Inflation is a word most don’t want to hear. It evokes thoughts of escalating prices and devaluation of currency. But to glassblowers, inflation means something completely different and quite frankly, we would not have hand-blown glass without it.

Glass as a material has been around since the beginning of time. Volcanoes and lightening were the primary manufacturers taking certain types of rock and sand, and heating them to extremes. The results were sharp and shiny shards that were instantly recognized by stone-age man as valuable tools for weaponry and cutting devices.

Fast forward to 3,500 BC and mankind begins to use glass aesthetically for beads and ceramic pottery. But it wasn’t until 27 BC that inflation was discovered which changed glass making forever. Essentially, inflation means blowing a small amount of air, sometimes a steady stream and others a quick puff, through a narrow blow pipe into a blob of hot glass that's been heated to over 1600 degrees. The glass blower uses special tools to mold its shape before allowing it to cool.

Of course, glassblowing has created everything from day-to-day accessories to jewelry to very expensive pieces of artwork sold in art galleries around the world. But few know it actually occupies a wonderful place in memorializing a loved one after we’ve lost them through the sculpting of cremation jewelry, and the results are nothing short of spectacular.

Cremation jewelry is, simply put, jewelry that contains some of the cremated ashes of a family member or loved one. It is widely believed to have begun in England after Queen Victoria's husband died of typhoid in 1861. During the next forty years, she had numerous memorials made called “mourning jewelry” to honor her husband and not surprisingly, others in her country and around the world soon followed the trend. However, cremation jewelry served strictly symbolic purposes since the methods to use ashes in the design of molten glass were unknown. 

Today, glass blown cremation jewelry rivals its standard cousin in every way except for the fact that it incorporates the ashes of a loved one. And since glass is made from all natural materials like rock and sand, it mixes wonderfully with ashes to produce unique designs and styles not possible with other types of jewelry. In fact, in some pieces, the ashes actually turn into bright white sparkles like magnificent stars on a clear night.

From brilliant pendants to stunning bracelets and necklaces, the master glass sculptor has given us the true definition of eternal art.