Welcome to The Director’s Cut, an interactive column featuring fashion, beauty and career advice from RGNN Director and Founder, @isabelevabohrer.
“It’s made of crystals.” “That’s made of glass.” I cannot believe I have been working in fashion for over a decade and have been using these terms interchangeably the whole time. In fact, that’s the norm in fashion – and in beauty, where the most miniscule crystals can adorn anything from acrylic nails and runway make-up looks to lipstick packaging (hello, Guerlain Rouge G Le Strassé case). See, I said it again, crystals.
It’s not that I have never wondered about the difference between crystals and glass. Quite the contrary. So much so that we organized an entire day trip for our news agency from Madrid to La Granja de San Ildefonso, Segovia, specifically, to the Real Fábrica de Cristales de La Granja (Royal Glass Factory of La Granja). If you are also coming from Madrid, take the scenic drive up to Navacerrada, and subsequently down towards Segovia – the views of the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park are spectacular.
And so it was that we arrived bright and early at the Royal Factory to see the difference between crystals and glass first-hand. I say “see” because, as Iris van Herpen has more than demonstrated, fashion, and in this case haute couture, too, can be created under a microscope, the literary distinction is best demonstrated with a visual, scientific diagram. Crystals have organized atoms. Crystals are found in nature – think rocks and minerals. But when humans intervene, to put it colloquially, chaos breaks out – the atoms are no longer organized. That is when glass is born.
Speaking of birth – the Royal Factory was born all the way back in 1770, following orders of King Carlos III, to attend to the maintenance of the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso and the Spanish state in general. Glass blowing can be quite the fire hazard, and a construction that specifically accommodates this artisanal discipline was needed. The Factory permanently closed in 1969, until in 1982, a group of segovianos created the Fundación Centro Nacional del Vidrio.
With the King and Queen of Spain as Honorary Presidents, the Foundation set out to preserve the tradition of glass blowing. The historical building of the Royal Factory was recovered as a fully functioning factory fulfilling its original purpose for the Spanish state, and furthermore, catering to clients in general wishing to restore their antiques, or to design an entirely new, custom order. But that’s not all – the building of the Royal Factory, including its time-old ovens, has been converted into the Museo Tecnológico del Vidrio (Museum of Glass Technology); the Foundation offers numerous educational activities to promote the history and technique of glass blowing to visitors of all ages, and moreover, a residence with around thirty rooms is under construction.
Ildefonso Vélez Martínez-Conde, Director of the Foundation, greeted us warmly – and proudly. With reason; the Royal Factory has just signed a permanent collaboration with the Prado National Museum, inaugurated on October 3, 2025.
It’s a culmination of an already long-term collaboration with the Prado turned indefinite, as part of the “Prado Extendido” initiative, which not only establishes a dialogue between the museum and other numerous institutions, including the Royal Factory, but also makes the museum’s rich and otherwise unseen collection storage, the depósitos, accessible to a wider audience. Guaranteeing the future of it all, -the works, the art, and the historic crafts themselves,- is the goal.
What a milestone, the cherry on top of a long legacy of significant collaborations, not only with artistic and cultural institutions, but as mentioned, also with the educational sector; earlier this year, the Royal Factory furthermore collaborated with IE University, and specifically, their School of Architecture and Design students on an exhibition.
As we conversed with Paloma Pastor Rey de Viñas, Director of the Museum, it became even more clear that preserving the historical, artisanal traditions practiced at the Royal Factory is perhaps the most challenging aspect of it all. Elena Arenal from the Foundation’s communications department had put so much thought into organizing our visit, and yes, the spaces are fantastic for hosting weddings, cocktail receptions and other formal events. She called on Eva, a tour guide, to lead us through the museum, accompanied us through the talleres, or workshops, herself.
The Factory has two workshops, hot and cold. We arrived at the latter and watching Conchi, one of the workers, work was fascinating – see for yourself in the video below. To engrave the glass, she has to look through the top in order for the machine to do its work on the bottom!
Thankfully, the UNESCO declared knowledge, craft and skills of handmade glass production Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2023, and the Royal Factory has also received support from the Spanish Ministry of Culture as well as the Ministry of Industry and Tourism. “We just celebrated our 250-year anniversary,” said Elena, whose grandfather had also worked at the Royal Factory. In fact, many of the workers, including Jose María, who manages the Factory’s entire glass production, originate from families whose ties to the factory have stood the test of time.
What most stood out to me? The hot glass blowing taller, or workshop, where I got to try my hand at it myself – or a fraction of it. “Do you want to get closer to the oven?” asked Diego Rodríguez Blanco, who runs the show in here. “I don’t know…,” I replied, as my heel was about to get stuck inside the open steel flooring. The oven was running at 1350 degrees Celsius and I was falling over forwards towards it. Prohibido el paso, a bright red no trespassing sign marked the door where we had entered. The open workshop is visible from above to regular visitors, allowing audiences of all ages to observe the glassblowing first-hand. We found a middle ground, and I tried blowing air into a glass.
The Royal Factory has collaborated with Zara Home on a limited-edition collection for The Apartment, a new, more luxurious concept introduced first in A Coruña, followed by Paris and now on the top floor of the newly renovated Zara flagship store on Calle de Serrano in Madrid.
“Can my glass be used for the Zara collab now?” I asked. No, it’s going to have to be recycled. My inkling of hope of having my brief stint of exertion (because kudos to everyone working in the hot glass taller, the rods are heavy…) at the Royal Factory surface at a Zara Home store vanished into thin air. “But you can use the video for your work, right?” Diego joked. Yes, I can – and you can watch it above.
In fact, there are other unexpected ties to the fashion industry here. We headed over to the taller de lámparas; another arm, quite literally because a lot of the chandeliers have dazzling arms, the Royal Factory specializes in. Throughout it all, you really are dazzled; not only by the glass but the mark every artisan leaves on his or her work. Yolanda showed me how she stores the missing pieces. “Corazones Agatha,” meaning “hearts Agatha,” was the label on one of the countless boxes, a heart drawn on this one. The Royal Factory customized a lamp for Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada, notorious for her use of hearts in all her fashion collections.
Elena invited us to have a coffee inside the cafeteria. “I opened up the greenhouse for you,” she said. The floor is breathtaking. “Now, go inside the women’s bathroom,” she said. Wow…again, I will insert the photos below.
Still recovering from the bathroom, – and by that I mean the sight; I couldn’t help taking even more selfies, – I sipped on fresh chamomile tea. “You need to come back and blow glass again,” said Elena. Yes, I guess I wasn’t very good at it and still need to improve. But aren’t we all lifelong learners? It’s glass, not crystal.
Plan your visit
Real Fábrica de Cristales de La Granja.
- Paseo del Pocillo, 1, 40100 La Granja de San Ildefonso. Segovia.
- Email. rfc@realfabricadecristales.es.
- Phone. +34 921 010 700.
- Tickets to the Museum of Glass Technology can be purchased online here.
- Museum opening hours: Tuesdays through Fridays, 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m., Saturdays from 9.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. and Sundays and holidays from 9.30 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. Closed on Mondays.
- Information about guided visits (highly recommended!) and ticket prices are listed online here.
- For more information, including details on renting a space at the Royal Factory for your event, as well as shopping the current selection of products, visit the official website.
- The Real Fábrica de Cristales de La Granja x Zara Home collection is available online at Zarahome.com and selected Zara stores, including The Apartment, the top floor of the Zara flagship store on Calle de Serrano 23, 28001 Madrid.
Thank you to the Real Fábrica de Cristales de La Granja for inviting us.
Questions or comments? Follow me on IG @isabelevabohrer or TikTok and say hi! See you soon!
