Crystal Valley Week 2026 confirmed the standing of the largest exhibition of glass, jewellery and costume jewellery in the Czech Republic. It once again presented a significant opportunity for Preciosa Ornela to demonstrate that Czech glass seed beads connect the world across all continents.
From 24 to 29 August, 2026 Liberec was transformed into a centre of glass, jewellery and costume jewellery. The fifth year of Crystal Valley Week with the motto Connecting Cultures presented more than one hundred creators, brands and glass firms at tens of sites throughout the city.
Preciosa Ornela was one of the more distinctive actors at the festival; its seed beads appeared at the exhibition, in the centre of Liberec, at workshops, in the hands of Brazilian guests, in fashion and in contemporary glass design.
THE EXHIBITION
This year’s festival theme was simply made for Czech seed beads. Their journey commences in the Jizera Mountains, but ends in places many thousands of kilometres away. For generations, they have travelled to various corners of the world where they become part of traditional crafts, jewellery, fashion and contemporary design.
Preciosa Ornela, the world’s biggest producer of glass seed beads, produces approximately 2.5 million kilograms of them at its plants in Desná and Zásada every year. The breadth of the product range is also exceptional; it offers more than 255 thousand combinations of shapes, colours, sizes and surface finishes. These seed beads from the PRECIOSA Traditional Czech Beads® brand thus find a use in the most diverse cultures and on various continents.
It was precisely this journey of these small glass decorations across the continents that the main Bead For The World exhibition presented at the historical facility of the former Pošta Café. Visitors were able to become acquainted with how Czech seed beads acquire new meaning in various parts of the world; they become jewellery, decorations or parts of traditional clothing where every seed bead tells its own story. The curator of the Seed Beads around the World exhibition, Petr Nový, also explained this during the guided tours.
The Panara presented their culture in Liberec through song, dance and painting. These are pillars of their traditions just like Czech glass seed beads which are used during the production of traditional jewelry and decorations. For the Panara, they are not mere pieces of glass; they are part of their craft, tradition and cultural identity.
While the public had the opportunity to become acquainted with the creation and traditions of the Panara directly in the centre of Liberec, they themselves had their first opportunity to get to know the entire seed bead creation process directly at the Preciosa Ornela production plants in Desná and Zásada. As such, they stood on the site from where Czech seed beads set out on their long journey across thousands of kilometres to the Amazon.
The meeting of these two distant worlds was therefore not merely symbolic. It quickly became apparent how one small glass component can connect the tradition of production in the Jizera Mountains with the culture of a native tribe at the other end of the world.
EDUCATIONAL PROJECT | SEED BEAD DESIGNS AT THE BOTANICAL GARDENS
The secrets hidden in a single seed bead
Seed beads were scattered around the region during the festival. Visitors were able to discover the Secret of the Rocaille’s Hole thanks to an educational project that Preciosa Ornela had prepared together with the designer Kateřina Krausová.
Kateřina Krausová’s seed bead designs also appeared at the Liberec Botanical Gardens where the traditional material found itself in an unusual dialogue with nature and contemporary design.
BEAD FESTIVAL | CONNECTING CULTURES FASHION SHOW
At the Bead Festival, visitors were not only able to view and buy Czech glass seed beads, but also to try their hand at working with them during workshops. A demonstration of the technique of simultaneous seed bead stringing on 12 needles also garnered a lot of attention.
The seed beads also made their way onto the catwalk. Models appeared in all-bead dresses at the Connecting Cultures multimedia show at Lidové sady.
Crystal Valley Week also reminded everyone that Preciosa Ornela is not merely a producer of seed beads.
The Plissé installation was on display in the Crystal Box on Šalda Square. It was created as a result of cooperation between the glass artist Eva Nováková from Studia Umyo and the Parisan designer Baptiste Vandaele with support from Preciosa Ornela.
The installation worked with LIBA Colors 96 glass and connected the glassmaking tradition with contemporary design. This demonstrated yet another part of Preciosa Ornela’s wide production portfolio which is on offer to artists and designers.
View all photographs on Flickr gallery.
Crystal Valley Week reminded us that Czech glass is not only part of our history. It is a living part of the present and, thanks to the people who work with it, it continues to connect the world.
YOUTUBE
Brazilian Panará tribe at the Crystal Valley Week in Liberec
Crystal Valley Week 2026 – aftermovie
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