance
established a glass cutting business.
Arts & Crafts January 1993
Quality and Innovation Important for
Success
(I am busy translating this article from Afrikaans into English)
By Dr. Fanus Gous
Sake-Rapport 11 July 1993
Skill in a Million
Damian Cholewka (21) from Krugersdorp, is one of the few
glass-blowers left in the country. Damian started glass-blowing six years ago as a hobby,
as his father is the manager of Universal Crystal Glass in Krugersdorp and glass has been
in the family for generations. "I started glass-blowing as a hobby, and didn't
have any purpose of making money out of it in the beginning," says Damian. "I
was curious and wanted to play around with glass and see what I could do."
Damian says he found it very hard in the beginning, as he learned
by himself. "There is no place that I know of in South Africa where I could learn
about glass-blowing, so in the beginning it was trial and error," says Damian. It
took Damian about seven months to learn the basics, which is how to round bubbles and to
learn how the glass handles. "It is an ongoing process, and I learn as I go. Every
time I make a piece, I learn from it and try to improve," says Damian.
Damian is currently studying computer science and information
technology at university, and says that if all goes well he plans to follow a career in
glass. "Even if I don't follow a career in glass, I plan to keep glass-blowing at
least as a hobby, which is what it still is at the moment."
Damian receives the glass in different rods and pipes, of specific
diameters and thicknesses, which is then cut up into smaller pieces with a certain type
of blade. "I then start working from the end of the rod, heating it up with a torch,
and once the glass gets warm, either stretching it or pushing it together with other glass
or making patterns with tools." The glass is then worked like clay, and a
specific area is worked on. There are no forms involved - it is all hand made, which makes
every piece individual. The only tools that Damian uses while he works on the glass, are
tweezers and a couple of rods.
"You use the glass rod to shape the glass," says
Damian." Once the piece is made, then the stress needs to be taken out of it , to
make sure that there is no tension in the piece, which causes it to break or crack easier.
Damian loves his hobby, and says that it gives him great
satisfaction to see that others like and enjoy his work. "It is like a kind of
apprenticeship that I am doing. It is a very interesting field, as there aren't many
glass-blowers in South Africa", says Damian. "The problem with that, is that
there isn't anyone that you can go to for help. I've learned a lot from books and videos.
Damian makes both solid and hollow pieces, which are both known as
glass-blowing, and they can take anything from a minute to a few hours to make. "It's
not like anything else that can be left while a phone call is taken or you eat lunch -
once you start on a piece, you can't stop."
By Sarah Duplock
West Rand Times - 28 July 1995
Blowing up a storm
Damian's hobby is paying off
Damian Cholewka of Krugersdorp is one of
glass-blowers in South Africa. This 21 -year-oId entrepreneur started glass-blowing as a
hobby at the age of sixteen.
Damian, a full-time B.Sc. Information Technology student at the Rand
Afrikaans University practices glassblowing between lectures. At home, he studies between
glass-blowing. "Nobody offered lessons in this art form, ", says Damian ,
"I had to read books on the subject, I learned by trial and error, Today my
glass-blowing business is running very nicely. He sells his glass figurines on Saturdays
at the Bryanston Organic Market, I used to blow glass every Saturday at the market and
people were fascinated by it. With the time taken by my studies, it has become a bit
difficult to do it that regularly, but I still bIow in front of people on special days,
for example the day before Mother's Day."
Although the waiting list to get a stall at the Organic Market
usually takes a few months" Damian was awarded one in a week, "I did a lot of
research on animals and started off making hedgehogs, I also make Africa's big five, 21 st
birthday keys and glass flowers, I get at least Rl 5 each for my 30 mm high horses and R85
or more for the 1 40 mm models." Damian's family came from Poland to South Africa
13 years ago. He works in a room in his mother's house in Krugersdorp and earns enough
money from his hobby to pay for his university studies and to support himself.
He imports his glass - the same as Pyrex glass from Germany. He
borrowed money to import all his equipment, including burners and gas bottles. It takes a
lot of dedication and it is not something you learn quickly over a week-end, it is a
intricate art that requires attention to detail.
It took me eight months to learn the basics like to blow bubbles the
same size is quite problematic. One leg of an animal has to be a mirror image of the other
otherwise the animal will not stand up straight.
"Despite common belief, being able to draw is not a
prerequisite for successful glassblowing," This art requires ,a lot of capital and
time , but the rewards are worth it, he says. He uses his own ideas for figurines and also
gets ideas from the public. Damian won an entrepreneur ship competition three years ago.
The prize was a ten day trip to Italy where the young entrepreneurs were shown how
businesses similar to theirs are conducted. It included a visit to Venice, the
glass-blowing Mecca of the world.
"I will eventually work in the field of
information technology, but I will not give up my hobby, I enjoy making high quality glass
animals.
SA Success Winter - 1996
Risen from the ashes
Nicci Liddell (12) watches Damian Cholewka blowing glass at the
Organic Village Moonlight Market which has its grand re-opening (under tiles this time) on
Sunday November 5 from 12 noon.
Sandton Chronicle November 1 1989
It's market time
Twice a week - on Thursdays and Saturdays - farmers, crafts
people, musicians and patrons gather at the Bryanston Organic Village Market, on the
grounds of the Michael Mount Woldorf School.
It's market day, just like in the story books. One can buy
organically grown vegetables, herbs, mushrooms, natural honey and free range chickens'
eggs. Clothes and fabrics on offer are all 100 percent natural fibre. Home baked bread and
cakes are made with real butter, brown sugar and whole grain flour.
Musicians playing natural acoustic instruments invite anyone to join
them. It is the place to get hand spun wool, herbal cosmetics, wicker work, wooden toys,
beads, flowers and natural medium art - anything that is handcrafted.
The Star - July 31 1991
Tradition lives on
Bronek Cholewka is carrying on the tradition of glass decorating,
that started generations ago in his family. "My father was a glass cutter in Poland, and every school
holiday I used to help him in the factory," says Bronek. "When I was
studying glass technology and ceramics at university, I still worked at the factory
part-time."
Thirty years ago, Bronek started a glass cutting workshop in Poland,
his motherland, and emigrated to South Africa in 1981."I worked in various
companies in the country before I decided to open my own business in 1990 in
Krugersdorp." Bronek the opened Universal Crystal Glass, a family run business,
where he combines everything into glass decoration.
"At the workshop we decorate ready-made glass such as
trophies, shower doors and glasses, and we offer a unique service to the public, restoring
crystal and unique glassware."
Bronek removes chips, fixes stems of glasses and many other things,
so that the glasswork looks like it has never been tampered with. "We cover a wide
area of decoration of glasses, and offer the best equipped glass workshop in South Africa
that I know of."
Bronek's wife, Wands and his two sons, Damian and Dominik, ,and all
involved in the workshop, as well as two full-time employees. "Glass gives us a
lot of independence when we work on it, there's no monotony, every day you learn something
new."
The furnace that Bronek works on, reaches a maximum temperature of
1320 degrees Celsius.
Decorating the glassware involves a lot of team work, and if one
person stops or makes a mistake, the whole teams effort is ruined. "We do special
requests for people, and have a diverse field, we do anything from glass lamps to boxes
for sorting diamonds, which we make for the diamond industry."
If you visit the Bryanston Organic Market
on a Saturday morning you will find a crowd gathered around Damian Cholewka's stall
watching him work. He works so deftly and expertly with his blow torch and glass rods,
creating fascinating glass articles that it comes as a surprise to realize that behind
those dark protective goggles is the face of a very young man. A standard nine pupil,
seventeen year old Damian taught himself this exacting art form by sheer determination and
hard work, He spent many hours watching an experienced glass blower at work and after many
more hours of practice he mastered the basics of glass blowing, With the enthusiasm of
youth he set out to market his work and by sheer good fortune discovered the Bryanston
Organic Market. It is a feather in his cap that his work was accepted, as the market sets
an extremely high standard of workmanship. All this he accomplished at the ripe old age of
14! But he soon discovered that was really when his work began. He had to work long hours
after school to build up stock to sell at the market. He cautiously set up his stand for
the first time, with the whole family rallying around to help carry the heavy gas cylinder
and other equipment. Damian also admits to being extremely nervous at having to work in
front of a crowd for the first time. However he has overcome this initial nervousness and
now hardly notices the crowds. 
4 CT gold details exquisite blown
glass flowers, strelitzias, roses, ears of wheat, bulrushes and the cutest hedgehogs are
just some of the articles in his repertoire. He also makes orders up on the spot at his
stand whenever possible. 
Damian Cholewka of Krugersdorp is one of
glass-blowers in South Africa. This 21 -year-oId entrepreneur started glass-blowing as a
hobby at the age of sixteen. 
