Herbert Dreier

Herbert Dreier was born in Austria on 7th May 1942 to a coal-mining family. In a story similar to that of Salvador Ysart, Herbert lasted two weeks in the mines and then left without telling his family to join a local glass factory “Ober Glass”, in Brnbach Austria, where he served a three year apprenticeship. In 1960, he moved to Germany where he worked for Peill Butzler, Dren, Germany, as a glass blower. He and a friend responded to an advert for Caithness Glass and moved to Wick, Scotland, where he worked as a glass blower under Paul Ysart from 1963-65. But after his return to Austria he soon got itchy feet and successfully applied to Strathearn Glass of Crieff for the position of Master Craftsmen. He remained with Strathearn through the takeover by Stuart Crystal in 1981. In Crieff, he met and married Margaret Smith, and they settled down to raise a family. When Stuart Crystal ceased production at the Strathearn works in 1991 Herbert took a position with the company in Wales. This lasted until 1997 when that operation also got closed down and he was forced to move to Stourbridge, England, still as a Master Craftsman for Stuart & Sons Ltd. Stuart's finally shut shop in 2001.

Herbert currently works for Plowden & Thompson (1922-present) in Stourbridge as a Master Craftsmen. http://www.plowden-thompson.com/ See also the page on Dial Art.

At Strathearn, Herbert was active producing their ‘Classic Range’ and in making specialist commemorative items.

Later at Stuart Crystal, he was selected to design and produce cut glass cups to match a Millenium punch bowl presented to the House of Lords.

In a life-time devoted to the art of glassblowing, Herbert Dreier’s repertoire has encompassed paperweights, lamp-bases, decorative bowls, vases and three-dimensional decorative pieces. While he has produced a superb body of work following in the Ysart tradition, he also continues to apply his creative skills in a much more diverse range of glass production.