Take part in a workshop and create your own amber craft. We guarantee a respite from everyday responsibilities and worries, a chance to chat about your dreams in good company, and a chance to learn the basic methods of hand-working Baltic amber, which contains succinic acid, which distinguishes it from approximately one hundred other fossil resins. Although it is an acid, it has a positive effect on humans: it stimulates, regulates, disinfects, and detoxifies. Amber has a unique scent and is a source of energy. Rubbed with the hand, it smells similar to incense and attracts particles of dry grass and scraps of paper. This way, it becomes electrically charged, negatively but positively and human-friendly. Thanks to these qualities, people have attributed healing and magical properties to it for centuries. They call it the "stone of life," an amulet that heals, helps, and protects.

Natural Baltic amber from Gdańsk and the Vistula Delta is distinguished by its exceptional richness of varieties, color diversity, and degree of transparency. It is a hardened resin, yet light and brittle. It has acquired these characteristics over millions of years, basking in the sun's rays in dunes, weathering in sand, and being compressed by glacial pressure. No two pieces of amber are alike; each is unique and exceptionally beautiful, with its color changing over the years. This has made Baltic amber a valuable jewelry material for centuries and, not without reason, is called a precious resin.

The workshop's goal: participants will independently create Baltic amber pieces using replicas of archaic tools, take a break from daily duties, and gain positive energy while visiting the world's largest amber fair. Participants will use hand-held drills, files, and finishing materials such as chamois leather, flannel, sandpaper, and polishing pastes.

The workshops were designed and led by Robert Pytlos , long-time secretary of the World Amber Council, recipient of the Amber Circle Medal of the International Amber Association, honorary member of the Polish Chamber of Amber Commerce, recipient of the Honorary Badge of the Polish Craft Association, author of entries on amber and amber craftsmanship in the Gdańsk Encyclopedia, and member of the Gdańsk Museum Council.

Consultants:

Eryk Popkiewicz , archaeologist, member of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers, renowned amber craftsman, involved in experimental archaeology, creator of replicas of medieval tools used during workshops, www.eryk.amberart.pl.
Dorota Cenecka , master goldsmith and amber craftswoman, chairwoman of the Program Council of the Association of Goldsmithing Artists, renowned Polish designer of Baltic amber jewelry, awarded the medal of the Mayor of Gdańsk for promoting Gdańsk – the world capital of amber.