Making contact with Michael

After these words it was inevitable for me! My questions needed answers. We were able to get in touch with Michael through the school and so I wrote to him asking to learn more about him. Less than two days later, I received a kind reply saying he was willing to work with us.

A report by Michael Leeder

As a child, my mother often told me that I would make a good paramedic or glass blower. I don't really know why, because as a child I had little idea what a glassblower actually does every day, I imagined that they make large vases and lamps and that was it. This idea did not particularly appeal to me.  It wasn't until I was much older that I realized there were other types of glassblowing. As for the paramedic, while looking at wounds doesn’t make me feel queasy, I’m not sure this would have been the right path for me. I also think that the work would have been too emotionally taxing for me in the long run. But many years later, in 2015, I started to take a closer look at the glassblowing profession. I got curious and scoured the internet. When I was looking for equipment online, I found a website called 'Devardi Glass' that sells cheap beginner kits, and that’s how my exploration into the glass blowing world began, because that's where I bought my first set of tools and a torch. Since there were no teachers around, I had to teach myself everything, and I did that by watching tutorial videos on YouTube. Of course, back then I bought a small burner from Devardi.com that only needed propane to work, but I quickly outgrew it and bought a small burner from Glasstorchtech.com. A completely different torch because this burner required oxygen and propane. Of course, I also had to solve the oxygen problem, as bottled oxygen is quite expensive, so I bought an oxygen generator that can produce 10 litres of oxygen per minute. I now have a small set-up in my garage that contains everything required for lampworking: table, glass, oven, burner, gas and oxygen.

The path to Germany

But now back to the question of why and how I came to Germany. In Australia there are very few opportunities to learn the trade of scientific glassblowing. One option would be to be born into a glassblowing family and learn from your parents. Another option is to wait many years for a job to be advertised, but I've only heard of that once so far. And that is it, as far as I know. A more far-reaching possibility, and the only one that made sense for me, was to leave Australia and start an apprenticeship abroad, because there are no technical schools or universities specializing in glass in Australia that offer apprenticeships. On my constant search, I found a group of scientific glassblowers and took part in one of their annual conferences. It was the Australian Scientific Glassblowing Association, which unfortunately no longer exists. Shortly after I attended their annual meeting, the association decided to disband due to dwindling numbers of glassblowers, as most members were ready to retire. Unfortunately, you cannot advance a professional association with just one young member. This state of affairs is very unfortunate, because a lot of knowledge will be lost as a result in the coming years.

When I asked if there was someone who could train me, the only answer I got was that they had neither the time nor the money to train me, although they would very much like to. They thought the best way to learn this trade was to go to Europe.

As luck would have it, I met a young glassblower from Germany, Peter Rotner, at this very event. Wherever possible, he wanted to earn a bit of money as a skilled worker in my home country to help finance his adventures. What better way to make contacts than at a glassblowing conference. Peter told me about the Glasfachschule Zwiesel and suggested that I apply as an apprentice there. I did and 6 weeks later I found out that they didn't have room for a new student. So I looked for other schools in Germany and found one called Glasfachschule Hadamar. I sent an e-mail introducing myself and shortly thereafter received a letter back saying they would accept my application. Four weeks later I was in Germany.

To Germany at the speed of light

My journey from Australia to Germany was very stressful, I had less than 4 weeks to get a German student visa, move out of my apartment and find accommodation in Germany. The paperwork was a nightmare, but somehow we made it through. In addition, I was already married at the time and unfortunately I couldn't take my wife with me to Germany. We were going to visit each other every 6 months but shortly after I arrived, Covid happened and we couldn't see each other anymore. We were separated for 2 ½ years.

My first day in Hadamar

My first day in Hadamar was overwhelming in a good way, I arrived at the school and luckily the first person I met was my teacher and mentor Mario Pohlman, although we couldn't communicate easily, he knew who I was and drove me to my apartment, where we also met my new landlord. The theory classes were a big surprise for me. I wasn't aware that there would be classes in maths, sciences, ethics, politics, etc. I couldn't understand anything and that's why I failed the first few months in class. It took me about 1 year to understand enough to pass the tests. Most of my classmates spoke quite good English which made communication easier, and when I really needed a translation my friends were always willing to help. I was able to shine in practical classes. I loved every moment. After all, that's why I came to Germany. Whenever I could, I stayed as long as possible, practicing on difficult implements and making flower pendants to sell.

My German definitely had to get better!

I had no money for language classes, and the free classes the state offered were only for refugees. So I used phone apps to improve my language skills and wrote lists of words to memorize. German audio books also helped a lot. When I left Germany I could understand almost everything that was being said around me, however I found speaking very difficult as I am naturally a quiet person.

Financing my stay in Germany

I came to Germany with enough money for 2 years of rent and food. And to fund the 3rd year I had planned to sell the glass art I would be making on the side. My teacher Mario Pohlman was a lifesaver in this respect. He found me odd jobs here and there and organized paid work during the summer holidays.

Back to Australia again

Returning to Australia was always the plan, my wife, my dog, my friends and family were all waiting for me to come back home and I was very homesick. I felt like I hadn’t seen the sun in years. But in the future I would love to come back to Germany with my family and find work.

Since my return I have been working for a company called Labglass - even before my training in Germany I had met Graham Wolfe, the owner of Labglass at the glass blowers' meeting described above. He offered me a job in his company if I completed my education in Europe. At the moment I'm doing smaller tasks there. My boss takes care of the bigger jobs, like flanges and big reaction chambers. I never know what my next task will be. I spend as much time at the workbench as at the lathe. Some of my recent work has been on digestion tubes, soxlet extractors, markham semi micro stills and some small custom 4mm fittings. The company also makes certified measurement vessels of all shapes and sizes. There is a small workshop downstairs, office and storeroom upstairs, 6 lathes, 5 benches, a diamond saw, and several grinding wheels. The company currently employs 7 people, 4 of whom are glassblowers.

https://www.truelocal.com.au/business/labglass-pty-ltd/stafford

Would a return to Germany be conceivable?

It would certainly have been interesting to stay in Germany, but persuading my wife to move to Germany could turn out to be a difficult task. Europe is wonderful! It has so much history and culture. Just a few hours’ drive and you find yourself in a completely different country. In Australia it takes just under 50 hours to get from one side to the other. In addition, there are very few job vacancies in Australia. As far as I know there are fewer than 20 glassblowers in Australia. And only one of them works at a university. In any case, I keep in touch with my glass blowing friends in Germany. It will be great when I get to see them in person again in the future.

A look into the future

With real estate prices as high as in Brisbane, I will never be able to own a house as an employee. So once I learn enough in my current position, I will start my own business and work towards self-employment. My wife and I would like to have children and maybe they would love glass as much as I do and I can teach them everything that Frank Bollowitz and Mario Pohlman taught me. And there we are again with the possibilities of being able to blow glass in Australia. As I said at the beginning, it might be an option for my children to be born into a glassblower family and to learn from their parents.

LAPGLASS PTY LTD

Labglass is a Brisbane-based family-owned scientific glassware manufacturer. The company was founded on 15th February 1971 by an English glassblower, the late Mr. Albert Fletcher who sold Labglass to Grahamand Karen Wolfe on 24th January 1994. Graham had been the manager of the company prior to purchasing the business, since 6th January 1992, and a sales representative for Labglass distributors since 3rd December 1973. Labglass manufactures an extensive range of both standard and custom-made scientific glassware. Since 1971 the company has manufactured a range of water stills and continues to supply a full set of spare parts for every model they have ever manufactured. In addition to manufacturing, Labglass distributes for several major European and British firms. The company clients are located around Australia and throughout the world. Glassblowers employed at Labglass have, over the decades, come from many countries around the world, with current glassblowers from the UK, Philippines, and Australia.