What would you like to know about Glass?
A brief and simplified attempt to acquaint the layperson with a basic understanding of Glass Terms

What is Glass
A melted mixture of Silica, as in Sand or from pulverized Sandstone, with additions of alkali (a form of soda or potash) for a lower melting point, lime as a stabilizer, plus a variety of oxides to achieve special properties. It is hard, normally translucent, opaque or clear, it tends to be brittle, very strong in certain dimensions and when thick, and one of the most widely used materials, and its applications as diverse as any.

Historic Glass facts
It is almost certain that glass was discovered in ancient times by accident at a hot campfire in a sand pit. The oldest known glass artifacts date back to 2000 BC in Egypt, with production well established there by 1500 BC. During the Roman era many glass varieties were known, and objects produced ranged from vases to window panes. Even Millefiori (the multicolored glass rod bundles fused together) was developed then, along with applications for magnifying glasses, mirrors et al. Constantinople was a center of creative glass making, till after the Crusades when Europe took over. Murano, Italy attempted to monopolize the industry by turning the island community into a virtual prison, but France, England, Germany and Czechoslovakia were more creative and advanced the art of glass making so that eventually Murano had to attempt to catch up with more modern developments.
In North America a first glass factory was established in 1608, and the New York area was particularly active with many such establishments. 1739 saw the first glasshouse operation of lasting impact set up in New Jersey by Caspar Wistar of Germany. Another famous glassware production was started by German-born H. W. Stiegel in Pennsylvania.

How to make things from Glass
There are many different ways to shape things or to produce glass items. For our purposes, let's just reference:
a) Molding, in its simplest form: pour molten glass into a patterned cavity to create its core image.
b) Flame-working,comprises most shaped articles of somewhat intricate design, which are heated over a flame (usually a Bunsen burner device) to render glass rod pliable, enabling the craftsman to weave his magic.
c) Glass-blowing. is often mis-applied to "flame-working", as it specifically refers to "blowing" hollow tube stock into hollow shapes as in bottles/vases.
Even here one can find combinations of these processes being employed in general practice, with a molded core frequently used as a starting piece.

Glass vs. Crystal
Crystal Glass, originally derived from crystal rock, denoted highly refractive glass. In more recent history it came to stand for lead-refined glass (for clarity and weight), soft enough to be cut. As of late this expression has been used to merely describe any fine hand-blown/flame-worked glass.

Different Qualities of Glass
Additions to the melting process make for wide ranging property changes; boron adds thermal and electric resistance, barium gives us optical glass (due to its refractive index), cerium helps to absorb infrared rays and metallic oxides impart color (sorry, no lava ash works). In Giftware Art Glass color becomes one of the defining properties. Is it painted on-and some of this can yield some wonderful artifacts-, is it added on by fusing different colored glass together, is it molded, is it clean, clear with few bubbles, is it free of flowlines, is the paintwork done in a meticulous manner, free of drips and incomplete lines etc., but above all: is the design artistically pleasing. All of these factors determine a rather ambiguous concept called "quality". A tip to determine "artistically pleasing" for you: place the item in front of you for several days, some place where you will really look at it for hours on end; if you still feel happy with it after many such hours of observation, then it is a "Winner".

Whose Glass is the best
Modern techniques have made it possible for good glass to be made anywhere. It is also possible to form and shape it, once one has acquired the necessary skills. Design and appearance are main factors in deciding if an item is good or better. Most of us do not possess the trained eye to see the difference. Reputation by brand name is a good thing, but one needs to be careful with attaching too much significance to this yardstick. Many a perceived reputation is also fictitious, and based on PR work alone, and many a so-called brandname is based on lies and deception.
Which is the best? Ask yourself this question in conjunction with the cost an item commands, as in: How critical do you want to be when the piece costs a mere $2.00? And if you can buy a similar piece for $1.00, does that fact make it a better piece? (And how similar really is it?) Hardly. Now, conversely, looking at the similar Item costing $20.00 (instead of $2), you'd expect to see a significant and apparent difference in design and execution. But this isn't easy, and to accept a well-known name at a higher cost as constituting "better quality" is just too simplistic.
Try and be sure of the trustworthiness of your supplier, who ideally knows what he is talking about, and who hopefully gives you the facts instead of hype.

Which Glass Items are the best
This one is easy: whatever sells best in your store.
Whichever makes you the happiest having it as part of your life.

And keep close focus on the piece itself, not the assumptions you are tempted to make.