Prague Journal

Wednesday, January 19, 2005.

It’s a bit frosty and slippery outside today; a good day to be in a car instead of walking around town or running for trams or buses. Eva and I drove to Železny Brod, a small town about 100 km northwest of Prague, to interview the owners of a small “lamp-bead” jewelry company. Železny Brod is in the Jizera region of northern Bohemia, in an area of particular natural beauty, near the Jizera mountain area known as the Czech Paradise (Český Raj). Český Raj is a protected area comprising sand stone rock towns, and is one of the most popular tourist areas in the Czech Republic. The name “Český Raj” was first used in the 19th century by guests of Sedmihorky spas. Both the architecture and scenery are beautiful, with baroque and Romanesque churches and castles and basalt and sandstone rock formations. Contributing to the breathtaking rock scenery, there are deep and narrow tunnels, caves, the Jizera River, deep forests, ponds, and wildlife.
Železny Brod has been known for its iron and glass works since the sixteenth century. According to the website information I found, Bohemian glass became famous throughout the world and was competing with the finest products from other great glass-making centers as early as the 17th century. The techniques of glass bead making, learned from Venice, led to a flourishing cottage industry which grew to huge proportions thanks to some famous Czech designers in the early the 20th century. The industry virtually collapsed after WWII and lay dormant for 40 years until the fall of communism, when small entrepreneurs started to revive glass-bead making. To this day, bead and jewelry-store representatives come from around the world (as far as Australia and Japan) to see the glass bead and gem factories and purchase items for their stores.
Daša and Hedvika started their glass-bead company three years ago, and it has grown and been profitable from the start. http://www.aac-beads.cz/ Hedvika’s daughter Miša is the company’s sales manager. Miša is a student in Eva’s class (whom I had met earlier this fall). She had suggested her mother’s company as a good candidate for a case study about women entrepreneurs. Eva and I were treated to a very interesting tour of their factory, and saw how the beads are made – each one individually – by melting different kinds and colors of glass from long tubes onto wire spindles held over an oxygen-rich flame. The three women talked with us for over two hours about the business. They were quite open with information, so we hope that we can put a good case study together in time to submit it next month for the WACRA conference, which is in Brno this summer.

posted by JWinn @ 6:37 PM