Taha Yoldaş, who is involved in glass art in Eskişehir, emphasized that after the city’s meerschaum, it also became a center for glass, stating, “There are not many people who turn glass and metal into jewelry like we do. In this regard, we are number one in Turkey.” With the protocol implemented by the Odunpazarı Municipality, glass art has been attracting great interest from local and foreign tourists for many years. In Eskişehir, the center of meerschaum in Turkey, glass craftsmanship continues along with the processing of meerschaum. The 36-year-old glass artist Taha Yoldaş produces glass jewelry and pieces in Eskişehir, which has achieved great success in representing traditional handicrafts. Emphasizing that Odunpazarı has become an important glass center especially in recent years, Yoldaş mentioned about his profession in glass craftsmanship and the works he carries out, stating, “We send the products we make at 1400 degrees to all over the world.”

Yoldaş, who started his career in Medical Oncology and initially engaged in glass as a hobby, expressed that he continued this hobby professionally and has been involved with glass for many years. Yoldaş explained his journey in glass craftsmanship by saying, “This was my hobby, something I did on Saturdays and Sundays as a hobby. Then I started to work professionally in the glass sector. After 7 years, I became a master educator and started to train students. In the 9th year of my professional career, I received the artist certificate. I have been producing glass works professionally for 14 years.”

Working with the technique of shaping glass in an open flame and producing jewelry by combining glass and metal, Yoldaş explained the process of working glass from scratch into pieces with the following words:
“Our main technique is working with glass in an open flame. The Italians call this ‘lampworking.’ In ‘lampworking,’ you have two glass rods or a single glass rod. We heat these glass rods in a flame called a torch to 1400 degrees and shape them. Of course, glass is delicate and within this delicacy, you practice your art. Glass is truly a delicate object. You need to heat it well and cool it slowly. Then you need to reheat it slowly again. When you provide these, it gives a great feeling to the other person, and we enjoy it a lot while doing it. Working with glass is like dancing between 550 and 1400 degrees.”

Taha Yoldaş mentioned that with the support of Anadolu University, the value given to glass and glass production in Odunpazarı has increased over time. Yoldaş emphasized the importance of the spread of glass craftsmanship and glass work production on an international level for Eskişehir, stating, “Glass in Eskişehir started at the factory level and continued with the Ceramic and Glass Department of Anadolu University. We also made a protocol with the Odunpazarı Municipality. With this protocol, we brought glass to the Odunpazarı Municipality with the support of Anadolu University. We have been training students in Eskişehir for 19 years. But I think this is still not enough. Changes in Anadolu University, a bit more specialization, and changes in the political environment in Eskişehir naturally resulted in the glass being affected positively or negatively. With our efforts and the appreciation of people, Odunpazarı has especially become a glass center. However, this is not enough. Eskişehir should be compared to a Venice, a Murano Island. For this, we need to train more students and there should be more interest in this field.”

Finally, emphasizing that Eskişehir is number one in terms of meerschaum, Yoldaş pointed out the importance of highlighting glass as the second and the ongoing work related to it. Yoldaş reminded that Eskişehir is the only place meerschaum is mined in Turkey, and said, “In addition, the second thing we did was to focus on glass art. Now there is a sweet competition between us and the meerschaum artisans, but in the end, these are putting Eskişehir in the spotlight. We send out products made at 1400 degrees to all over the world. Mainly, there are customers in America, England, and Australia. Turkish citizens there show great interest in us. There are not many products that combine glass and metal into jewelry like we do because there is no range of products. We can say that in this regard, we are number one in Turkey.”