Mdina Glass, for the fourth year running, have installed their annual giant seven metre glass bauble Christmas tree outside Parliament, Valletta, for all to see and enjoy as people embark on their yearly Christmas shopping.

All in all, this year’s Christmas tree is the sixth of this kind, with the first two editions the glass trees being installed in Sliema, while the remaining four have been stationed in the capital city.

The Malta Independent met with Mdina Glass Head of Production and Product Design Olivia Said (below) in order to see how the towering 2000+ glass bauble structure makes its way to Valletta from the Ta’ Qali glass making facilities.

What is the tree made out of exactly?

The Christmas tree is made out of baubles in various sizes, with the larger ones starting from 33cm in diameter, and they keep going down to 7cm or 6cm in diameter. The baubles at the bottom are the larger ones, getting smaller as you go further up the tree. Apart from the main baubles attached to the metal structure, there are other ones which we call fillers, placing them where necessary to fill the gaps.

How are the baubles adapted to fit onto the tree?

Each bauble requires a team of 7 to 8 people. Once they are produced they have to be finished. This happens where the bauble comes off the rod and then we drill holes in it. Through the holes is where the metal hook is attached.  They are then stuck onto the metal frame, which runs on the outside of the structure, from the hook. The fillers have a piece of very fine metal-like wire, we put them in through the holes and we tie them in from the inside of the structure. They do not hook on and we place them wherever we need to fill gaps.

How long did it take to complete the large Christmas tree?

We started taking decisions and designing in August, where we spoke about safety and security of the structure. By December or November we had it done, working on and off. We have different teams, glass makers making the baubles and a separate team making the hooks. We had a separate team to make the structure.

The baubles are obviously made from glass – can you take us through the production process?

It’s basically the standard way of how glass is made. We gather clear glass from the furnace, we apply the colour that we want and once that is done we warm it up so the colour infuses in the transparent glass. Lastly we would create a pattern if that’s what the plan is. Some of them have patterns and some of them don’t. We have specific tools for this, so if you want a swirl they pick the colour and turn it round, lines on the bauble would require the use of pincers. They don’t actually touch the glass with their hand. We do not paint onto the glass, it’s all infused. All the raw materials and colours are glass.

So basically we have transparent raw materials from the large furnace, we gather from the furnace onto the glow pipes and then we apply the colour, which is glass as well, and apply it to the transparent glass base. And then we cover it with clear glass again and they blow it into the shape they want.