Charlotte’s first hot-glass-blowing studio is offering lessons, date nights, demonstrations and more
Charlotte’s first hot-glass-blowing studio, Hot Glass Alley, celebrated its grand opening Sept. 28-29 at 438 Atando Ave. In addition to selling a variety of hand-blown glass art, Jacob Pfeifer and his team of artists will offer glass-blowing lessons, demonstrations, workshops, date nights where couples can work together to make a piece of art, and other hands-on experiences.
Jacob, along with his mother and business manager Sonya Pfeifer, bought the 10,000-square-foot warehouse building that houses the studio in 2015 and have spent the past few years transforming the space into a stunning glass art gallery and expansive working studio, complete with space for lessons, a kitchen, and meeting rooms for groups to congregate and experience hot-glass blowing. For the uninitiated, hot-glass blowing is the art of creating glass vessels and sculptures by placing a piece of molten glass at the end of a large tube and blowing it into various shapes.
Jacob’s passion for glass art started at age 14, when he stumbled upon a glass-blowing studio on a family trip to Bermuda. He was instantly fascinated and spent hours watching the glassblowers. As soon as he returned home to New Jersey, he started taking lessons and has been blowing glass ever since.
He was drawn back to North Carolina (he once lived in Greenville, NC) because of the rich history of art in the state. Jacob chose Charlotte as the home for his first studio because he was excited about being part of the growing community and cultural scene.
“The growth of the city is exploding, and the arts are carving out a space and drawing great interest,” he says. “The diversity in Charlotte is important to me as it brings new and different ideas to the table; it is a place where everyone can succeed.”
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Jake Pfeifer (@hotglassalley) on Oct 1, 2018 at 1:24pm PDT
The studio name “Hot Glass Alley” was inspired both by the imagery of hot glass studios that line narrow alleyways in Italy, and by the “Diagon Alley” of the Harry Potter series.
“My brother and I grew up with Harry Potter and enjoyed reading about the shenanigans that went on in Diagon Alley,” Jacob says. “It was a street in the Potter books that had many businesses and shops, all of which were selling magical things of some sort; wands, robes, owls, cauldrons. We have our furnace — it is the heart of the shop — which is a sort of cauldron (although not “leaky” like in the books), and we do create what seems like a bit of magic in the hot shop with the liquid glass we pull from the furnace.”
Jacob is joined by a team of accomplished gaffers, or glass-blowing artists, from across the country and the United Kingdom. Each artist contributes their own artistic flair to the styles of art featured throughout the studio and gallery.
Additionally, Hot Glass Alley will host renowned guest artists who will provide workshops and lectures to the public during their residencies.
The Hot Glass Alley team is passionate about education and connecting with the community. They offer several experiences where anyone can watch or participate in hot glass blowing.
“Between the experiential activities and the demonstrations, it gives the community a better understanding of the process and the history of glass art,” Jacob says. “I trust that (by) showing, sharing, and explaining what we do, we will cultivate a growing appreciation for this ancient art.”
In addition to demonstrations, they will offer personalized hands-on experiences on the third weekend of every month where gaffers will guide guests through the process of creating a unique piece of glass art, such as an ornament or drinking cup. For the month of October, you can also create your own pumpkin. This experience costs $60 to make an ornament, and $85 to make a pumpkin, paper weight, or drinking cup.
For those who want to take their glass-blowing skills to the next level, the team also offers group and individual lessons that take place over eight weeks. By the end of the course, new artists will bring home several pieces of hand-blown glass art. Group lessons are $650/person for an eight-week session, and private lessons are $325 for three hours of instruction. You can call (980) 209-9284 to sign up for an experience or lesson.
Hot Glass Alley also has a full glass art gallery filled with work produced by Jacob and his associates, with prices ranging from $20 to several thousand dollars. Hot Glass Alley has a large variety of more affordable pieces with the intention of making purchase of their art accessible.
To learn more about Hot Glass Alley and glass art, check out their website at www.hotglassalley.com or follow Jacob on Instagram at @hotglassalley.
This story was originally published October 4, 2018 at 2:00 AM with the headline "Charlotte’s first hot-glass-blowing studio is offering lessons, date nights, demonstrations and more."