Russian Glassblown decorations (part 1)

Recently I spent two days at St.Peterburg's the New Year Fair that was held at Expoforum; harvested a tonne of interesting stuff that I probably will be filling my blog in forthcoming weeks or months. (And a lot of food images! Surprise, surprise -- tasty meals are the must for all Russians as a part of celebrating the New Year coming).

In this blog I will share the pictures of the glass blown toys, used for decorating the Christmas Tree. It will be a long post, beware. Happily its almost pure images and no long-reads. Probably more pictures will go to post #2. Ok, ready? go!

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All images are mine. All images are available for purchase in hi-res.

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Photographer's self-portrait. Look carefully, and you will see me!

Artists-creators sought inspiration in folk style 'lubok', in Russian folk art. Of course, it could not do without such an Russian exclusive as balalaika, samovar, nested dolls (aka Russian dolls). Many toys were developed from the characters of Russian fairy tales: Emelya, Golden Fish, Red Riding Hood...

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Some toys were made in the shape of fruits. My baby especially enjoyed the Pomegranate toy.

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The seller was super cool, helpful and smiling; in the end, I dared to ask permission to go behind the counter to make close-up shots of the most expensive toys on the shelves - and easily got it! (But I did not abused it and didnt stay there a long time).

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This is how the counter looked like. Not that much, right? But in fact - it was a whole universe! One could easily spend several hours here (provided that he has a camera, ofc!)

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All of the counter, at the hand distance was lined up with boxes - everything could be touched and chosen. The cheapest toys were priced at $3. More expensive stuff, packed in separate boxes, was stocked on the shelves behind the seller's back. One could pick them up and decide with the seller's assistance.

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The ball toys were located beyond the customers'hands, too. / Украшения в виде шаров также находились дальше, чем длина рук покупателей.

The boxes are full of amazing stuff!

The smallest toys were presented in these boxes: a squirrel with a nut, deer baby Bambi, ducks, kitties and dogs...

Golden cones -- simple and elegant!

Ducks and puppies. Touchy!

There was also a bestseller here - a golden walnut. Actually it was sold out, I noticed only one left.

made in Russia

In case you may be interested in a short historical excursion, the store presented the stuff from two manufacturers only: the factory 'Ariel' from Nizhny Novgorod and the 'Yolochka' factory from Klin.

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The history of 'Ariel' factory began in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, in 1936. Despite all the zigzags of history, tradition has not died! The factory flourishes and, as you may see, manufactures beautiful works of art that gather international fame and awards. There is a museum established within it, also the tourist tours have been organized for those wishing to get acquainted with the ancient craft of glassblowers. Online-store: http://f-ariel.ru/internet-magazin

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'Yolochka' glassblowing factory from the city of Klin made the 2nd half of the assortment. This factory has kept the tradition of glass-blowing artisans since 1848! https://www.yolochka.ru

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close-up

I will add to the post some more close-ups... and the rest will go to the next post -- part two.

Some of the toys were combined all together in special boxes, aka 'collectible gift set'.

Personally, I was amazed to see the toys in the shape of an old typewriter and a Zinger sewing machine!

Red (riding) Hood girl and the Mushroom Daddy.

The Golden fish -- who executes any three wishes, according to the Russian tales.

The toy in a shape of Balalayka.

A Gingerbread House toy.

Toys from the 'Bullfinches' set / Голубые игрушки из коллекции 'Снегири'.

A Young Beauty and an Old Granny.

The Hunter.

The Owls.

The Brave Hussar Soldier, and a Princess (probably his bride?)

my purchase

The story probably would be incomplete and imperfect without telling what I have brought home, right? Unfortunately, not too much (and that's why I took so many pictures -- to have this beauty in digital if I can't possess it in real). Like many other families, we have a tradition to add each year at least one new toy to our Christmas decorations collection. This year I went after this one: a small deer baby, the name is Bambi! It is very tiny, less than 3 cm. Despite its size, it was costy: 250 roubles (apparently $4; some bigger and more expensive toys were priced at $15-25). Anyway, it was impossible not to fall in love with her! And my wife totally approved my choice.

all images taken with Canon 5D + Sigma 50mm 1.4, Canon 16-35mm

location: ExpoForum, St.Petersburg, Russia
[//]:# (!steemitworldmap 59.761642 lat 30.352488 long glassblown toys from the NewYear fair d3scr)

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