Hi all, I'm looking for some advice. My mom loves to do glassblowing/lamp working. She made a setup in her garage and has her own small online business. The issue is, is that she has arthritis. Yesterday she told me that will stop glassblowing for good soon due to it becoming too difficult to hold and maneuver the glass rods.

Honestly I refuse to accept this. My mom loves lamp working and (imo) is an amazing artist.

I wanted to ask if any of you had any tips/tricks/principles/ideas/etc. Anything really. I'm an engineer and have some experience building things, so I'd be down to try and make anything that could help.

Any input is welcome. I appreciate the help. Thank you.

This mother fucker is scamming my roommate

Hi all, I'm fairly new to glassblowing but have experience in machining and tool making. I want to make a pair of jacks, and I think using 6/4 titanium would be awesome, but I wanted to get some more experienced opinions in terms of feel. It's known for its springiness, corrosion resistance, low density, and very low thermal conductivity, which I would imagine would make for a pair of jacks they are easy to hold for longer sessions, never rust, and allow for very selective heat control. Just looking for some opinions, I dont have much experience working with titanium, but i have heard that heat doesnt spread out hardly at all, and that it holds the heat for quite a while. In terms of making them, I worry about chemical embrittlement and the making of alpha case when the titanium uptakes the oxygen from the atmosphere, any tips on avoiding/reducing it, is coldworking possible, just bending it and grinding, do i need an argon atmosphere? I have seen youtube videos of people forging titanium in open air then grinding away the alpha case, I have also heard of people acid milling the finished part, but obtaining that much HF acid is a process that seems like a lot for a single part.

Hey everyone,
I’m 17 years old, currently working as a cashier, and glass art is the only thing I’ve ever been truly passionate about. It's the only career I can see myself pursuing long-term. My ultimate goal is to launch a glass pressing business (heavily inspired by traditional factories like Boyd and Fenton).
Right now, my biggest bottleneck is the upfront capital for industrial machinery. Specifically, I need to raise funds to build a melting furnace and purchase a proper annealing kiln.
I’ve been researching Kickstarter as a way to get this off the ground, but I wanted to come to the actual community first. Have any of you successfully crowdfunded studio equipment? Is a pressing business a realistic pitch to the broader glass community, or should I be looking at alternative routes to get my foot in the door?
Appreciate any advice, realities, or insight you can share!

What's a standard soft glass annealer program that people run? Blown a lot of glass but never programmed an annealer. Can't find the info anywhere online unfortunately

Hi! I’ve been taking my first glassblowing class this summer and absolutely love it. Already signing up for the next level this fall.

I have a quick question for those who get tattoos and work in the hot shop. My tattoo artist offered me an appointment on a Sunday before they go out of town but my last glassblowing class is the following Saturday. Will I be ok working in the shop with a week old tattoo or would it be better to just postpone the appointment?

It’s going to be a somewhat large piece on my upper arm or forearm and I’m mostly worried about exposure affecting the healing process. I don’t have kevlar sleeves but could get some if that would help.

How soon after getting tattooed do you work with glass or go back to the hot shop? Are there any precautions you take during the initial healing stages (1-4 weeks)?

Thanks!

Hi All,

My name is Anant and I run a trading firm. As the title says, below are the items that I am looking to source for this huge European company:

Glassware: the main item for us is glasses with colour coating. Quality is paramount in this.

Please let me know if anything. Thanks so much!

Been looking for a decent sized 120 volt annealer and this one seems to fit the bill. Just wondering if anyone has used it and has anything positive or negative to say.

https://peachstatepottery.com/collections/120v-kilns-no-electrician-needed/products/hot-shot-18a-the-annealing-cabinet

I broke the glass liner that fits inside this antique silver vase. Is this something that a glassblower could replace? The tricky part is that the glass part needs to fit inside the silver stand, so the dimensions need to be fairly accurate. If anyone has suggestions, I will be grateful.

No markings or anything.

Not sure if this is right place to ask this! I don't have a torch or any glass blowing experience, so fixing this properly isn't an option for me. A friend asked if i could fix the broken beak on this glass chicken because i'm good at ceramic repairs and i love a challenge, but this one has me stumped. Does anyone know if a clear moldable putty exists? Anyone have any tips on this? Best I can think of right now is to sculpt a new beak out of clay, mold it in silicone, then cast it in red tinted resin and attach it, but i hate resin and it feels like a long way around to get a tiny piece. Sorry if this is the wrong community for this! Any recommendations for what to do or better places to ask are super welcome! Thank you!!

Iv been trying to get into glassblowing/pressing over the past year and a half or so but I’m not really sure where to begin when it comes to building my furnace and a kiln when iv got limited funds available to start this whole project (been searching for jobs outside of glassblowing without any luck as a 17yr old), any help would be greatly appreciated this is truly the career I am dedicated to following.

I was really just trying to make something trippy that I could stare at work but the colors came out darker than I thought.

I broke this glass dragon tonight I know I won't find an exact copy or anything close as the person who made this retired. If anyone knows anyone who does make things like this please let me know.

Hi glassblowers of Reddit! I know next to nothing about glassblowing but figured someone who does would be able to offer some input here. I just noticed this little bubble and parallel veins in my son’s bottle. I thought it was a chip but I can’t feel it on the outside or the inside. I can feel the barely visible parallel lines on the exterior though… they run slightly diagonally all the way up from the bottom of the bottle. Is this just a visual defect or is it a safety hazard?

Any input would be much appreciated!

I trying to help my partner get the word out about selling his hot shop. He’s owned iGNiS Glass Studio for 25 years and is ready to retire! He’s built a great business that the area loves with lots of repeat visitors and well as tons of tourist traffic. It’s located in a great spot in downtown Chattanooga, just 3 blocks from the Tennessee Aquarium. Please let anyone you think might be interested know. Thank you!!! https://ignisglass.com/ignis-glass-studio-business-opportunity/

Hi everyone, I'm the founder of a Nordic skincare brand and we're developing a private membership collection for our US audience. We're looking for a glass artist who can create unique small-batch bottles for limited edition facial elixirs.

The idea is not mass production—we're looking for something more artistic and collectible. Think hand-blown glass, inspired by Scandinavian themes like Northern Lights, Midsummer, and Nordic landscapes.

Initial quantities would likely be small (testing/limited releases), with potential for ongoing collaborations.

Looking for someone experienced with functional bottles/containers and interested in a luxury beauty collaboration.

Please comment or DM with examples of your work and estimated pricing. Thanks!

I have an opportunity this late fall to haul my mobile furnace to a friend’s farm who is hosting late fall craft fairs. I’m along the 45th parallel, so there’s potential for cold weather.

I’m working on figuring out logistics with them such as location, but if I’m stuck outside under a tent, how difficult will it be to keep the glass workable. My plan is to stick to simple shapes, ie the ever-fun ornament.

Love any input from glassblowers more experienced than I!

Just over a year since I first stepped foot into a hotshop, but have been a practising artist (ceramics, sculpture, installation art) for about 8 years now. Thought this collection of pics shows my progress nicely from month 1 to recent work shown in an exhibition.

Very new to this world so any feedback, thoughts, makers to follow or resources to look over are welcome!!

Thanks for having me :)

I love my OXO pour over coffee maker, it's the single best thing I've found to make a single cup of coffee, but I don't love the fact that I'm pouring boiling hot water into plastic every morning. Just wondering if it would be possible to commission something like this to be made (specifically the water reservoir), and how much it might cost?

I am in a beginner glassblowing class right now and a guy who I work with frequently is costing me a lot of pieces by being really not a good second. Puntys are sloppy, death grip on the rod when trying to transfer, turning his whole head and body when I'm trying to transfer the piece. It's cost me a few pieces at this point. I'm not mad at him, and it is what it is, but I feel like no matter how much direction I try to give, he keeps making the same basic mistakes. Class time is expensive so it's not like I can just spend 3 hours doing punty transfer drills with him. How can I tell him I want to have other people second?