My husband and I were driving north on Route 100 when we passed by this home that had a sign out front near the drive inviting guests to come up and participate in glass blowing. At first we passed by and we're skeptical, but this stop ended up being our favorite part of our entire 8 day road trip. We walked up to a barn behind this home/studio where two gentlemen were actively working in the glass shop creating a piece of art. Both were sweating and busy at work with a steel rod and a furnace, which we later learned was "the Glory hole". Spencer was extremely friendly and welcomed us to sit on the picnic table and watch as they worked away.
After watching, we asked if we could go see his studio to buy a piece of blown glass and he walked us down to check out what was in his show room area. A few weeks back my husband and I went to a state craft fair and I fell in love with a glass pumpkin I saw. I didn't get it and was so sad that I missed the opportunity. Fast forward three weeks later and here we were in Spencer's studio with several pumpkins to choose from. Each was so beautiful, but after hearing his stories about the difficulty of making cups, I knew I had to buy a glass cup. Who would have ever thought that drinking out of something miss proportioned would feel so weird, but after him showing me the "oops" cups I knew I had to buy this beauty. (See attached picture).
Spencer invited us back up to his shop to finish watching him work on a pumpkin that he had started, so we decided to tag along. The heat in this working environment is unreal. Spencer let us stand in the shop near the Glory hole as they worked to mold and build this tiny pumpkin. So much sweat and hard work went into crafting such a little beauty. After watching it, we had to buy it. We developed so much respect for this art and appreciated the generosity of Spencer and him sharing his space with us to teach my husband and I all about his craft.
Due to the glass having to cool, we didn't get to leave with our pumpkin, but Spencer was able to ship it and it will be waiting for us once we get home. I HIGHLY recommend stopping by this shop to experience the beauty of glass blowing and the hospitality of Spencer and his assistant. A GREAT EXPERIENCE. read more