About us

The past and the present

Jiří Šafránek (1927-2015)

Radek Vavřač

The company Sklo Šafránek was founded in 1990, shortly after the fall of the totalitarian communist regime. Its grounder, Mr. Jiří Šafránek, has made his life-long dream come true with following the family tradition of glass cutting, which has been started by his uncle and mentor, Mr. František Šafránek, in the twenties.

Mr. Jiří Šafránek spent his whole productive age in the glassmaking industry working as a glass cutter and later as a production manager in the state-owned company Železnobrodské sklo Železný Brod. Afterwards he worked as a glass technologist at the renowed High School of Applied Arts for Glassmaking in Železný Brod. During this time he acquired a lot of skills, knowledge and experience, which he could later apply in his own company.

He set up his own business when he was in his retirement age already. He bought and and revived one long non-functional glass cutting factory, which was based in the forests near to town Železný Brod. And it was just the same factory in which he worked as a glass cutter in the fifties. He started the production of luxurious cut glass. Some years later the most difficult technique of glass refinement, the engraving, the technique of sandblasting and the production of glass jewellery have been added.

Since the beginning of the company´s existence, we uphold highest quality standards for our products. Apart from using the proven decors, we put great emphasis on further developement on the applied techniques. The basic assumptions for achieving the desires results are absolute skill in the handicraft, art feeling and the ability to innovate. We believe that the friendly atmosphere in our team also helps to manage all tasks.

In 2013, the company management has been taken over by Mr. Radek Vavřač, the grandson of Mr. Jiří Šafránek and graduate of High School of Applied Arts for Glassmaking in Železný Brod. And so the family tradition continues.

Image gallery

Socialistic era

Grindery, 1st half of the fifties

Grindery, 1st half of the fifties, the workshop.

The cutters (from the left): Jiří Hlaváček, Josef Klápště, Jiří Šafránek, Čestmír Menšík

Grindery, 1st half of fifties

National enterprise ŽBS Železný Brod, year 1971

Mr. Jiří Mašek and Mr. Josef Hujer (both later employed by Sklo Šafránek).

National enterprise ŽBS Železný Brod, turn of the sixties and seventies

Mr. Jiří Šafránek - sitting.

Era of the company Sklo Šafránek

1st half of nineties

Mr. Josef Klápště

1st half of nineties

Mr. Drahomír Netolička

1st half of nineties

Mrs. Ladislava Halamová

23.4. 1996 - shortly after fighting the fire of the hillside above the grindery. From the left: Dana Vavřačová, Petr Kněbort, Iveta Steinerová, Josef Kriegler, Rudolf Škorpil, Tomáš Pfeifer