Seattle Glassblowing Studio & Gallery

First I will say glass blowing is very interesting and I have gained a new respect for the art. I really enjoyed my time at the studio. The staff was very nice. Our instructor for the session was Ronnie. If you go I would suggest requesting him (if possible). He is AWESOME! He knows his stuff and is a great teacher. The way he runs the session is awesome as well. He lets you do a little and he does a little and you adjust or request to do/​participate more according to your comfort level after the initial lesson. He is very patient and just an overall good teacher. He teaches you the basics safe and quick so you have enough time to do your glass pieces.
I bought a Groupon deal for a 4 hour session for 2 for $ 201.50, regularly $ 395. TOTALLY worth the money. If you want a true experience, one thing I will advise is definitely DO NOT do the 30 min session. Even if you get a Groupon deal it’s not enough time. The 4 hour session is definitely worth the money and the best option if you just want a taste. If you want more do the classes that last for weeks. Lol. In the other reviews, I saw people mention they did not get to do a lot. Well if you do a 30 minute session then yes that is true. It takes the instructor 30 min just to show you technique and basics, so yes the instructor will end up doing everything in a 30 min session. If you did a 4 hour session and you still didn’t get to do a lot of the work. Well then your instructor sucked. :p LOL. Another thing is be grateful for the help you receive from your instructor bc some of the hand motions and techniques are not easy. Yes you want to do things on your own and that’s fair, but don’t get offended when they need to help.
During our session The first 30 minutes was spent learning the techniques and basics. Ronnie made a paper weight and walked us step by step through the process. He next had my husband and I each do a paper weight to practice and get use to the hand movements and know how to use the tools. He then opened up the floor for us to make what we wanted. My husband and I made a total of 11 items, 12 counting the paper weight Ronnie did. We took home 11 items as the paper weight Ronnie did broke. The flow of the session was great. My husband and I choose to make things that were pretty quick so we could make more within our time. We made paper weights each, bowls (the ones with a bubble in them) each, a pyramid, a vase, a wide circular plate/​vase item, and 4 balls to go inside the circular plate. Each item took about 20 – 30 min. The balls were quick so that moved a little faster. I would definitely say make the most of your time by making items that are simple and quick. One person shouldn’t spend to much time making any one item so both people can benefit from the time. We finished all of this literally within 4 hours exactly. Overall, a great lesson.
I only have one complaint. When blowing your glass to make shapes and bulges in the glass you had to blow through a pipe. My complaint is that everyone has to blow through the same pipe (instructor and students, and once recycled other people using the studio). I think the studio needs to invest in disposable mouth pieces bc this is a bit of a safety/​health concern. The instructor initially blows on the pipe for a given piece to get your started, then the student finishes the blowing process on the same pipe. Another case is one person may have blown on the pipe for their piece (this person is not in your session, someone else using the studio or a worker of the studio) and once that piece is made the stick is placed back in black bucket (for someone to remove the leftover glass before being used again), so anyone can grab that stick to make their next piece and need to blow on it and that particular piece wasn’t cleaned. I will say Ronnie offered us alcohol swabs to clean off the ends that we blew on. However, they need to have a better system in place for this because this is not clean or healthy.
Overall, my husband and I had a great time at the studio. Whoever knew so much work and time was put into glass blowing. It is definitely an art. It was fun to learn & do something new. I will also say this studio is very accommodating to their customers (well at least me, I can’t speak for everyone else). However from the other reviews it seems they are this way all the way around. I was able to get complimentary shipping because I do not live in Seattle and my pieces weren’t ready for pick up before I left and I wanted to hand carry them on the plane. I didn’t have to complain or fuss they just offered this service to me. Definitely worth the time and money. It’s fun, definitely give it a try.

Great way to spend an hour having fun and learning the basics of glass blowing. After signing the required waivers you’re shown a selection of items you can make — 4 in total (paper weight, ornament, bowl, or flower). You’re then escorted into the viewing/​work area where you can watch other students.
After greeting your instructor you jump right into things. Our instructor, Nao, was both informative and engaging and had a great sense of humor so get her if you can. She offered suggestions on colors and design (only spotted vs swirls for newbies) based upon what you’re making. You can pick up your work 48 hours later.
All in all was a great time for both my girlfriend and me. I would highly recommend both the studio and Nao as your instructor. Awesome way to spend an hour.

What a fun thing to do. I feel like I made a beautiful glass blown bowl.
I had a great time and liked the staff and their follow up. I left behind a shirt and they mailed it back to me.
Thanks

I bought a Groupon for a private class for a friend and myself. What a great experience! Our instructor (Nao) was amazing. She was super patient with us. Nao took the time to explain all the tools needed and the equipment as well as the safety issues. We were each able to make a paper weight, an ornament and a pumpkin. My «taco» took longer than anticipated so my friend was not able to make her fourth piece, but it was entirely my fault… I would highly recommend doing this class.
After taking the class I have a much higher appreciation for the cost of hand blown glass — it is a lot of work and they make it look pretty easy. It was also fun to see the teams working on pieces while we were there.
I am thinking of doing this again it was so much fun!

Our instructor Will was awesome! He was laid back, answered all our questions, had years of experience and treated every piece of glass we shaped with great attention.
I had mistakenly purchased the 4 hour private instruction for two instead of a general class one on Groupon and it was so worth it.
Thank you for the great experience!

My husband got me a 4 hour private lesson for our anniversary. It was a special, unique experience and super fun! Tom was an awesome instructor and lets you do stuff, but is there to help when needed. I needed a lot of help, but the husband was better at this and was a bit more independent. Glassblowing is hard to do! Those rods are heavy for my weak arms… Tom is easy to talk to, very knowledgable, is a great artist and clearly lives to blow glass. We felt lucky to have had a wonderful teacher and left inspired to take a class.

Glassblowing has been on my bucket list of things to do, and this was a great experience. My friend booked a private 4-​hour session for us through a Groupon deal, and holy smokes, this was a steal!
In the 4 hour session, we were able to complete 2 bowls, 2 paperweights, 2 ornaments, 2 fruits bowls, and 2 mini pumpkins along side our awesome instructor Mark. Another cool part is that we get to choose whatever easy glass pieces we wanted to make and also the colors of each piece.
The only downside is that I think people come in thinking they get more hands action with making everything. I completely understand why not though; there’s a lot of technique and skill to all of this, and considering that this is generally everyone’s first time, everyone’s going to need the instructors support if they want the product to turn out and for everyone to be safe.
Tip:
I would recommend going in groups of no more than 2. Groups of 2 is the perfect amount so that everyone gets a good amount of glass pieces and hands on action. The more people in your group, the more time you spend just watching others, and bumping into people.

LOVED taking a class here. I bought a groupon for myself and my mom for the private 4 hour class and a surprise for my mom when she came to visit. we both absolutely loved it and had an awesome time.
We had Austin as our instructor, and he was really great. He was helpful and tried to teach us the methods and what to do, but helped whenever we needed it and made sure we went home with awesome pieces.
During our 4 hour session, we made a paperweight (Austin did this one to show us the techniques, etc, but we still got to bring it home), two bowls, two pumpkins, and two snowmen. it was awesome that we could pick what we wanted to make, and that we were able to make seasonal things to put in our houses. I will say the snowman was especially difficult, and definitely took more time than we anticipated. It took us exactly 4 hours to make all of this… if you pick easier things, I’m sure you could make even more in your time.
overall, this was an amazing experience and I’m so glad we did it. i’ll definitely be back.

Purchased a one-​hour lesson for two from Groupon; and we weren’t disappointed. Yoshie was a great instructor and we had a great time creating a bowl and paperweight.

It’s so interesting to see how glass pieces are made. What I didn’t expect was to see how beautiful they can make an ordinary bathroom look. Yes, I said bathroom. In fact, I even took a pic of it because it was filled with glass from the studio. Stop by and take a look at the studio and the items they have for sale. Beautiful work… or take a class yourself and creat your own works of art.
Great staff too!

Super cool experience! I feel it’s worth the $$ spent. You get to create something with your hands and have a fun time doing it. We purchased the hour session and made a vase.
A few tips:
*It’s warm — but not that warm. so at least wear a t-​shirt and closed toe shoes.
*Don’t pick too many colors for your piece. We picked three colors and the blue and yellow turned the vase to green. The orange lip was a nice touch. If you want bright, vibrant colors, just pick one or maybe two at the most.
*You’ll have to wait 48 hours for your piece to finish setting. So if you’re visiting Seattle, go to this place at the beginning of your trip.
Very nice and professional staff. And you learn a lot about the glassblowing process. Good times!

An amazing experience. Our instructor was sick so we got Mike last minute. His patience, sense of humor, knowledge and skills made a great morning for us. Go in with an expectation to have fun, no matter what gets made, it’s the experience that counts equal to product. That’s not to say what’s made isn’t great. MIke even took a request and changed his plans to accommodate our ideas.

I’ve been here a few times on past trips to check out some open house nights, some pieces of work and to talk to some people in the genre of arts as glass has always fascinated me. I am always intrigued by the use of clear color. Awesome people to interact with. It does get got in the studio, therefore, recommended on a cooler day to check out.

Ronnie is amazing. Thanks for the lesson and the art!!!
What a great thing to do while in Seattle !! Ask him to make you a personal masterpiece.

The glassblowing class was a very fun experience! Kind of scary, but our instructor knew what she was doing. We walked away with five glass pieces total. They’re obviously not quite professional quality, but it’s great to have something as a token of the experience (and we’re totally using the glasses we made).
It’s pretty hot in there, although they have plenty of fans, so think about clothing choice if your class is on a hot day. Shorts and short sleeves are fine, but make sure you wear close-​toed shoes! Hair up is a good idea too; not a rule, but I was glad mine wasn’t in my face when my hands were busy.

OMG!!! The glass pieces are incredibly cool and one of a kind! I got AMAZINGLY GREAT customer service from Tatiana. She helped me find a perfect gift and turned my last minute shopping stress into what became a great experience. Sarah was also very helpful and I ended up with two gifts. one for now and one for later!
The glassblowing workshop looks like great fun!

This is an awesome gallery, supply center, and class facility. If you want that special piece, or want to make it, or need supplies to make it — this has to be the place you go. We went with a group to work on a project to be incorporated, as a gift, to a new building. Sarah was awesome to work with in advance of ten students descending upon the studio. Our project involved four pieces, and after talking with the very talented John and Danny, we collectively agreed that we would work on three of the pieces and they would work on the delicate sculpted feather piece.
The three pieces were worked in teams of 3 – 4 paired with the experts. They gave us an instruction in color, how glass is colored, and how the studio supplies many, many artists. We then worked in our teams with them to create three eggs that were similar in color and shape but very different in the approach to design. What a creative and energizing experience.
The grand finale of our time was watching John and Danny make a glass phoenix feather. Truly it was one of those jaw dropping, eye popping experiences that was incredible to watch.
Highly, highly recommend this studio.

Thanks Chihuly for inspiring me to take a glass blowing class!!!
My bf and I bought a groupon and took the private class. We both made bowls. It was a really fun experience, especially thanks to our instructor (I forget her name but the cute girl who wore the beanie and went to/​lives in? South Africa!). I’ll definitely consider taking more classes here in the bay area hehe.

This is by far one of the funnest things I’ve done since I’ve moved to Seattle! We had a Groupon for a «blow your own glass» class, which (for two people) is a one-​hour session. It was also part of a birthday present for my fiancé, since he had wanted to do this for a while!
I had no problems with booking the session and everyone I spoke to was really friendly and helpful. Since our appointment was after hours, they advised us that the Gallery entrance would be closed and we should enter from the alley to the HotShop. We did so, and after filling out a waiver (glassblowing IS potentially dangerous, after all!) we were led back to the HotShop for a quick tutorial on what we would be doing.
Our instructor was really sweet and helpful; she let us pick what we wanted to make and walked us through the process. We both picked bowls, but with different colors and designs. Since it’s just a quick session, the instructor did all the hard parts, like shaping the bowl, cooling the metal pole that the glass is on, twisting the glass to get the patterns we wanted, etc., but even then you still feel like you’re doing work, since you’re responsible for the end shape of the design (i.e. if you don’t keep rotating the glass, it’ll be lopsided!) and it’s all really satisfying.
There was a bit when a giant blob of molten glass fell on the HotShop floor and then caught on fire (!!) but overall I felt like I was in pretty safe hands. You also get safety goggles (or you can bring your own sunglasses – looking at the furnace can hurt your eyes!)
After this I totally want to do their six-​week course and learn more! It was an incredibly fun experience, and you get to keep your creations.

Ok, Glassblowing, it’s Seattle so that seems like a great thing to do.
And, guess what? It was a great thing to do!
My cutie and I took a 4 hour class last Sat. We showed up and after we signed all the paperwork that basically says, molten glass is really hot, be careful, we met our instructor. Mike Holden, he took us through all sorts of safety issues, and then started to teach us how to work with glass. It was great. He had a great teaching style, an English accent, and was also funny… bonus! We left feeling like we learned something and we made a few things too. It will probably surprise you, but molten glass is really really hot and actually hard to work with. I have a whole new appreciation for people who are glass artists, because it’s harder than it looks.
The whole Studio is just great. They have beautiful examples of glass art, glass jewelry and apparently the largest selection of tools and glass supplies for glassworks in the Seattle area. The setting for the class is a big clean studio area. They had several classes going at the same time, so there is some space awareness that has to be paid attention to. Nothing funny about running into someone with hot glass on a stick. The people working here are friendly and knowledgable, and I felt like the studio was run very safely.
Someone once told me that it’s better to buy experiences than it is to buy things. I believe that, and I would highly recommend this experience.