Now that I’m back home with Mom and the furry hooligans I thought it was worth taking some time to reflect on my travels around Czech Republic with a little blog post. Read on to see photos and some of the fun anecdotes from the amazing trip.
This was my second trip to the Czech Republic, my first was my inaugural tour with the wonderful Creative Adventures team in September 2017. This time I decided to head over a few days early, so I could get my bead store shopping out of the way, freeing me up to really enjoy my tour time (and do a little shopping for my personal stash!).
Buy all the beads!
Jon and my haul!
With the help of Jon Kubricht (owner of wholesale company Da Beads) I explored several warehouses and factories in and around Jablonec (pronounced Yablonetz) – the Czech bead capital. And Oh My the goodies! You just wouldn’t believe! At one place I filled up an entire giant box (there’s photographic evidence and a 7 page invoice!) and at another I spent literally hours scrabbling through piles of dusty boxes and endless shelves – all filled with thousands of vintage beads. I pulled so many treasures from here! And Jon tells me I tied his Mom for the most time spent shopping there – I think I’m pretty proud of that! LOL!
All of my purchases are being shipped by sea so when they eventually arrive it will be a whole big surprise all over again! I’m going to video it for you so wait and see! I actually love shopping for you guys as much as I do for me (just call me Shopaholic Jill!).
After shopping shopping and shopping it was time to head to Prague to officially begin the trip.
and so it begins…
My assistant for the tour was my buddy (and marketing manager extraordinaire) Chloe Menage who flew in from England on the Sunday night. We talked the night away and then headed to bed ready for the rest of the beady group to join us the next day!
Every day of the tour is different and even though I had been before, some of the places we visited varied and of course the people on the trip make each experience different. For this trip I was accompanied by over 30 enthusiastic beaders from America and Australia – along with several husbands, a daughter and some friends. These non-beaders did not know what they had let themselves info – they were about to beaducated!
Over the next few days we explored Prague with our helpful guide Eva. We saw the sights on foot, by bus and on a riverboat cruise! There was a little time for shopping for gifts and to sample some of the great restaurants close to the hotel which was ideally situated in Old Town. Our first beading class was also in Prague. We made a great start on the Charles Bridge bracelet, a design by Susan Sassoon which uses carrier beads. I met Susan on my last trip to the Czech Republic!
glorious glass
On Wednesday it was time to wave “Ahoi” to Prague and head out to the mountains where the bead shopping could begin! En route we made a stop at Sychrov Castle – I just can’t get enough of the details of this place. Every little thing is exquisite – like the door handles! I may have to start a blog called Jill’s Czech Door Obsession…
Once settled in our smart boutique hotel in the town of Liberec it was time to begin with a mini trunk show put on exclusively for us. The next two days were filled with bead factory explorations and evening classes. On Thursday we got to see Christmas ornaments being blown and decorated which was fascinating. We went to the gift shop after and I just couldn’t resist purchasing a box (ok, TWO!) Next up was the star of the day – G&B Beads factory!
Seeing the excitement on the group’s faces as they followed the process of bead creation from the melting of glass rods to seeing them emerge from the bead press was infectious! And it’s definitely the first time I’ve ever bathed in beads haha! We got to see carrier beads being tumbled to polish them and just how much work goes into faceted beads being cut. A beader’s dream!
The final stop of the day was a chandelier showroom (they also had vases, and glass figurines and YES some of them came home with me!) and a store selling stunning locally made jewelry and home ware. (I’ve already picked out my chandelier and it’s on my list for my next visit!) Thursday evening we went back to have our second workshop – in the amazing workshop room at G&B Beads. All of the ladies made a great start on the geometric shapes of Bohemian Spires.
Friday was more glass excitement with a trip to Detesk glass – a factory that creates blown glass bottles, lights, ornaments and lab wear. Phew was it hot in there! After this we made our way to the lovely town of Železný Brodwhere there was time to wander around the center and visit the Detesk gift shop and a lampwork bead store. Several of the ladies were able to try out lampworking themselves! All of this and wasn’t even lunchtime yet. Our final stop on the tour combined beads and lunch! Here the group got to sample traditional Czech food, beer and cake – and then shop to their heart’s content inside the factory! We finished off a wonderful day with the final part of the Bohemian Spires class back at G&B Beads.
Saturday – the final day of the trip – waaahh! Today I got to go back to the beautiful Museum of Glass and Jewelry in Jablonec nad Nisou. I think you could tour this museum 20 times and find new things to look at each and every visit. I definitely took a bunch of inspiration photos! After a lazy lunch it was time to pop back on the bus and head to Jested Tower. I’m not a fan of heights so I sat this one out and left the more adventurous travelers to take the cable car up the mountain (all 1012m above sea level)! Once everyone had returned (safely) we got together for our farewell meal. It was a truly wonderful last night – our meal was accompanied by music from a local Czech guitarist. He was soon joined by John, the husband of one of my beady ladies and also Toni the daughter of another. Oh boy could those guys sing!
After all the singing (and swaying) and food was over it was time to head back to the airport hotel and go our separate ways – sob sob! Thank you for following my travels with me on Facebook and to all of my fellow travelers – I hope we meet again!
If you loved following along with my travels and want to go on a future trip with me then you can! This is my next tour which is booking up fast…
October 4-13 2020 – Czech Republic – 9 days exploring Prague and Jablonec nad Nisou with Jon Kubricht, with visits to bead & finding factories, secret bead & button warehouses and much more! More info and booking here.
Glass bird decorations being made
