ABOUT US
Meet The Founder
MICHAEL HONACK
Michael Honack is an American inventor and artist based largely in the Silicon Valley of California and Silicon Beach (Santa Cruz). Michael began as a maker of electronic jewelry in the early 1980’s and grew his small company, Movies, into the Grafix Time Corporation as his team began to make novel electronic watches. He holds 9 patents in the electronic watch. In 1991 Michael transitioned into glass art, founding Claritas, in Santa Cruz county and manufactured large format glass lighting products for 14 years. He has maintained a presence in Bali since 1992 and has lived here largely full time since 2014. Krystal Studio was founded in 2015 and is dedicated to the finest cast glass art work that is possible. Krystal is a legacy project of Michael as he passes on the knowledge of cast glass art to his entirely Balinese artisan staff.
OUR STUDIO
Krystal Bali began with the construction of the glass casting studio in 2016. In late 2017 the studio was fully operational and concentrating on The lost wax process of casting crystal glass. All our artisans are Balinese, trained in this craft. Our gallery, Krystal, on Monkey Forest Road in Ubud has closed due to Covid and yet we continue to cast and finish glass. The mission of Krystal is to teach the art of glass casting and to provide quality glass products for the jewelry, architectural and lighting communities.
OUR STUDIO
Krystal Bali began with the construction of the glass casting studio in 2016. In late 2017 the studio was fully operational and concentrating on The lost wax process of casting crystal glass. All our artisans are Balinese, trained in this craft. Our gallery, Krystal, on Monkey Forest Road in Ubud has closed due to Covid and yet we continue to cast and finish glass. The mission of Krystal is to teach the art of glass casting and to provide quality glass products for the jewelry, architectural and lighting communities.
SUPPORTING BALI
Krystal is a legacy project of its founder whose sole intention is the passing on of the art of glass casting and finishing to Balinese artisans, It is a community project in Karangasem regency that presently supports 44 Balinese. The 75 year old founder teaches every aspect of both open face and lost wax casting in the studio as well as finishing processes. Annually a visitors program of American and European glass artists brings them to Bali for a two week tutorial that provides the artisans of Krystal with the knowledge of techniques and processes used in Glass Art. During the two years of Covid the Founder determined to continue to support the entire staff at full salary in order to overcome this difficult time. The studio remains intact and at this time is working largely on fine Krystal jewelry for the gallery which is presently under construction at the entrance to the Tirta Gangga water palace.
