I was searching for a special unity ceremony option for my fiance and I when I found a company that gives you crystals to blend during your ceremony to be made into a custome glass piece after. They contracted Jesse, owner of JJ Gaffers, to make them after the wedding. As soon as we found this, my fiance and I knew that is what we wanted to do. Shortly after our wedding, the owner of the company that orchestrated our order unexpectedly passed away with no plan in place for who would pick up the pieces after his departure. Jesse reached out to all of the clients of theirs to let us know of the unfortunate news and that he had collected our combined crystals (along with about 100 other couples') to help us make our special pieces. He hadn't been paid by that company to do the work but had collected everything out of the kindness of his own heart and passion for his work. We decided we wanted him to make our pieces still but needed to figure out when and exactly what we wanted. Unfortunately, COVID threw a big wrench in our plans which meant more time in waiting for our pieces. This posed a lovely silver lining that I hadn't considered before. We decided to wait until the studio was re-opened for classes so we could make our pieces, as a couple, with him. He was able to fit us in his schedule and we were able to make even more pieces than we anticipated! Never forget that when you work directly with an artist, the price goes down. Cutting out the middle man made this project much more affordable for us. This was a bucketlist experience for us and one that we will never forget! If you are one of those people that was effected by the closing of the middle man business, reach out to Jesse! He is busy, but he will make it work!
Additionally, if you want to take a class in general, even just for fun, I would highly recommend going here. Jesse is very professional and made our first-time glass blowing experience a breeze!
Thank you for everything Jesse. I appreciate all your time and hard work! read more