Krasnoyarsk Factory Sells Affordable 'Caviar Sandwich' Ornaments

With just under a month left until New Year«s, if you»re still lacking holiday cheer, it«s time to find some. The NGS24.RU team visited the only glass Christmas ornament factory east of the Urals — »Biryusinka« — and learned how a simple glass tube transforms into an appetizing »caviar sandwich.«

»Actually, the caviar sandwich was invented by our chief accountant, Oksana Vladimirovna,« says Artyom Denisovich, the factory»s deputy director. «We were sitting, talking, and in the middle of the conversation someone suggested: let»s make a caviar sandwich. And people seem to like it.«

The factory has been operating for over 60 years. Ornaments from here travel from Moscow to Vladivostok and become genuine family heirlooms. For Krasnoyarsk residents, »Biryusinka« is part of the tradition. Each ornament isn»t just glass. It«s a story: the burned hands of the craftsmen, a carefully carved antenna, a perfectly placed cap, unique painting.

»Our work is dangerous; the glass is thin, so we cut ourselves, of course, we get burned. But we don«t even pay attention to it; we just work. The main thing is that the ornament is produced in the end,» explains Tatyana Popova, who has been working as a glassblower at the factory for six years.

Watch our video to follow the entire journey of an ornament — from the flame of the burner and blowing the glass tube to painting and decorating the tree — and find out which ornaments the craftsmen actually choose for themselves.