Month: April 2021

Handmade Glass: Care Instructions

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broken glass

Immaculate, highly ornamental glassware can make your interiors come alive. But caring for your designer pieces and everyday glassware doesn’t have to be a chore. We’ve put together these handmade glass care instructions, so every object you purchase continues to look stunning.

What to avoid when cleaning glass

Cleaning glass is simple and straightforward, but your pieces can be fragile and easily damaged. Here’s what not to do when cleaning your glass:

Dishwashing

Glassware should be cleaned by hand unless an object states that it’s dishwasher-safe. Glass is sensitive to extremes of temperature, and your dishwasher can get very hot, very quickly. If you’re not 100% certain that your art glass can go in the dishwasher, don’t risk it. You could find your one-off pieces emerge with a huge crack running through them.

Abrasives


Scratches are the last thing you want when cleaning glass. Unsurprisingly, using the wrong cleaner or abrasive pad can quickly cause damage. Instead, stock up with microfibre cloths and a gentle dishwashing liquid to remove any stubborn dirt. Using harsh detergents or cream cleaners on your glassware can leave an irreversible cloudy or patchy result on a shiny surface.

Jewellery


Another common way to damage your glass is wearing jewellery while you’re cleaning. Diamonds can cut through glass, or inflict a nasty scratch. Most handmade glassware is more delicate than you think and can damage easily. Remove your jewellery before you start cleaning to avoid any problems.

Extreme temperatures


Before you start to clean any piece of glass, let it get to room temperature. For example, if you keep your collection of glass paperweights in direct sunlight, allow them to cool down before you wash them. Let a piece of chilled down stemware warm gently before immersing in warm water. Never be tempted to pour boiling water directly into a wine glass or vase as it’s liable to crack.

Separate pieces


If you have several pieces of glass to clean, don’t be tempted to throw them into a bowl together to speed up the process. It’s a quick way to leave your pieces with scratches or abrasion damage. Have patience, and wash each item separately.

Caring for your handmade glass


Caring for your glass doesn’t always mean using soap and water. We recommend that you try dusting or dry cleaning your pieces first before using other glass care methods. Always start with the most straightforward task before moving on to other solutions.

  • Dusting: Regular dusting is the best way to keep your glass looking gorgeous. You could use a feather duster, but a dry, soft paintbrush is perfect for getting into those hard to reach areas. Just brush softly over the surface to remove dust and bring your glass back to its best.
  • Fingerprints: If your glass ornaments are a fingerprint magnet, here’s the solution. Spray some glass cleaner onto a lint-free cloth and wipe them away.
  • Compressed air: Intricate decorative glassware can have plenty of tricky to reach places that are impossible to clean. Try a gentle blast with a can of compressed air (test on the base first) to blow away any stubborn dirt and dust.

Tips for dry cleaning glassware:

  • Always handle your glass with both hands
  • Make sure you clean and dry your hands to keep them grease-free
  • Remove your jewellery
  • Always hold your glass art pieces by the base

If dry cleaning isn’t enough to get your pieces sparkling, try the soap and water method:

  1. Dip the object in the water and use a cotton wool ball to remove the dirt. You can use a paintbrush or baby bottle brush to access hard to reach areas.

2.Rinse the object either using a damp cloth or by dipping it into a bowl of clean, lukewarm water.

  1. Blot your glassware dry immediately with a paper towel, then gently and thoroughly dry with a microfibre cloth. Drying now will prevent watermarks and mineral deposits that can be hard to remove later.

Tips for washing glassware:

  • Use a plastic bowl with a folded cloth or rubber mat in the bottom. A foam garden kneeler is ideal
  • Use lukewarm water to avoid breakages. In hard water areas, use distilled water or install a water softener
  • Add one drop of detergent to one litre of water
  • Wash one object at a time

General glassware care tips

  • Store and display your glassware in a secure place where it’s not likely to get damaged. It may seem obvious, but it’s often tempting to show off beautiful objects where they can get chipped or broken.
  • Keep your pieces out of direct sunlight. Not only can UV fade bright and vivid colours, but heated glassware is also more likely to crack.
  • Always handle your glassware by the base, gripping it firmly and carefully to minimise potential damage.

At Pyramid Glass, we’re one of the UK’s leading retailers of designer glassware. Shop our stunning collections today or call 01244 400 389 with your enquiries.

The Benefits of Buying Handmade Glassware for Your Restaurant

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The restaurant experience is about so much more than the food. It’s everything from the buzz and the decor right down to the glassware. Serving wine, beer and water in exquisite and beautiful glassware is something your customers will love. And distinctive glassware makes a bold impression that means your tables always look polished and professional.

Still not convinced? These are the benefits of buying handmade glassware for your restaurant.

Why glassware matters

You can drink Merlot from a Mason jar or Chardonnay from a coffee cup. It’ll get you tipsy, but you won’t get the best out of the wine. The shape, size, and feel of the glass itself all contribute to the tasting experience. There’s a reason why Belgian ales, single malt whiskies, and the finest XO cognac are all best experienced in bowl-shaped glasses.

Investing in handmade wine glasses elevates the experience of drinking anything from a house red to vintage champagne to another level. Beverages become part of the big event, reflecting your brand aesthetic and commitment to outstanding service. It’s an investment that will repay itself time and again.

First impressions count

What do you want your customers to see when they walk through the door? Tables set with sparkling glassware – polished to perfection and perfectly aligned – create a fantastic first impression. You’re sending a clear message to customers (and restaurant critics and inspectors) that you’re serious about your wines, beers, or other beverages.

Stunning glassware sends a subtle message to your diners. It tells them that they’re in safe hands and they can trust you to deliver an exceptional experience. What’s more, those beautiful handmade wine glasses deserve a special bottle of wine. Gorgeous glassware tells your customers that your restaurant is the place to explore the wine list and order something special beyond their usual price range.

Everyone loves to feel special

If you’re serving a tasting menu with a paired wine flight, handmade glassware takes the experience from standard to stand out. Start by investing in some premium red wine glasses and champagne flutes and keep them ready for when a customer buys a high-end bottle or for that celebratory fizz.

You don’t have to make the experience feel elitist. Upgrading your glassware will make every customer feel special. And that’s a powerful incentive to keep them coming back for that same amazing experience time and again.

Taste the difference

Enjoying a glass of wine – or beer or boutique mineral water – engages all our senses. Not just its aroma and flavour, but the feel of the glassware in our hands. The way the wine catches the light and gurgles as it’s poured into a beautiful piece of stemware. Exceptional customer service is all about raising expectations and delivering the best possible experience every time you pour a glass.

Bespoke glassware matters because it’s specially crafted to ensure that the ethanol vapours from the wine connect directly with our smell receptors. The human nose can detect over 10,000 scents, so a properly designed wine glass allows us to enjoy every complex sensation.

A larger bowl means the aromas of a full-bodied red hit our smell receptors full on. A smaller tulip-shaped glass will concentrate the ethanol molecules and focus the bouquet of a delicate white. It seems the right glass is about much more than social etiquette – it really can deliver a better tasting experience.

Start your collection with the perfect handmade wine glass. Make sure it has a delicate stem, tapered bowl, and a thin rim, and you’ll make every glass count.

Create theatre

Your front-of-house team is dedicated and hardworking, and they love to impress. Whether you’re serving the finest ales, vintage wines or the sexiest cocktails your mixologist can deliver, handmade glassware is designed to provide the wow factor.

Sit down with your staff and take a taste test. Which glasses deliver the best all-around tasting experience for every beverage? Producing a serious piece of stemware that perfectly pairs with your customer’s choice of drink creates the theatre that customers love – and makes them happy to leave a tip.

Impact your bottom line

If you’re thinking of upgrading to handmade glassware, measure beverage sales before and after. You should start to see a positive impact on your bottom line that will more than repay the initial investment. For example, pairing premium wines and stemware is another opportunity and incentive for your front-of-house team to upsell.

At Pyramid Glass, we’re one of the UK’s leading glassware retailers. We’ve brought together a stunning selection of glassware from Europe’s finest designers so you can find innovative, functional, and striking pieces that will impress your customers. Shop our collection or contact us today. We’ll be happy to help you find high-quality and unique glassware for your restaurant.

What’s The Best Way To Clean Crystal Glass?

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Nothing can match crystal glassware for elegance and style. Regularly cleaning crystal glass ornaments and stemware will help maintain the sparkle and shine for years to come. If it seems like an arduous chore, we’ve put together a few tips to help you breeze through the task. So what’s the best way to clean crystal glass? And what can you do about stubborn residue, water sports, and other issues? Read on and find out.

First, check your glassware

Genuine lead crystal glassware is highly porous and not dishwasher-safe. However, before you start filling the sink, check your pieces. Lead-free glassware has many of the qualities of crystal, but you can run it through the dishwasher.

If you’re in luck, then you can start loading your dishwasher. Here’s the best way to get perfect results:

  • Make sure there’s plenty of space between each piece, so they don’t jostle and break during the washing cycle.
  • Only use a small amount of dishwasher detergent to avoid residue.
  • Allow the crystal to come to room temperature before running your standard glass washing cycle.
  • Let the crystal cool in the dishwasher and then remove it carefully, using a lint-free cloth to avoid fingerprints and smudging.

Washing crystal by hand

Don’t be nervous about washing crystals by hand. Follow these steps, and you’ll have stunning glassware in no time.

  1. Allow the crystal to come up to room temperature. Sudden temperature changes can crack the glass.
  2. Line the bottom of the sink or washing up bowl with a soft cloth, rubber mat or a layer of paper towels. This layer will protect your glasses from chips and breaks.
  3. Fill your bowl or sink with warm water and a few squirts of a gentle washing up liquid. Mix thoroughly, then add two cups of white vinegar. Never use hot water as your crystal can break.
  4. Submerge your wine glasses one by one in the solution and leave them for a minute. Don’t be tempted to wash more than one piece at a time, as that can lead to chips and breakages. For oversized ornaments or candle holders, sponge down thoroughly with the washing solution.
  5. Gently clean the item inside and out, using a microfibre cloth and a gentle circular motion. For cut or engraved glass, a toothbrush is a good tool for dislodging any dirt. If the opening of an item is too small for your hand, use a baby bottle brush instead.
  6. Rinse your items with warm water so they don’t crack and dry immediately with a lint-free cloth to avoid water spots. You might want to wear gloves to prevent fingerprints. Wipe away any residual soap from oversized items or rinse in a bucket of warm distilled water to avoid water spots.

Restoring shine to your crystal

If you need to restore the shine to your crystal, look to the pantry. A solution of three parts warm water to one part vinegar will soon fix that lost dazzle.

Line the bottom of your bowl as before with a soft cloth and submerge your crystal glassware for five to ten minutes. If you’re cleaning a vase, fill the piece with the vinegar-water solution and leave it to stand. Finally, clean, rinse and polish as usual.

Removing water spots from your crystal

Water spots can take the edge off your crystal wine glasses. To restore their beauty, try one of the following cleaning strategies:

  • Soak glasses, ornaments, or vases overnight in a vinegar-water solution, or try denture cleaning tablets.
  • Alternately, remove the seeds from a lemon and rub the cut side over the water spots.
  • If the problem persists, consider cleaning your crystal with distilled water or get a water softener.

Get rid of stubborn mineral deposits

If your glassware looks dull and cloudy, the culprit is mineral deposits, especially if you live in a hard water area. Here’s how to tackle glass that has lost its sparkle:

  • Toothpaste: rub a little into the cloudy areas using your fingers or soft cloth until the glass is clean and clear.
  • Vinegar and salt: make a paste of equal parts of these two pantry staples and rub it into the cloudy area. If the stains are persistent, a solution of 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda dissolved in warm water with enough vinegar to make it bubble should shift even the toughest stains.

General tips and advice on caring for crystal

  • Never let your crystal air dry, as this encourages water spots. Instead, dry gently with a soft, lint-free cloth.
  • Always use warm water as extremes of temperature can crack your crystal.
  • Let clean crystal wine glasses return to room temperature before you use them again.
  • Never store liquids or foodstuffs in lead crystal.
  • Consider using non-drip candles with your crystal candle holders and remove any wax deposits immediately. Be careful when burning candles, as the high temperature can cause your crystal to crack.

If you’re looking for designer crystal glassware to gift or for your collection, shop Pyramid Glass today.

Who Invented The Tealight & The Story Behind Its Name

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carat candlestick and votive

We all have a stash of tealights somewhere. They’re inexpensive yet atmospheric. A single tealight can burn for up to five hours, making them extremely handy in an emergency. But who invented the tealight, and what’s the story behind its name? We take a closer look at the little candle that could.

What is a tealight?

Everyone knows the humble tealight. Available in plenty of different colours, scents, and sizes, the standard white tealight is 38mm in diameter. Just the right size to pop into one of our beautiful handmade glass votive candle holders.

A tealight is composed of a wick secured to a circular metal pan that’s filled with wax. The design allows the wax to liquify completely once lit. Tealights can burn for anything between three to five hours with a gentle ambient light. And they produce a respectable 32 watts of power, which makes them good at keeping things warm.

Tealights have traditionally used paraffin wax, but some studies have shown that inhaling the fumes can be bad for your health. Soy and electric tealights are popular alternatives and look just as good used in a beautiful tealight holder.

Who invented the tealight?

No one knows who invented the tealight. But its history is a long and fascinating one spanning Japanese teahouses and Victorian country homes.

When it comes to its origins, the clue is in the name. Yes, the Japanese initially used tealights for keeping the tea warm during the Japanese tea ceremony. This zen ritual started in the 12th century and can last up to four hours. Handy little tealights not only mark the passing of time but keep the tea warm.

In the Victorian era, their use became purely utilitarian. The original hotplate, households used them to keep food and pots of tea warm at every meal. Do you still have a fondue set at the back of a cupboard? A tealight is just what you need to keep that molten cheese or chocolate at the perfect dippable consistency.

Why are tealights so popular?

Nowadays, tealights are an affordable way to create mood lighting and fundamental to a shabby chic look. But could our modern love affair with gently flickering tealights embrace something deeper? The ultimate in low-tech illumination, they’re the perfect antidote to our high-tech age.

Tealights are also a close cousin to the votive candles standard in religious ceremonies around the world. In Japanese culture, white candles are part of a daily meditative ritual. And they’re are an essential fire element in the practice of feng shui.

Calming, meditative, and relaxing – there’s no wonder that candle sales have surged during the lockdown period. Whether you use them to create a spa experience in your bathroom or an enchanted summer garden, tealights make for an effortlessly relaxing and romantic mood. As a bonus, soft candlelight causes the pupils to dilate for those ‘bedroom eyes’ that are so appealing.

Using your tealights

To maximise the burn time from your tealights, make sure you keep the wick trimmed. Stand your glass candle holders out of any direct drafts to help them to burn for longer.

Don’t use scented tealights when you have friends round for dinner. Scented candles can clash with food smells, creating an unpleasant fug.

You may have heard that freezing a tealight makes it last longer. It’s true that initially, it may burn more slowly. However, once it reaches room temperature, it will burn at the same rate as non-frozen candles.

Another myth is that you should always blow out a candle. That’s a move best saved for your next birthday cake – blowing out several tealights at once causes smoke, soot and plenty of wax spray. The best way to extinguish a tealight is to use a wax dipper which pushes the wick into the wax and puts it out without any smoke. Doing this has the added benefit of coating the wick with additional wax, making it easier to light the next time.

Tealight holders also make brilliant gifts. Pop a couple of beautiful glass or crystal heart-shaped tealight holders into a wedding present. Or search out unusual votive holders and scented tealights for your best friend as a thank you.

Beautiful ways to show off your tealights

Tealights allow you to get creative when it comes to creating gorgeous displays. Scoop out the centre of an apple, lemon, or orange, and you’ve got a beautiful tealight holder with the bonus of a delicious natural scent.

A tealight inside a wineglass with a homemade shade is an unusual decoration for your next al fresco dinner party. Or drill some holes and perch your tealights inside a birch log for some effortless Scandi chic.

At Pyramid Glass, we have a wide selection of dazzling glass and crystal candle holders that will make even the most humble tealight sparkle. Shop in-store or online today.