Master glassblower Micke Johansson (b.1972) has been running his own glass workshop at home on the farm outside Örsjö, in the middle of the Småland glass kingdom since 2011. Johansson grew up in Flerohopp, which is an old glassmaking community just outside Nybro in Småland. He started at the Glass School in Orrefors at the age of 16 and soon got a job at Orrefors Glassworks. Micke Johansson became a master at the age of 24.

After his time at Orrefors, Micke ran the glassworks in Pukeberg for a few years and then built his own workshop. There he works primarily in the Ariel and Graal techniques, testing possibilities and challenging the techniques.

The Ariel technique, which means “spirit of air”, was developed by Gustav Bergkvist in 1936. The Graal technique was developed by Knut Bergkvist in Orrefors as early as 1916. “- The finest glassblowing technique is Ariel.” Micke Johansson has developed and refined the technique and is now the only champion in the world who blows in the double ariel technique. Micke Johansson is both a glassblower and a designer, which is a relatively unusual combination according to Swedish tradition.

After a scholarship to the Pilchuck Glass School in the USA and an internship with the famous master Silvano Signoretto in Murano, Italy, Micke was inspired to develop his own design. For 30 years Micke Johansson has worked with glass, exploring it and developing the craft. He has bl.a. received the Barometern-OT cultural award, the Yellow Feather, for its ability to preserve and at the same time challenge older craft techniques.

He wants to show that the Kingdom of Crystal is alive. This spring, courses in Grail and Ariel technique are coming up at Pilchuck Glass School, Seattle, USA.