COMPANY
The Czech premium lighting brand Brokis stands for the synthesis of exquisite design, superior quality, and the remarkable craftsmanship of Bohemian glass artisans. Conceived by renowned Czech and foreign designers, the original BROKIS lighting collections have steadily earned international acclaim and recognition. The company combines handblown glass with other refined materials, such as wood and manually pressed metal, in bold lighting compositions that push the boundaries of contemporary design. The Brokis portfolio features modern functional lighting fixtures, decorative objects, and unique lighting solutions for architects and interior designers. With its own high-capacity production facilities rooted in more than two hundred years of history, Brokis is free to experiment and develop innovative materials, techniques, and technologies as well as offer bespoke lighting solutions.
PRESERVATION OF BOHEMIAN GLASSBLOWING TRADITION
Brokis is the brainchild of successful Czech entrepreneur and engineer Jan Rabell. In 2006, he founded the brand Brokis as a platform to enliven and elevate Bohemian glassmaking to new heights and preserve generations of knowledge and craftsmanship. Nearly ten years prior, in 1997, he acquired the ailing Janštejn Glassworks, founded at the start of the 19th century approximately 140 kilometres southeast of Prague. Demand for traditional products had declined significantly, many of the glassmakers were growing old and leaving, and time-honoured technologies and techniques were at risk of being lost. Mr. Rabell’s vision was to restore the factory to its former prestige and ensure that the ages-old Bohemian glassmaking tradition endured into the 21st century.
With Brokis, Mr. Rabell created a lighting brand offering entirely different products than those previously produced at Janštejn Glassworks. Several new Italian-style furnaces were built, and production techniques were refined. Some, such as grinding and glass painting, were discontinued, and others were revived, e.g., glassblowing, optic moulding, and traditional hotshop techniques. Original and nearly forgotten formulas for manufacturing coloured glass were reinstated and are now characteristic of the Brokis brand.
Brokis has firmly established itself as a leading innovator in glass lighting. For example, the complex technology applied in production of the Night Birds collection, which consists of imposing yet elegant curved glass silhouettes of birds in various phases of flight, required two years of experimentation to perfect. Today, Brokis and Janštejn Glassworks employ a total of 100 people and enjoy a unique symbiosis that has allowed Brokis to launch sales operations in 70 countries and showcase its renowned lighting collections at the world’s top design exhibitions.
JANŠTEJN GLASSWORKS
For more than 200 years, Janštejn Glassworks, situated in Bohemia’s picturesque Vysočina Region, has upheld a glassblowing tradition that dates to the end of the 17th century. Founded in 1809 near the village of Horní Dubenky, the factory and generations of tenacious craftspeople employed by it have enjoyed periods of prosperity, yet have also endured much hardship, with three devastating fires, two world wars, and nationalization among the greatest challenges. Today, Janštejn Glassworks is the largest producer of specialty lighting glass in the Czech Republic.”
BROKISGLASS
BROKISGLASS is a product of the eco-friendly practices of Janštejn Glassworks and BROKIS, whose collaboration has given rise to a unique new material made of glass shards. In the manufacture of lighting glass, up to 30% of each handblown piece is discarded. The primary motivation for establishing and developing the company BROKISGLASS was the need to change the conventional perception of glass shards as waste, which previously was merely hauled to a landll, where it burdened the environment and had a negative impact on the character of the surrounding landscape. This innovative material brings a new dimension and aesthetic to glass, and its unique properties make it an excellent choice in architecture, construction, and interior and product design.
INNOVATIONS
BROKIS has firmly established itself as a leading innovator in glass lighting. For example, the complex technology applied in manufacturing the Night Birds collection, which consists of imposing yet elegant curved glass silhouettes of birds in various phases of flight, required two years of experimentation to perfect.
BROKIS is constantly developing new technologies for its lights in order to offer consistent industry-leading quality and innovation throughout its global product portfolio, such as with a special original connector, the sustainable material called BROKISGLASS, and TRIMLESS, a sleek new system for hanging pendent lights from lowered drywall ceilings. BROKIS has also recently developed a series of configurators for some of its most popular collections. These powerful online tools let customers create their very own bespoke lighting compositions in a user-friendly, intuitive interface.
BROKIS also maintains a strong online presence through a series of innovative initiatives, such as BROKIS VIRTUAL PROJECTS and the unique MyBrokis application. In January of 2022, BROKIS launched a website within Janštejn Glass Group (JGG). Today, BROKIS and Janštejn Glassworks employ more than 100 people and enjoy a unique symbiosis that has allowed BROKIS to establish sales operations in 120 countries and regularly showcase its renowned lighting collections at the world’s top design shows.
UNESCO
In 2023, handmade glass was inscribed in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. From the very inception of the BROKIS brand, its defining mark has been superior quality in glass artisanry and manufacturing. For several centuries, Bohemian glassmaking has been synonymous with unsurpassed quality and beauty. Today, it is an inseparable part of the cultural legacy of the Czech nation, and we are thrilled that it has been recognized on a global level by UNESCO as a significant manifestation of humanity’s living heritage.
