There is no mistaking glassware from the Carretones Glass Factory in Mexico City which has been in continuous production since 1889. Carretones glass graces the structure of The Palacio Belles Artes, the kitchen of Frida Kahlo, and every table setting of the famed San Angel Inn.

In June 2003, Rick and I received a call from our longtime friends and managers of Carretones letting us know that glass production had ceased and that they had lost their lease on the building after over 100 years of craft and tradition. We rushed down and chose mementos to preserve the roar of the furnaces, the molten globes spinning from the craftmen's pipes…an extension of their lungs, and the memory of floor to ceiling shelves filled with jewel-colored glass that dazzled our eyes.

Please enjoy the photo tour and memories of Carretones, the oldest and most beautiful glassworks of Mexico. And if you are lucky enough to own some of this dazzling glassware, treasure, love and by all means use and enjoy it.

By Debra Hall
Co-owner
ZOCALO Fine Folk Art
San Miguel de Allende, MEXICO
Pátzcuaro, MEXICO
www.zocalofolkart.com