Born in the early 1950s in a tiny village in the highland of the Czech Republic, close to the town of Havlickuv Brod, Jiri Resnik grew up on a small family farm. When he was still a young boy, the farm was seized by the government, and Jiri was forced to move with his family to an old, small house belonging to the newly established State cooperative farm. He lived there with his mother and sister. His father was taken to prison for several years because of his refusal to yield his farm to the government.

There was no advanced school for young Jiri to attend, so he went to the glass cutter school which was not far from his village. After his schooling, he worked in the cut glass workshop of the large government-owned Bohemia Crystal factory until 1990 when, with the collapse of Communism, this factory transitioned back to private hands.

In 1994, because of his renowned skill, Mr. Resnik and 4 other glass cutters were invited to join a new glass workshop, where he became the head of all glass cutters. It is there that he continues his mastery of cutting unique patterns into lead crystal forms, using a steady, skilled hand, applying the blank crystal forms to a whirring diamond wheel. Mr. Resnik designed the Novaleska vase, a masterpiece with hundreds of meticulous cuts made by Mr. Resnik's experienced hand at the wheel.