A TRADITIONALLY CRAFTED
CONTEMPORARY VISION OF LIGHT
BROKIS
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BROKIS
BROKIS
BROKIS – a synthesis of exquisite design, superior
quality, and the skill of master artisans continuing
the centuries-old Bohemian glassmaking tradition.
BROKIS lighting collections have achieved inter-
national acclaim by combining handblown glass
with other refined materials, such as handcrafted
wood and metal, in bold compositions that push
the boundaries not only of contemporary lighting
design but of the technologies applied in produc-
tion. The family-run premium brand works with select
designers from around the world and operates its
own historical glassworks southeast of Prague. Each
BROKIS light is a genuine original, a functional work
of art as captivating by day as it is by night.
BROKIS
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TRadITIOn
PRESERVING
THE BOHEMIAN
GLASSBLOWING
TRADITION
BROKIS is the brainchild of successful Czech
entrepreneur Jan Rabell. In 2006, he founded
the brand as a platform to revitalize and elevate
Bohemian glassmaking to new heights and preserve
generations of knowledge and craftsmanship. nearly
ten years prior, in 1997, he acquired the ailing Janštejn
Glassworks, which was established at the start
of the 19th century approximately 140 kilometres
southeast of Prague. demand for traditional products
had declined significantly, many of the glassmakers
were growing old and leaving, and time-honoured
technologies and techniques were at risk of being
lost. Mr. Rabell’s vision was to restore the factory
to its former prestige and ensure that the ages-
old Bohemian glassmaking tradition endured into
the 21st century.
With BROKIS, Jan Rabell created a lighting brand
offering entirely different products than those previ-
ously produced at Janštejn Glassworks. Several new
Italian-style furnaces were built, and production
techniques were refined. Some, such as grinding
and glass painting, were discontinued, and others
were revived, like glassblowing using optic moulds
and traditional hotshop techniques. Original and
nearly forgotten formulas for manufacturing coloured
glass were reinstated and are now characteristic of
the BROKIS brand.
BROKIS has firmly established itself as a leading
innovator in glass lighting. For example, the complex
technology applied in manufacturing the night Birds
collection, which consists of imposing yet elegant
curved glass silhouettes of birds in various phases
of flight, required two years of experimentation
to perfect.
BROKIS is constantly developing new technologies
for its lights in order to offer consistent industry-
leading quality and innovation throughout its global
product portfolio, such as with a special original con-
nector, the sustainable material called BROKISGLaSS,
and TRIMLESS, a sleek new system for hanging pen-
dant lights from lowered drywall ceilings.
BROKIS also maintains a strong online presence
through a series of innovative initiatives, such as
BROKIS VIRTUaL PROJECTS and the unique MyBrokis
application. In January of 2022, BROKIS launched
a website within Janštejn Glass Group (JGG).
Today, BROKIS and Janštejn Glassworks employ more
than 100 people and enjoy a unique symbiosis that
has allowed BROKIS to establish sales operations in
120 countries and regularly showcase its renowned
lighting collections at the world’s top design shows.
BROKIS
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JanŠTEJn GLaSSWORKS
JANŠTEJN
GLASSWORKS
For more than 200 years, Janštejn Glassworks,
situated in Bohemia’s picturesque Vysočina Region,
has upheld a glassblowing tradition that dates to
the end of the 17th century. Founded in 1809 near
the village of Horní dubenky, the factory and gen-
erations of tenacious craftspeople employed by it
have enjoyed periods of prosperity yet have also
endured much hardship, with three devastating
fires, two world wars, and nationalization among
their greatest challenges. Today, Janštejn Glassworks
is the largest producer of specialty lighting glass
in the Czech Republic.
BROKIS
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PEOPLE
PEOPLE:
JAN RABELL
Entrepreneur Jan Rabell is one of the most dynamic
figures in the Czech Republic’s glassmaking industry.
Born in Prague in 1965 to a Puerto Rican father and
Czech mother, he grew up in his father’s homeland,
later returning to Prague to pursue a master’s
degree in economics. He went on to hold various
managing director posts in the field of finance and
banking. In 1997, he purchased the ailing Janštejn
Glassworks and set about restoring its prestige
and competitiveness primarily by introducing
unconventional glassblowing techniques and
production technologies. In 2006, he founded
the family-run premium glass lighting brand BROKIS,
quickly developing it into one of the most important
players in the market and exporting its products
around the world. Mr Rabell’s charisma, energy,
and innovative vision continue to propel BROKIS
and Janštejn Glassworks steadily forward.
“NOTHING’S IMPOSSIBLE;
NEVER SAY IT CAN’T BE DONE.”
BROKIS
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PEOPLE
PEOPLE:
LUCIE KOLDOVA
BROKIS art director Lucie Koldova is an acclaimed
Czech product and furniture designer. Her col-
laboration with the lighting brand began in 2010
with the timeless Muffins and Balloons collec-
tions, which she designed while living and working
in Paris. The voluminous glass lights embody her
charismatic, elegant style and quickly established
BROKIS as an innovative producer of handblown
glass lighting. She is the creative force behind
the brand and is instrumental in shaping its product
portfolio and image.
Her creations, objects of desire, include glass
sculptures, glass lighting, poetic gallery pieces, and
limited-series works. Breathtaking colours, unusual
proportions, and vibrant formal contrasts move her
work seemingly beyond the realm of the possible,
a trademark at once apparent in lighting collections
such as Balloons, Macaron, Puro, and Ivy. In addition
to developing ever-more novel and exciting motifs,
Lucie Koldova has introduced important technologi-
cal and formal solutions that have enabled BROKIS
to push the limits of handblown glass production.
“I SEE A LIGHT AS A SCULPTURE – AN OBJECT
RADIATING ENERGY. I SHAPE THE ENERGY OF LIGHT
THROUGH THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
THE SOURCE AND THE GLASS.”
BROKIS
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SUSTaInaBILITY
In terms of ecology, BROKIS has come a long way
since it was established in 2010. The BROKISGLaSS
project was established to reuse waste glass through
recycling. arising from the ecological manufactur-
ing practices of Janštejn Glassworks and BROKIS,
it resulted in the creation of an innovative material
made of glass shards discarded in the manufacture
of BROKIS glass lighting collections. The project cur-
rently produces ten tons of new flat glass each week.
BROKISGLaSS has brought about a significant
reduction in waste material. The transformation of
these shards into a new decorative product rep-
resents an environmentally friendly and efficient
upcycling of material, thanks to which the glassworks
is able to employ a strategic circular economy and
thus contribute to the cultivation of a healthy rela-
tionship between nature and humans. The next step
involves procedures for new glass blends that can be
added to other materials, such as concrete, in order
to achieve 100% reuse of waste glass shards. These
materials are already being applied in the new Overlay
collection.
BROKISGLaSS makes use of discarded glass
while reducing the brand’s environmental impact
and providing a highly distinctive aesthetic ele-
ment with endless possibilities for lighting design
and architecture.
SUSTAINABILITY
BROKIS
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VIRTUaL PROJECTS
VIRTUAL
PROJECTS
To show you just how remarkable BROKIS lighting
collections really are, we’ve created three amazing
virtual projects. The year 2021 saw the launch of our
acclaimed virtual villa, and at the beginning of 2022
we introduced our virtual boutique hotel. These were
followed in the autumn of 2022 by a new project
called virtual office.
The virtual villa offers architects, interior designers,
and end customers a unique opportunity to view
the majority of our collections under one roof, in
a single villa featuring refined and timeless interiors.
during the tour of the villa, which spans more than
900 virtual square metres across eight rooms and
two outdoor terraces, you’ll discover more than
15 perspectives, each providing a detailed view of
the unique lighting compositions, including closeups
of individual lights and possible combinations and
colour options together with a summary of the most
important information for each collection.
The virtual boutique hotel features not only the most
popular collections in the BROKIS portfolio but also
the latest ones. The grand scale of the virtual space
makes it possible to combine conventional lights
with our highly popular battery-powered lights. In
the virtual boutique hotel, there are luxury suites,
a restaurant, a bar, and an outdoor terrace with swim-
ming pool. The premises of the hotel are expansive,
so there is plenty of room to let your imagination
run free. Our lighting collections are showcased in
14 extraordinary scenes, each of which beckons visi-
tors to dream big.
The latest virtual project features offices situated in
new York in a Manhattan high-rise. The virtual space
occupies an impressive 1,200 m2. The BROKIS light-
ing collections lend a strong character to the space,
helping to create a warm and friendly environment
anchored firmly within a distinctive architectonic
office setting. The lights combine with the colours of
each room, creating contrasts and maintaining a ton
sur ton palette that enhances and embraces the sur-
rounding architecture while accentuating the beauty
of the new BROKIS collections.
The intensity of the light of the individual collections
is based on photometric measurements (LdT files)
to ensure the virtual rendering is as realistic as pos-
sible. Walk around. Linger for a while at a spot that
especially catches your imagination. do a bit of day-
dreaming. Light and art exist to evoke emotion in us.
Indulge in the experience.
LUCIE KOLDOVA
DAN YEFFET
BORIS KLIMEK
CHIARAMONTE MARIN
FUMIE SHIBATA
LENKA DAMOVÁ
VRTIŠKA & ŽÁK
LCM MARIN DESIGN STUDIO
FEDERICO PERI
FILIPPO MAMBRETTI
BROKIS DESIGN BY