ABOUT
BROKIS – where two centuries of Bohemian
glassmaking tradition meet modern lighting design,
cutting-edge innovation, and exceptional quality.
BROKIS lighting collections have achieved
international acclaim by combining handblown glass
with other refined materials, such as handcrafted
wood and metal, in bold compositions that push
the boundaries not only of modern lighting design
but also of the technologies applied in production.
The family company owns its own historical
glassworks southeast of Prague and enlists the talent
of renowned designers from around the world.
BROKIS is the lifework of successful Czech
entrepreneur Jan Rabell, who founded the brand
in 2006 as a platform to revitalize and elevate
Bohemian glassmaking to new heights and preserve
generations of knowledge and craftsmanship.
Nearly ten years prior, in 1997, he had acquired
the ailing Janštejn Glassworks, which was 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
set out to restore the factory to its former prestige
and ensure that the ages-old Bohemian glassmaking
tradition endured into the 21st century.
With BROKIS, Jan 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, like glassblowing using optic moulds
and traditional hotshop techniques. Original and
nearly forgotten formulas for manufacturing coloured
glass were reinstated and are now characteristic
of the BROKIS brand. It brings us great joy that
in 2023, Czech handmade glass was added
to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible
Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Today, BROKIS and Janštejn Glassworks employ more
than 100 people and draw on a unique symbiosis
that has allowed BROKIS to establish sales operations
in 120 countries and regularly showcase
its award-winning lighting collections at the world’s
most prestigious design shows.
