Right across the world-renowned St John’s Co-Cathedral stands Valletta Glass, a quaint, two-level shop housing a lovely collection of glass pieces, each individually hand-blown. The shop is often bustling with locals and tourists looking to purchase items from the marvellous assortment on offer. And with good reason.

The shelves are brimming with a colourful display of jewellery items, ornate vases and plates, a wide range of glass animals, as well as gold-gilded objects. Just last June, a new, 24-carat gold collection titled Blue Lagoon was launched, adding an opulent touch to the selection. More items for the home await upstairs: the lamps and clocks are particularly beautiful, available in a variety of styles and colours. It’s clear that each item is an artisanal piece, transmitting a fluid sense of movement, a hint at the fact that they really all started from just molten glass.

Another Valletta Glass outlet is housed in the medieval city of Mdina, close to Bastion Square, the most popular spot in the ‘silent city’, offering a hilltop view of most of Malta. From that vantage point over the bastions, you can spot, just over a kilometre away, the recently upgraded Ta’ Qali Artisan Village, with its concentration of local craftsmen and expert artisans. This is where each Valletta Glass item is born; where all those artefacts carrying its name and displayed in the different stores around the Maltese islands (including at the workshop itself) are produced – all by hand and unique in their own way.

Malta boasts a long-standing heritage of glass-making and some locally made pieces have become collectibles including in foreign markets. Based on glass-blowing techniques from the days of old and fused with a contemporary touch, expert glass blowers at Valletta Glass skilfully blow and shape by hand each creation while the glass is blistering hot, having just been released from the furnace. The spectacle of melted glass being transformed into wonderful objets d’art is a sight to behold.

With a deftly-made tweak here and there using time-honoured tools, a number of deliberate, well-timed blows into the pipe, and constant turning and handling, balls of molten glass become anything that the talented craftsmen wish to create. For the layperson, it also seems like a fine balance between heating and cooling, with timely interventions along the way. And the entire process appears so spontaneous and carefree that it’s almost difficult to picture the end result while the glass is still being shaped.

Valletta Glass allows you to experience this process first hand, at its premises within the Ta’ Qali Artisan Village – an experience that’s not to be missed. Here the shop is much larger, allowing the visitor to explore the entire collection of items that Valletta Glass produces. A door within the shop leads to the work area where glass blowing is taking place. So, while wandering around the many shelves displaying the exquisite glass items, one can just pop in and take some time to see the glass-making process in action!

Demonstrations often take the form of a performance in and of themselves, as the master blowers go on with their work. It is such a delightful opportunity to see – in real time – the behind-the-scenes processes leading to such unique, hand-made works of art.

The Valletta Glass story has been ongoing since 1979, and the family-run venture continues to hand-craft a wide variety of colourful, sought-after items, each with their own distinctive mark. The glass objects are made for all purposes and seasons, as well as for specific times of the year, including beautiful Christmas ornaments. Some are purely decorative, others very useful and practical; all hallmarked with that tasteful twist.

From jewellery items including necklaces and bracelets to paperweights, and from globe lamps and hanging glass pendants to vases, ornamental plates, figurines and so much more, Valletta Glass offers an eclectic mix of styles.

Though care must always be taken when handling each item, the company assures that they are highly durable, thanks to the glass-blowing techniques used and the addition of components used in the colouring process. This should put the mind of travellers seeking to take their purchased wares back home at rest, and will surely provide them with lasting memories of their trip to the Maltese isles.