Here was "Letidor": the oldest factory of Christmas decorations in Russia. New Year's toys and Christmas tree decorations as a business Technology Christmas tree toy

The market for Christmas products has certain specifics, and the production process of glass Christmas decorations does not require complex and expensive equipment, but qualified personnel - specialists in their rather rare business, which creates additional difficulties.

Despite all these factors that scare off investors, the capacity of this market is quite large, and if you choose a niche that is still empty, the Christmas tree business can bring good profit. However, this will require a complete change in the concept of production and marketing of seasonal toy products.

In the early 2000s, the production of Christmas toys in our country decreased by 5-6 times compared to the volumes of the early 90s.

The domestic base of manufacturers of Christmas toys includes several dozen companies of various sizes and the same number of wholesalers who sell such goods. Moreover, domestic producers export most of their products abroad, and the share of exports of some companies is more than 90%.

The volume of production of Christmas decorations by one large factory reaches 350-500 thousand units per year. Thus, today about 15-20 million Christmas tree decorations are produced annually, which is less than 40% of the market. The rest is accounted for by imports.

Large domestic manufacturers of glass balls and other New Year paraphernalia can be counted on the fingers. For example, the share of the largest and most well-known companies Elochka OJSC (Klinsky district, Vysokovsk) and PK Iney CJSC (Pavlo-Posadsky district, Danilovo village) accounts for about 15-20% of all Russian production.

However, domestic manufacturers of Christmas decorations are gradually losing their positions under the onslaught of Chinese products. China exports New Year's decorations and accessories to other countries for $1.5-2 billion a year. More than half of the Christmas tree products produced in China are sold in the United States. So it is very difficult to compete with cheap Chinese Christmas decorations.

Nevertheless, this is possible, because Russian Christmas decorations are of higher quality and subtlety of execution, variety of designs and their uniqueness. Gradually, domestic manufacturers begin to look for new solutions, introduce automated equipment at certain stages of production and new technologies, think about regularly updating the assortment, tracking fashion trends in New Year's decors. Consumers perceive such innovations extremely positively.

Surveys show that over the past ten years, buyers are tired of stamped and low-quality products, the fashion for classic, familiar to everyone since childhood, glass balls and vintage toys is gradually reviving, and the demand for Russian-made products is growing.

Recently, the segment of expensive gift sets produced in piece runs. Thus, despite the fact that imported goods, still dominate the Christmas tree decorations market, there is no doubt that there is potential for the development and expansion of domestic production.

Christmas decorations production process

The process of creating glass Christmas balls - the most popular product from the entire New Year's assortment - we habitually call "production". But in fact, these products are even large factories created almost entirely by hand.

Glassblowers using gas burner glass Christmas balls are blown from blanks - glass tubes. To create toys-figures, special tongs-forms are used.

This work requires the utmost care and skill. The selection of the optimal fire mode, the size of the glass tube, the determination of the moment of air injection, the uniformity of rotation - all this is done "by eye" using a minimum number of available tools and materials. Moreover, the permissible error is only 0.2 mm.

Since the glass cools very quickly, which creates internal stress inside the product, a lot of experience is required to obtain a glass ball with thin walls. Therefore, first of all, to create own production Christmas decorations you will need experienced and qualified glassblowers.

As in the case of any other almost completely self made, the productivity of one worker is not great and amounts to no more than 200-250 balls per day.

At the next stage, the cooled glass blank is coated with a thin layer of metal (most often aluminum, less often silver) to give it a shine. All this takes place in a reagent tank and then in a hot water bath.

A special composition is injected inside the toy (for example, silver oxide, ammonia and distilled water in a certain proportion), and then it is placed in hot water, under the influence of which a reaction occurs and silver is deposited on the walls.

After the plating process, the toys go to the painting shop. Here the ball is waiting for the primary background painting and drying. They paint the Christmas tree toy with constant rotation so that air does not get under the paint layer, which leads to the appearance of bubbles and spoils the coating. Christmas decorations are painted with nitro-varnishes, nitro-enamels and other materials.

When drawing up paints and varnishing, a method of creative variation is used, which makes each product unique and unrepeatable.

Sometimes the balls are varnished in booths with an exhaust hood and a container with paintwork material. And this process is also carried out manually. The product is immersed in the paint gradually and with simultaneous rotation so that no air remains under the film.

After varnishing, the toy is installed strictly vertically in order to avoid leakage into the trays of the drying chamber filled with sand or sawdust. Then, with the help of a rag, the remains of sand and sawdust are removed from the decorative varnish layer, and the toys are either sent for trimming or go through the next stage - decoration.

As you might expect, this is also done by hand - the artists draw a pattern on the ball and, if necessary, sprinkle it with sparkles. The speed of painting balls is much lower than the speed of glassblowers and is only 50-100 balls per day per person.

At the last stage, using a diamond wheel, the tip is cut off from the ball, a cap with a loop is put on the place of the cut, and the toys are packed in cardboard boxes.

Packaging for Christmas decorations

The packaging deserves special attention. Its production, as a rule, is transferred to third-party contractors. Typically, cardboard packaging in which glass jewelry is sold is more decorative in nature. Meanwhile, many wholesalers who buy products directly from the manufacturer complain about the large number of fights.

Virtually no party reaches retailer safe and sound. However, reducing the risk of loss is not difficult at all - it is enough to develop safer packaging, even if this slightly affects the cost of the product in the direction of its increase.

Personnel for the production of Christmas decorations

Obviously, the main problem in organizing the production of Christmas toys is the search for qualified personnel. There are obviously not enough specialists in this field, and the work on creating glass jewelry requires certain knowledge and, most importantly, experience.

For example, in order to become a good glassblower, you will have to study for at least six months, and then work in production for at least two more years. No less complex and painstaking work on painting balls also requires skill and experience.

If you are lucky enough to find such specialists, then most of the work has already been done. The salary of a glass blower in the regions (namely, where the majority of Russian factories for the production of Christmas tree decorations are located) is from 10 thousand rubles per month.

Acquisition costs necessary equipment will amount to 50-100 thousand rubles. Approximately the same amount will be spent on raw materials and materials. In addition, you will need a production facility.

The main requirement for it is good ventilation (hoods), since most of the work with glass takes place at high temperatures.

The profitability of factories producing Christmas decorations is 15-20 percent with a turnover of about 3 million dollars a year.

However, there are several nuances that must be taken into account. Due to the seasonal nature of this type of business, for most of the year, many enterprises actually operate on credit. Wholesale toys begin no earlier than September-October. So the company has to borrow money and then repay the loans as the product sells. There are certain risks associated with this. In addition, the retail price for glass "exclusive" of domestic production is too low to ensure the proper development of the entire industry.

bet more high prices(according to approximate estimates, at least 60-70% more expensive) manufacturers are afraid because of the need to compete in the market with cheap Chinese products.

Almost all large companies trying to get through foreign market(European countries, Israel, etc.). In this case, orders are usually formed on international exhibitions. However, production volumes are much lower and amount to only a few tens of thousands, not millions, of toys per year. But there is also an undoubted plus - when working for export, some enterprises even manage to completely do without loans.

More and more Russian factories are using another source of income by conducting paid production tours for everyone and giving visitors the opportunity to create a glass Christmas tree ball with their own hands.

At small investment it is possible to organize an entire tourist complex with a museum, shops and cafeterias during production, as, for example, a Finnish glass factory did, with the support of the Finnish National Tourism Board.

Video about the production of Christmas decorations

On the eve of each New Year, there is invariably a hype associated with the purchase Christmas decorations. These charming elements of festive decor are always in great demand, because in anticipation of a grand celebration, everyone wants novelty and bright variety. So why not make the most of this glorious trend? Let's look at how you can arrange for and implement Christmas decorations.

Business on Christmas tree decorations

Violent activity around the sale of Christmas items unfolds long before the holiday itself. Shopping centers, ordinary and markets are literally full of colorful goods, among which there is always a wide range of toys. Sellers offer domestic and imported, cheap and expensive products - as they say, for every taste and budget.

In addition to toys of Chinese origin, there are a lot of Ukrainian and Polish "brothers" on the shelves. Yes, and Russia itself is trying to keep up: for example, in the city of Klin, which is located in the Moscow region, there is the oldest and most experienced plant that produces Yolochka glass toys. Differences in the quality of goods are immediately noticeable: Chinese balloons are made of fiberglass - a practical, but not too spectacular material. But glass has always been and will be in demand, which is important to consider when planning an independent production of toys.

Of course, building a business from the very foundations, that is, from the initial production of products, is much more profitable. What should be considered before embarking on a "long voyage"?

How to start organizing the production of Christmas toys

The review should start by considering technological process making toys. Even the largest and most "advanced" factories rely on manual labor. Glass Christmas decorations come to life thanks to diligent glassblowers, diligently blowing small masterpieces with the help of special pipes and a gas burner. Accordingly, experienced craftsmen are the main element in the production chain. As a rule, in one day each of the workers manages to make a maximum of 250 balls. The lowest threshold wages, on average, is equal to fifteen thousand rubles.

Next, the toys are covered with the thinnest layer of silver or aluminum, subjected to the first background painting and dried. During dyeing, the product must be rotated: this avoids defects due to air bubbles on the surface. In addition, during drying, the toy must be held in an upright position.

hand painted christmas decorations

Next stage - painting . It is also done manually. Mechanization is permissible only where the formation of complex, intricate patterns is not required, and the palette of colors used is rather modest. Typical example– release of balloons with a printed company logo. To apply logos, the pad printing method is used, which is adopted by many advertising agencies. The technology involves the following action: the picture is transferred to the ball with a swab soaked in paint from a photopolymer cliché. So the image is fixed on the toy. It is worth emphasizing that this process provides an excellent result - strong and durable. No wonder toys with logos are in inexhaustible demand.

However, our goal is to join the most massive and profitable market segment, and this dictates the need to apply hand painted. The tradition of hand-decorating Christmas decorations has a long and interesting story over a hundred and fifty years old. It first originated in Germany. The main difficulty that will have to be faced in organizing such an event is the search and selection of talented artists.

The salary due to such craftsmen will be determined by the place of his residence: of course, Moscow rates are very different from provincial ones. The best option- invite several specialists from different regions: in this case, the payment can be from ten thousand rubles a month.

Types of painting

Christmas balls are subjected to brush stroke painting, which involves the application of a variety of colors. Depending on your preferences and the imagination of the masters, they can be additionally decorated with all sorts of bright elements - up to the famous Swarovski crystals. An absolutely win-win decor option is folk motifs: traditional winter landscapes, images of Santa Claus, Snow Maiden, snowflakes, snowmen and other charms associated with the celebration of the New Year. The popularity of oriental symbols is steadily increasing, so it may make sense to apply the current zodiac sign in different variations (the symbol of the coming year).

The so-called flow painting is based on the use of stencils. Apart from series production toys, good revenue comes from demand from outside corporate clients: closer to the holidays, they order balloons painted according to a certain theme. And you can go even further by launching the release of a limited edition of toys - with unique, non-banal images and original gift packaging. Each such product should be unique and high-quality - a kind of mini-masterpiece.

Packing Christmas toys

Of course, exclusivity must be combined with rich design. The brighter and more inviting the packaging looks, the more likely it is to capture the attention of consumers. Delight your customers - develop a surprisingly beautiful shell that effectively sets off the luxurious interior. Let the people around you be amazed! Wooden boxes are worth citing as examples - ordering them in a carpentry workshop is not difficult.

You can get by with thick cardboard - of course, if it is of good quality. Whatever you end up with, it is important that fragile toys get a reliable, strong "home" that protects them from damage. The subsequent design depends on the flight of your imagination: creative hand-painting, pasting with special design paper, and even leather trim are suitable.

Be sure to take care of the issue of a worthy presentation of the goods. The way the toys will look in the window is very important. Piece products should be perfectly visible from all sides, so it would be nice to place them on special stands. Work hard to create functional and elegant helpers, and then equip everything with such stands. outlets selling your products.

Christmas decorations, PRICE!

Now let's move on to discussing the price. Manual, and besides, exclusive cannot be valued cheaply. In this regard, when setting the price bar, you need to focus not on Chinese products, but on the cost of similar products from the middle price segment (or even expensive, elite).

Absolutely any kind of business based on production requires sensitivity and perseverance in the course of establishing the marketing of finished goods. First of all, be patient: instant success the next day is hardly possible to achieve. Start active search online buyers, view printed editions like the magazine "Products and prices". Try to interest wholesalers who sell various Christmas tree paraphernalia: contact them and present your products.

In addition, you can directly negotiate with the shops. No matter how troublesome the process of finding customers can be, do not miss any opportunity to be in the spotlight. Do not neglect participation in various fairs and exhibitions dedicated to the New Year theme: this is a great chance to make a positive impression on a large flow of people. It is possible that you will find many grateful customers!

How to find a supplier of Christmas balls.

So, we have considered all stages of production and marketing of Christmas tree decorations. To start a small company that turns boring blanks into wonderful colorful products, you need to find a stable supplier that provides one-color balls. The optimal diameter of such blanks is about one hundred centimeters: large balls always look more advantageous, and besides, they give wide scope for the creativity of artists.

You need to look for responsible suppliers in factories that produce glass balls (make sure in advance good quality products). In parallel, start a search for experienced artists who are ready to provide you with decoration services for toys. At least one of them should develop a unique design that gives your goods individuality, the rest of the masters can simply copy his image.

If you want to try your hand at the expensive segment, you should not immediately release huge batches. The fewer creations see the light, the more exclusive they will be recognized: single samples are much more valuable than replicated ones! And do not refuse offers of cooperation from corporate customers.

Finally, the turn of the final stage is approaching - the actual implementation. A lot has already been said about it above, you just have to add that another option is an online store. A well-thought-out, beautifully designed and advertised site will not be left without attention, while you will be able to establish contacts even with foreign buyers.

Perhaps the only disadvantage of such a business is its seasonality. However, much depends on how widely you manage to expand your activities: in the case when relations with wholesalers are excellent, there will be enough work to all year round!

December 23, 2014, 06:58

Unfortunately, now on the market Christmas decorations- solid Chinese plastic stamping. But in Russia there are excellent factories of real glass Christmas decorations! Yes, a different price category, but such beauty is worth it...

Handmade Christmas toys factories operate in Sokolniki, Karachev, Bryansk region, Krasnoyarsk, Selizharovo village, Tver region, village. Danilovo, Pavlovo-Posadsky district, there are probably others .... It is simply unrealistic to tell about all the factories in one post, so the story of two factories is to represent the process.

Factory of Christmas decorations "Ariel" Nizhny Novgorod) has been in production for 20 years. Here, all year round - in spring, and summer, and autumn, and winter - they make Christmas balls and funny glass figurines, which then decorate Christmas trees in different countries peace.

What a beauty!

You can make a special order and the balls will be printed with images according to your order. For example, a series commissioned by the metro:

And in the collection of Nizhny Novgorod masters there are balls with the image of Barack Obama. The craftsmen say that in 2009 the administration of the President of the United States made a special order for their production. The agreement was long and not easy: at first, the artists painted an image of Obama with a wide smile on the ball, because they knew that this charming smile was his business card. But the Americans said that the president in the image was “too cheerful” and asked to portray him more strictly. As a result, the option with a restrained smile was adopted as the basis. And a broadly smiling Obama remained in Nizhny Novgorod as a keepsake!

Only women work in production, the only man they have is the director. He also owns the idea to make rafters under the roof in the form of a Christmas tree:

Here you can also buy their toys.

Every day the factory accepts 16 tour groups! About 300 kids different ages- from students lower grades to school graduates and students of technical schools - they come to the factory to get acquainted with the process of creating a Christmas tree toy.

So the process...

The chief artist of the factory develops sketches and comes up with plots that will then be applied to jewelry.

Here are the long glass blanks that come into production:

The stick is heated and divided into several small pieces.

Warmed up, pulled

Divided:

This workshop occupies one small office and only 4 people work here.

There are 3 times more artists than glassblowers:

Each artist draws a certain plot. All this is done by hand, but the drawings on the balls are almost indistinguishable from each other:

The drawing is applied in several stages: a toy is taken and one layer of paint is applied, while the paint dries on it, the artist applies the main color to the second toy, etc. Then the artist returns to the first one and draws part of the plot and hangs the toy again, and so on.

The production is relatively small. The factory is located in this pretty house:

Factory "Herringbone" (Klin) For more than 50 years he has been making Christmas decorations.

The first workshops for the production of Christmas decorations opened in the Klin district in the middle of the 19th century. This happened after Prince Alexander Menshikov built a small glass factory here in 1848. Local peasants, having worked in production, equipped home workshops, from where the first Russian Christmas decorations made of glass came out.

For a century and a half, the process of making toys has hardly changed. Unless the workers who fanned the fire with the help of leather bellows were replaced by burners running on compressed gas ...

Working with glass requires extreme concentration and experience. The drone (glass blank) is first heated to the desired temperature, and then a ball or figured toy is blown out of it. For the master, the main thing is to catch the right moment when the drone is already plastic enough, but not too soft yet. Missed a second - and nothing will work.

Due to its shape, the Swan is considered one of the most difficult Christmas decorations to manufacture.

There is a lot of noise in the glass blowing shop. Some workers use headphones, but most have long been accustomed to it.

Mostly women work in production - men do not have enough patience for this craft. Usually 17-20 people work in a glass blowing shop. Most came here right after high school.

The next stage of production is metallization. In special vacuum chambers, toys are covered thin layer aluminum, which makes their surface mirror.

After metallization, the toys are painted. Of course, also by hand.

The ball is simply dipped into a container of paint, and then left to dry for several hours.

Unlike balls, complex-shaped toys cannot be evenly painted over without the use of a spray gun.

December is the peak season at the enterprise. On the eve of the New Year, Yolochka is working in an enhanced mode.

After painting, the toys are sent to the painting workshop, where drawings are applied to them according to pre-prepared samples.

Based on the Chinese calendar, the company annually produces toys depicting the symbol of the coming year.

Apart from interesting work, many on Yolochka are kept by a good, by local standards, salary.

From time to time corporate orders also come to the enterprise. Usually they ask to depict the company logo or some object related to its activities on the toys.

After painting, the “tails” are sawn off from the toys - they will no longer be useful.

Sawing is one of the few manufacturing processes that is automated.

Some of the toys are stripped of their "tails" by hand. A holder is inserted into the holes formed.

Finished toys are packed in boxes and sent to store shelves, to us.

Handmade Christmas decorations are reminiscent of our toys from childhood. Looking at them, you understand that it was precisely such Christmas toys, or very similar to them, that our parents hung on the Christmas tree. Before them, their parents. Fingering in cardboard box like Christmas decorations, you experience inexpressible nostalgia and unity with the past and the future. It cannot be explained in words. You just need to start decorating the Christmas tree with hand-painted toys!

Centennial suitcases with vintage Christmas decorations is a treasure for children and adults. A shaped Christmas toy, passed down from generation to generation, creates a special magic on New Year's Eve.

Factories that produce exclusive toys about a century ago are still working. Glassblowers and artists recreate glass Christmas decorations by hand from sketches. The unique value of each shaped Christmas tree toy in a unique silhouette and individual painting.

On the site in this section, a selection of New Year's glass toys from two manufacturers is provided.

Molded Christmas toys "Herringbone" The oldest factory for the production of glass Christmas decorations "Herringbone" began its production more than 100 years ago. It is located in the city of Klin in the Moscow region. The production is carried out by hand by artisan glassblowers. Artists individually paint each product. Offers a variety of models. Kids will be delighted with toys of the forest theme in the form of funny animals and gifts of the forest: . bright red squirrel, . fox in the hut, . owl, . snowy hut, . mushrooms, . acorns . and a pretty tree. Christmas-tree decorations in the form of cones, lanterns, as well as toys with a clip-on mount will cause special nostalgia for the older generation.

Individually packaged shaped Christmas decorations will become an original souvenir for a person who is not indifferent to things with a touch of antiquity. Tiny, neat Christmas decorations are perfect for decorating a vintage-style Christmas tree.