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Getting acquainted!
We were greeted with open arms by the owner, Chris Crimaldi, and welcomed with adult beverages (yes, I had a glass of wine). I browsed the shop and watched the artists work while chatting up friends from near and far that I had not seen in ages!
too many choices!
party mix!
As we settled in to learn about the history of The Glass Asylum,which is celebrating its third anniversary, we snacked on some amazing foods from M Italian, which is located in the same building.
Pizzas from M Italian
delicious salad + fried ravioli from M Italian.
Pizzas, fried raviolis, salad, and calzones galore!! Not to mention a nice plate of meats and cheeses from Jim Alesci’s Place! I was in pregnant lady HEAVEN!
Italian desserts from Alesci’s!
After a brief safety run-down and a short history of Chris, a trained electrician by trade, coming to glassblowing, it was time to get started.
the artists during our safety rundown.
Y’all, the fire for glassblowing is HOT. The ovens, known as glory holes (no joke), are on pretty much nonstop with the exception of July, August and September — because it’s just too darn hot! But the guys (and gal) of The Glass Asylum don’t seem to mind.
My big ol’ pregnant belly – getting my colors!
When it was my turn to go, I was assigned to two of the staff members, who are all trained artists, for help. I told them my idea — a multi-color beer mug — and they helped bring it to life!
Into the glory hole!
One of the coolest parts of this process was all of the science behind it. As I worked with the artists, they carefully explained what we were doing and WHY we were doing it — which is something I absolutely LOVE about learning anything new.
Pulling apart the top of my mug.
The entire time they were walking me through it, I kept thinking, “Dang, Ari (my 5 year old) would LOVE this!” It turns out he’s a bit too young to do it himself, but I am going to take him in to see the artists work and hear the explanation anyways. He’ll totally nerd out about it.
I’ll be picking up the finished product today and I could not be more excited! Here’s how it looked before the cooling process:
my mug.
Look at all of our creations! They are GORGEOUS!
Lady Bloggers.
Want to experience the art of glass blowing for yourself?
Contact The Glass Asylum online or call (440) 394-8483 to inquire about an event or experience of your own!
Oh, I so have always wanted to try glass blowing … It’s fabulous. This seems like such a great trip .. .I would love to try my hand at this soon.
I have always wanted to do this! It looks so fun!
Glass blowing is so much fun! I never realized how hard it was!
This is so cool, I’ve never heard of it before but all the glass came out so beautiful!
This is seriously so, so cool!
So fascinating and has been on my bucket list for ages!
What a fun thing to do!! I’ve see glass being blown but never tried it myself!!
how fun! I’ve always loved the look of blown glass!
I have never been glass blowing but would love to give it a try!
Wow! I’ve seen pros do this, but I didn’t know there were places you could do it yourself!
This looks SO fun! I love glass blowing, my cousin is a glass artist and I’m dying for him to show me how to do it. That beer mug will be a great memento forever :-).
This looks like so much fun! I wish we something like this near us!
WOW, that looks like fun! Plus, the Italian food would be worth going to as well! LOL!
I’ve always wanted to try glass blowing! Looks so fun!
That’s so cool- I’ve always been fascinated with glass blowing! The food looks delish too!
The glass blowing sounds like a blast! I love all of the color options! And all that food looks amazing!
-Jennifer
https://maunelegacy.com
I did it once, but that was long time ago in Murano near Venice 🙂
What a fun and cool experience!!! That food looks amazing as well!!
Oh my god I’m nerding out too!! I had no idea there were places you can do this!
I love your mug and am totally jealous an activity like this is accessible to you.
I took glass blowing in college and loved it. These look so pretty.
I’d love to try this! Adding to my bucket list
I have always wanted to try glass blowing! I think my kids would really like it too! It seems super fun!
I have seen quite a few glass blowing demonstrations. I never knew it was a thing I could go try somewhere. I would love to!
I would love to try this some day! there’s nothing better than learning cool things AND making your own things 😉
This looks like so much fun! It’s awesome that you get to make your own piece!