L A D I S L AV Š E V Č Í K
B O H E M I A C R Y S T A L
since 1990
www.sevcikcrystal.cz
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Glass known as far as the Japanese Imperial Court
For many years the Ladislav Ševčík company has been among
the most respected glass producers in the world. Our products
are presented to statesmen, presidents and members of imperial
families on official visits. Fine glass objects from the Ladislav Ševčík
company are often sought after as investment pieces, just as with
works of fine art, among which our company‘s objects rightly have
their place.
Our products are unique and exceptional in their meticulous
detail and precision workmanship, which we have honed to
perfection. All the glassmaking techniques – cutting, engraving
and sandblasting – are based the handwork and creative sensibilities
of our individual artisans.
Our products immediately captivate the eye because of the
depth of cutting, their refinement and radiance. Due to the intricacy
of cutting so deeply and our insistence on first-rate quality, our
production is not large.
The philosophy of the Ladislav Ševčík company is to build upon
the traditional glassmaking techniques that were responsible
for the international prestige of Czech glass in the past, to develop
these techniques further, and to maintain the highest possible
quality and sophistication of design. Our brand BOHEMIA CRYSTAL
ŠEVČÍK is known throughout the world, especially in Japan and
China.
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Handmade glass with a long tradition
Founded in 1990
Ladislav Ševčík’s workshop is located in Železný Brod, one of the
main centers where the glassmaking industry developed in the
Czech lands.
In a large and competitive field, Ladislav Ševčík‘s glass workshop
sets itself apart with its exquisite craftsmanship. Ševčík emphasizes
the raw material – he searches for glass with exceptional clarity, which
he then cuts as deeply as the material allows. The deeper the cut,
the greater the possibility of damaging the glass, thereby risking
diminished productivity. But the difference in the final product is
immediately evident.
Today Mr. Ševčík is a leading personality in his field, and his
workshop creates gifts for presidents and emperors.
Ladislav Ševčík 1997
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History
At the time of the Velvet Revolution in
1989, Ladislav Ševčík was not yet 30, but
he knew one thing with certainty: He did
not want to work at the state-owned glass
company Železnobrodské sklo, where he
had done an apprenticeship. He wanted
to produce glass of his own design based
on his own ideas, and above all to change
the methods of production. Together with
his wife, Jitka, an artistic glassmaker and
engraver, they decided that they would try
to find a market for their plans.
Our ideas were born in a studio flat in a housing
estate, behind walls lined with carpeting so as to
avoiddisturbing the neighbors. Nights were spent
remodelling an old blacksmith shop into a small glass
workshop.
We presented our ideas and plans to the family of the famous Rudolfa
Hlouška glass company, based on which the family agreed to rent us their
crystalware premises. The Rudolf Hloušek company was founded in 1930
and was nationalized in 1948. In its brief time of operation it produced
many ingenious glass items. These products spoke to us and were an
influence on our work.
From the very start we differentiated our work from classic glass cutting,
and this was precisely what attracted a Japanese clientele. By 1992 we had
already received an order from the Japanese Imperial Court: sixty vases
for the wedding of a Japanese princess. Two years later, Japan‘s national
public broadcasting service, NHK, also took notice of our company and
made a 45-minute film about us, thereby fully opening the Japanese
market to us. Our production has always focused on attention to detail
and sophisticated glass cutting.
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For 27 years we have been producing cut crystal – from
the raw material to our own packaging – here in Bohemia.
In our workshop we cooperate with our employees, experts with years
of experience in the field who are graduates of a glassmaking school
or have apprenticed in the field of glass cutting and engraving. Now
our sons Vojtěch and Ladislav have joined our company.
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Products
Our products are unique and exceptional in their meticulous detail
and precision workmanship, which we have honed to perfection. All
the glassmaking techniques – cutting, engraving and sandblasting
– are based the handwork and creative sensibilities of our individual
artisans.
Our products immediately captivate the eye because of the
depth of cutting, their refinement and radiance. Due to the intricacy
of cutting so deeply and our insistence on first-rate quality, our
production is not large.
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Cut glass
This glassmaking technique began to blossom in the early 19th
century. In cutting glass we set as our aim achieving maximum
depth of cuts, pushing at the very limits of the material‘s strength.
Our cutting instruments were developed specially to meet our
requirements and needs.
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“We are merely trying to elevate an ancient craft ...“
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“At the beginning we were a laughingstock.
No one could believe that the way we were
decorating glass had any sense at all or that such
glass would ever find a market.“
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“I wanted to work in a different way than others did. To
move Czech glass and its level of quality forward. To prepare
limited series. Thus, completely differently than it had been
done before, differently than it is still being done today.“
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Ladislav Ševčík (junior) 2017
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PÁV
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Engraved glass
Each engraved piece bears the distinctive hallmarks of its creator.
An engraving is made by translating the image in negative, the depth
of engraving giving the glass object its plasticity. The play of light
and shadow in the finished piece brings about the desired effect.
Artistic engraving is the most expensive glassmaking technique.
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Jitka Ševčíková 2015
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Processed in 2017 from archive materials of company
32 LADISLAV Š E VČÍ K Ladislav Ševčík Bohemia Crystal.
Ladislav Ševčík
www.sevcikcrystal.cz
sevcik@sevcikcrystal.cz
+420 602 101 581
Železný Brod, Czech Republic
