Chicago Hot Glass

I was really excited to take a class, registered and was ready to get started. The class was supposed to start in February. It is now almost June. The class never happened. I received two texts to say the class was delayed, no explanation as to what was going on. The one time in the last month I did talk to a person I was told they could not refund my class fee until the next staff meeting and they would get back to me. No one called back. At one point the phone was cut off, it is back on now, but no one returns messages. 4 months of no class and no service.

I came here for an event a while back, and there was a glass artist by the name of Etsuko Ichikawa who was demonstrating burnt picture images from the heat of the glass. It was pretty cool, seeing her work with the glass rod, working with the crazy melting object, trying to mold it into a particular shape to create images on the paper. The studio also offers classes (like glassblowing, beadmaking, lampworking, glass fusing, and kiln casting) as well as a glass gallery that showcases the glass artists’ work.
+glassblowing classes
+beadmaking classes
+lampworking classes
+glass fusing classes
+kiln casting classes

I had a wonderful experience with their ornament making class. The teacher was very patient with me and answered all my questions and helped me fix a few of my mistakes. I walked out of there with a fun morning and several Christmas presents for this season :) Highly recommend.

I took the «Holiday Ornament Workshop» and had a great time! The instructors were wonderful and very helpful. I would definitely recommend this place. I went home with five lovely ornaments: o)

I met one of the artists at the Renegade Craft Fair and signed up to take a class with her. We were making little pumpkins…
I checked out the reviews here the morning of the class and I was a little worried about the trip to this part of the city after what I read… but I came and went with no concern.
Because this was my first experience with any glass studio, I don’t know if its the best of the best but Kit was a fantastic instructor. There were 9 in the group and each person got to try their hand (with help!) in the process. Due to the cooling time required you need to go back or she would ship your piece to you.
I’m definitely looking into another opportunity here!

Here is my customer experience.
I have visited Chicago Hot Glass many times over the course of sveral years and the only thing that remains the same is your chances of getting mugged on the street outside. My car was broken into and damaged no less than three times. I had equipment stolen from the studio and was cheated out of blow time by the owners of the business.
Relevance.
If your a customer and visit this establishment be warned that it is not worth the money or your safety.

There is lots of stuff in there but no one ever uses it while I’m there. The phone rings and rings. Always call first, even if they know you are coming… you don’t want to hang around outside. Not sure how safe all of the randow equipment is, but there is a lot! It is a big commune kindof place where a person has to ‘cut their chops’ for the hipsters to dane to hang out. The benefit parties are expensive frat type situation. Love blowing glass, hate having to go here to do it.

Scheduled a group of 8 for a private 3 hour lesson. The group received instruction on how to make our own drinking glass and then, with the help of an instructor, we each made our own. The staff accommodated our group really well. There were three glass blowers providing instruction and assistance the whole time and everyone was very friendly and attentive. The cost for each person was very reasonable for the amount of time spent with us. And the best part is that we got a hand-​made personal souvenir at the end! Because we were there for a special occasion, one of the professional glass blowers/​instructors made a vase for the «man of the hour» as an extra bonus.

I have loved blown glass ever since my family took me to the mother country and I saw it done in Venice. So, taking a class would be a great idea — so I think. I had a great time and the instructor was really, really good, but I think I’m too afraid of open flames to really enjoy it. I’m glad I didn’t do the long course. I did the ornament making class which I enjoyed — an hour long, not too expensive, and I got a few cool looking ornaments that I MADE ALL BY MYSELF! Some look weird, but who cares.

A great girls’ night our or date night if you tire of the dinner and drinks routine. It’s freezing in the winter though because they don’t put on the heat (at least they didn’t when we were there) which makes sense, because the torch fire keeps you warm while you’re working on your piece. I expected an actual class where specific instructions, more details about glass blowing and introductions would be given but our instructor walked us through in 10 minutes then basically stuck by us to make sure we were being safe. It is a really relaxed atmosphere and we each were able to make 5 glass ornaments. Since we are all beginners, on average, we were only able to successfully take home 3 because the other ones either broke or blew up. Easy parking too!

I showed up with my boyfriend with no idea what to expect… it was even better than I thought!
We signed up for the paperweight class through Thomas (
). He was super chill and very informative. We went over the basics right away, watch a demo of what we were going to have to do and then he let us have at it! I always felt very safe as Thomas was watching our every move making sure we didn’t burn ourselves or burn anyone else! The almost two hours flew by! And at the end, we had two sweet paperweights to show for it. I can’t wait to pick them up!
The studio itself is very real, I like how they don’t try to cater to anyone. You’re in a hot glass studio… don’t expect the Four Seasons. It’s hot and industrial… people are here to learn and make amazing art. And that’s all there is to it! I will definitely be back sometime to try my hand at making a vase!

This place is awesome. I went for their spring benefit and thoroughly enjoyed the artist exhibitions and the glass work that was displayed. Definitely worth the admittance fee. I haven’t heard much about their lessons but I’m sure they are well worth it. If you’d like to check out the work there you can head over on Saturdays from 1 to 5pm.
You’ll definitely see me at one of their next events.

This is one of the best glass studios I’ve been to. It’s larger than most and has a good variety in the type of lessons that are available. The staff is knowleageable and some of the instructors are prominent figures within the glass community. I first attended a class during a girl’s night event over 5 years ago and have been to a number of their fundraising and community events since. Collectors can watch meet rising stars and get amazing art at reasonable prices. The only discomfort, as with all studios, is the air flow in the summer months as it can get quite hot. As for the other reviewers complaining about the prices it doesn’t seem that they’ve had much experience with similar lessons, especially within a large city with higher maintenance and rent costs. The prices are very reasonable. It’s a treat to have this available within the city limits. As for the few other petty issues that people have had, I chalk that up to people who don’t have the ability to deal directly with an owner/​manager and would rather bitch on a website. Pathetic!

I learned how to blow glass at Chicago Hot Glass six years ago and have been learning from the folks here ever since. It’s a great place to learn or observe some wonderful things being made by local Chicago glass artists.
The parties are very awesome! I’ve never observed anything quite like them. You get a lot for your money, including the opportunity to own some handmade pieces. I’ve seen a lot of people go nuts at their silent auctions, walking out with 10 pieces!
The layout works just fine for me. As mentioned above, I learned how to blow glass here, so I feel pretty comfortable working in the studio. I like how the space encourages communication among artists, who are all very friendly. It’s a great little community of glassblowers who all seem to inspire one another.
The neighborhood is not that bad. I’m a woman.
I’ve learned so much and met a ton of interesting people at CHG… anyone can have a lot of fun here. I feel very fortunate to be a part of this glassblowing studio!

I think it’s strange that so many people are giving this place five stars. I was visiting from out of town and very excited about getting to see a new studio. After reading the reviews, I thought I was in for a treat, but I (a really positive person!) was totally disappointed!
Chicago Hot Glass seemed overpriced and run down. It sounds like the parties may be cool, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good place to blow glass. It seemed like the studio had a really odd, awkward layout. For some reason there are these benches that you have to cross in front of to get to the furnace and annealers. Very strange.
Honestly, I’m going to suggest that my friends look into private studio owners. I have only had good experiences with them, and they will most likely be more friendly and less expensive… which… is pretty much what you want, isn’t it?
The staff who were working when I was there were fine… not particularly good or bad, but I thought they were nice enough that I didn’t want to totally pan the place… but it would take a lot more than «nice enough» for me to go back again.

For the past three years I’ve been going to their fundraising parties and have had a blast. It’s so cool to watch the artists do their pieces, and they always provide great food and drink during these parties as well.
All the staff are very friendly and gracious, and are real masters of their craft. Each with their own distinct style and skill.
I have a few friends who have also taken the classes here, and have always come out with a wealth of knowledge and are usually hooked and come back for additional classes because they love the instructors so much.

I’m a mega-​fan of Chicago Hot Glass — probably due a lot to the fact they throw awesome parties! The demos are always very interesting, although I didn’t realize how often those things break while in the process of becoming beautiful. And at the most recent benefit, after I had carefully selected my new beautiful glass for the evening and to take home, the artist came up to me and was excited I’d chosen his work!
I wish the classes weren’t so darn expensive, because I’m terribly intrigued with the art and would love to check it out one of these days.
Without firsthand experience of how the classes are run, I know someone who has had a good experience taking classes, but it appears as if others on Unilocal have mixed feelings.
As far as the layout of the studio goes, I would be surprised if there was an optimal way to layout the studio with such a limited amount of space in the city of Chicago.
I really love this place for its kick-​ass parties, and hopefully someday I will be able to take one of their most inexpensive (if comparatively meager), blow-​your-​own-​cup classes!

This place is atrocious. I checked out their «gallery» and they had clear glass tubes filled with condoms, some of which were bloody. They used a permanent marker to write the date on pieces taken out of the annealer, and it ruined a reduced glass piece I made. When I arrived to pick up my work I waited outside a solid steel door for several minutes before anyone came to let me in. In that time two guys asked me for a dollar to «get on the bus.» It’s not the kind of place a girl wants to be waiting outside alone.

When you’re paying $ 40+/hr to blow glass you want some basic things in a studio that Chicago Hot Glass does not have. The layout of the studio is bad, and you have to cross a lot of work benches to get to the furnace and annealers. When we were there they did not run the glory holes nearly hot enough and we were wasting huge amounts of time reheating. The location is not so great.
So I just read the other reviews and feel like I should qualify my statement. I have been blowing glass for 5 years, and I am willing to make the trip up to Racine, WS to Hot Shop Glass instead of going to Chicago Hot Glass. To be honest, Chicago Hot Glass is a dump.
Heating a glory hole can be complicated. It requires the proper ratio of gas to air, simply turning up both is not the solution. We had 2 staff members adjust our glory hole before the third person (the owner himself) was able to get it running properly. I had never had an issue with any the equipment at any of the other studios where I have worked.
$ 40/​hr is the cheapest you can rent for at Chicago Hot Glass, and that is for a 10″ glory hole. At Hot Shop Glass in Racine you get a 24″ glory hole for $ 35/​HR. A 20″ glory hole would cost you $ 55/​HR at Chicago hot glass. At the Urban Glass studio in NYC we paid $ 35/​HR for a 10″ glory hole. The prices are not competitive.
And the layout is terrible. You have to cross other work benches to get from the furnace to your glory hole. Your $ 40/​HR becomes more like $ 55/​HR when you consider all the wasted time.
I met the owners and most of the staff at this place. They are really cool people, but they definitely do not know how to run a studio. I really don’t want to rip on this place so hard, but the only thing they have going for them is the convenience of being in the city. When you consider how far away from the city they actually are, there really is no reason to work here.