Deluxe set of Polish folk ornaments in a beautifully painted wooden gift box featuring a Polish Christmas Szopka (Krakow Christmas Creche).  The set includes 4 ornaments that represent Polish folk culture: A Krakow couple, a Goral man and a Krakow Lajkonik.

This set is made by the Komozja factory in Poland.  Their story is below:

Glass Ornaments And Komozja
The tradition of decorating a Christmas tree started in Germany or Sweden. It is believed that the first glass ornaments were made in a little German town called Lauscha in the late 1800s, whether it is true, is difficult to say.

Polish artisans began creating glass ornaments in the beginning of the 20th century. There was a factory in the south of Poland owned by the Rylskich family and before World War II they produced beautiful hand made ornaments. Unfortunately, when the war was over there was a greater demand for laboratory glass and the factory changed its profile.

Komozja was established in 1945 when a blower named Kozak got together with a family called Mostowski and opened a factory of their own. Mrs. Mostowski's maiden name was Zjawiony. Using the first letters of each last name for their business, (KO-MO-ZJA) they started producing glass cigarette holders, vials and glass ornaments. Komozja did extremely well and even began exporting the ornaments to the United States. Regrettably, the enterprise did so well it attracted the attention of the communist officials. Owning a private business was against the rules, especially if it prospered. Komozja had eighty-six employees; the limit was 50. So, in 1949, the government shut the factory down stating that too many people worked there.

The family refused to allow this setback to destroy their life's work, so they opened a new workshop the same year. It was called "Record." This company was also nationalized in 1952.

Frustrated but not beaten, the family allowed a labor co-op to exist in their factory. This is a system where a facility could be run by the private sector, but it is owned and subsidized by the government, regardless of productivity. It was the only way they could keep their art alive. During this time, they produced glass Christmas ornaments and sequins for embroidering folk costumes.

In 1980, the Mostowski children Aleksander and Robert started lobbying the government for permission to regain ownership of their business. It took one year, but their bid was successful. The two started creating glass ornaments in the basement of the family home and worked at every station - blowing, silvering and lacquering each piece. Their wives decorated and packed each piece.

In 1989, the Mostowski daughters and their husbands teamed up with their brothers. Together they were finally able to build a new factory and call it their own. Forty years later, the name Komozja was restored. The factory is now a state-of-the-art and it is the leading producer of fine Polish glass ornaments.
Source:  http://www.angelfire.com/on4/european/Polonaise-Komozja-Ornaments.html