Hand-blown glass for everyday rituals
Gabriela Seres is a family glassblowing atelier in Bucharest, Romania, creating hand-blown borosilicate glass for people who cherish beauty in their everyday rituals. We shape candelabra, tea and coffee sets, vases and centerpieces that bring light to tables, weddings and homes around the world.
Behind the name there is a small team: ten glassblowers, several skilled artisans in finishing and quality control, and a family who has devoted more than three decades to one material – glass shaped by fire. Today, half of our work still serves laboratories and research through Adrian Sistem SRL, our technical glass company. The other half, under the Gabriela Seres name, is dedicated to what we call slow luxury: glass objects made to be lived with, gifted and passed on.
Every piece we send out carries some part of our story – from the first factory where Gabriela and Petru met, to the workshop we run today, where fire, light and craftsmanship still set the rhythm of our days.
A family atelier since 1992
Our story begins in Bucharest, in a newly built factory called Centrala Sticlei, next to Parcul Sticlarilor – the Park of Glassmakers. Gabriela, a young chemistry technologist, worked on developing borosilicate glass tubing. Petru, a master glassblower, led a team of eighty glassworkers. Their world was a mix of formulas and flames, laboratory precision and human skill.
Somewhere between furnaces and cold winter mornings they met, fell in love and eventually had a son – Adrian. For years they worked inside the rigidity of a communist system. After 1989, as Romania changed and old structures began to dissolve, the factory changed as well. What had once been a place of research and discipline slipped into confusion and mismanagement.
In 1992 they decided to step away and build something of their own. They named the new company Adrian Sistem SRL, after their son. In a small rented house they began again from zero: borrowing gas from a heater, carrying oxygen cylinders in their old Dacia, and working late into the night. The company became, in a way, the family’s second child – fragile at first, then stubbornly alive.
From a small house to the National Institute of Glass
Craftsmanship
Every Gabriela Seres piece starts as a length of clear borosilicate glass tubing or rod. Our glassblowers heat it in a focused flame until it softens, turning solid material into a glowing ribbon that can be bent, stretched, sculpted and breathed into.
Borosilicate glass is known for its strength, thermal resistance and clarity. In untrained hands it is stubborn; in skilled hands it becomes surprisingly delicate and expressive. One object passes through many pairs of hands – the master glassblower shaping the form, assistants supporting and refining details, and finishing specialists cutting, grinding, polishing and checking each curve and base.
We aim for pieces that feel almost weightless yet are strong enough to be used, not just admired in a cabinet. Fire gives the glass its shape, and light reveals its soul. This is what we mean when we speak about the waltz of fire and light.
From Flame to Form.
Today: a contemporary European glass house
Today the atelier is led by Adrian Stefanescu, the son whose name once stood on the first company documents. Design is still created by his mother, Gabriela Seres, who continues to imagine new silhouettes – from sculptural Tree of Life candelabra to delicate tea and coffee pieces and contemporary vases.
Production, the teaching of younger glassblowers and the most closely guarded technical secrets remain in the hands of his father, Petru Stefanescu, who still comes to the workshop daily at eighty-one years old. Around them works a team of roughly ten glassblowers, supported by several artisans in auxiliary production roles and a small office and sales team.
We are intentionally small. Each item is made in limited batches, with room for careful work and honest human rhythm. Our focus is clear: to create hand-blown borosilicate glass for everyday rituals – tea, wine, flowers and candlelight – and to offer these pieces directly to private clients worldwide.
In recent years our work has travelled with us to Ambiente 2025 in Frankfurt, to the AlbAlb Popup Shop in Bucharest and to seasonal events such as the Noël Christmas Market. Wherever we present, we carry the same message: a family atelier dedicated to strong glass, unique design and the quiet luxury of pieces made to last.
A quiet global presence
Although we are a small family atelier, our pieces live in homes and spaces around the world. You can find Gabriela Seres collections with carefully selected partners such as AlbAlb in Bucharest, Atelier Junko in Japan, IRIS in Saudi Arabia, Merci in India, Nickey Kehoe in the United States, Penthouse Livings in Bangladesh and Summerill & Bishop in England.
Each of these stores has its own way of curating objects, and we are honoured when our glass sits among textiles, ceramics, furniture and art that we admire. For those who cannot visit our partners in person, our online shop allows us to ship to many regions globally, with custom packing and transport solutions for fragile or oversized pieces.
Whether it is a hand-blown glass candelabra made in Europe for a wedding table or a luxury borosilicate glass tea set chosen as an anniversary gift, our aim is always the same: to send out objects that feel personal, luminous and made with care.
For professionals, events and custom projects
Alongside private clients, a significant part of our work is created in partnership with professionals. We collaborate with interior designers and architects who specify our pieces for homes, boutique hotels and restaurants, as well as with event planners and florists who need custom glass centrepieces and candlelight for weddings and celebrations.
We can develop bespoke glass for events, tablescapes for restaurants or hotels and special editions for concept stores. Quantities and timelines depend on the complexity of the design, and larger series can unlock both deeper customization and more favourable wholesale pricing.
Behind each decorative piece is a team accustomed to precision – the same people who build technical glassware for laboratories. That dual expertise gives our professional clients confidence: what looks poetic on the table is supported by years of rigorous glassblowing. To learn more, visit our For Professionals and Events pages or contact us directly with your ideas.
Slow luxury and the value of keeping things
Glass is one of the most honest materials we know. It can break if mishandled, but if respected it can last for generations without yellowing, peeling or losing its clarity. Our approach to sustainability is quiet and practical rather than loud.
We work with borosilicate glass, a durable and stable material originally developed for demanding technical applications. We produce in small batches and keep most of our processes under one roof, reducing unnecessary transport between suppliers. We design objects that are meant to stay, not follow fast-changing trends; a good candelabra, vase or tea set should still feel right on a table ten or twenty years from now.
Whenever possible, we repair and restore our own pieces, helping clients keep objects they love in use instead of replacing them. For us this is what slow luxury means: fewer objects, made better, cared for longer.
Looking ahead: new collections and live launches
As we move forward, we are shifting even more towards direct relationships with the people who use our glass. Instead of building large stands at international fairs every year, we will increasingly present our collections in our own atelier and showroom in Bucharest, and online.
A major new 2026 collection is in preparation – a family of pieces designed around light, reflection and the idea of everyday rituals. We plan to launch it through a live event in our showroom, streamed online so that clients and partners around the world can join us without travelling.
The world of glass is changing. Fewer young people learn the craft; energy and material costs continue to rise. Yet for us this only makes the work more meaningful. Every day that Petru still walks into the hotshop, every new glassblower who learns to control the flame and every piece that leaves the atelier in a wooden crate or a branded box becomes part of a longer story – one we are still writing, piece by piece.
The waltz of fire and light.
Discover our collections
If you are discovering us for the first time, we invite you to explore the pieces that best capture who we are. The sculptural Tree of Life candelabra, the quiet comfort of our Tea Rituals, the expressive shapes of our Vases and Floral Arrangements and the experimental spirit of Glass Reborn all share the same signature: hand-blown borosilicate glass crafted in a family atelier in Bucharest since 1992.