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Sobrepera Collection

Mr. José Sobrepera is one of a handful of Spanish artisans who arrived in Mexico in the 1940s, and to this day he continues to derive enjoyment from his craft. Born in the province of Catalonia, Sobrepera has dedicated his entire life to glassware design, cutting and decoration. He came to Mexico under the tutelage of his teacher, who had gone into business with a Mexican entrepreneur.

Eventually Sobrepera's expertise and fame spread around the region, and throughout his professional career he has been invited to participate in various glass workshops. In fact, one of these workshops became so well known, it became a popular saying that, "if they cannot do the work at Sobrepera's, no one else will be able to either!"

Sobrepera has changed little about his technique, preferring to stay true to traditional, hand-crafting methods. Each piece undergoes five stages before being put out to sell. First, the piece is marked with a geometric pattern; then it is engraved with carbon silicate emery. Third, the piece is passed on to another thicker emery to develop the pattern fully; at the fourth stage another emery is used to fine-tune the details. The last stage implements color, for which he uses glass enamels that are applied when the piece is cold. They are then put in an oven at 580°C.

"This kind of work may be exhausting," confides Sobrepera. "However, it is also most gratifying. It's a craft to be learnt slowly and one requires several years of experience before one can claim to be good at it. To feel the pulse of the cut, to know how much pressure will the glass take and how to execute the different patterns implies a world of experiences that only a true master can control completely."