2,100°F furnaceJust east of downtownPhoenix, AZ
Glass blowing classes, workshops, and a working art gallery on East Harrison Street. No experience needed — you gather the glass, you pick the color, you blow the first bubble. We just keep you from setting your sleeve on fire.
The making
This is the road every piece travels — the one you made, the one on the shelf, the one holding someone's ashes. Same seven stations, same order, every time.
Keep scrolling — the furnace does the rest
Station 01 / 07 · The gather
You dip a steel pipe into the furnace and turn it, and a glowing drop of glass wraps itself around the end. It moves like honey and weighs more than you expect. That is the whole piece, right there.
2,100°F · furnace
Station 02 / 07 · Color
Crushed colored glass, laid out on a steel table. You roll the hot gather through the color you picked and it sticks instantly. This is the only decision that cannot be undone — so take a second with it.
1,900°F · rolled in frit
Station 03 / 07 · The marver
A flat steel table called the marver. You roll the gather across it, over and over, until it is centered and true. Everything after this depends on it being round — and on you never stopping the turn.
1,750°F · rolled and centered
Station 04 / 07 · First breath
One steady breath down five feet of steel pipe, and a bubble opens inside the glass. Everyone laughs at this part. It is the moment a lump of hot sand becomes a cup.
1,650°F · the bubble opens
Station 05 / 07 · The glory hole
Glass stiffens in about ninety seconds, so you go back to the reheating furnace — the glory hole — every time it stops moving. A cup this size goes in five or six times. Nobody tells you glassblowing is mostly walking back to the fire.
2,050°F · reheat, and reheat again
Station 06 / 07 · Jacks & shaping
Jacks, a wooden block, a folded pad of soaked newspaper in a bare hand. The shape you are holding — the curve of the bowl, the lip of the cup — gets decided here, while everything is still soft.
1,400°F · still soft, barely
Station 07 / 07 · The annealer
Your piece goes into the annealer at about 960°F and comes down to room temperature slowly, overnight. Cool it any faster and it cracks itself apart. This is why you cannot take it home the same day — and why it will still be here in fifty years.
72°F · ready for pickupOut of the annealer
Garden art, chandeliers and lighting, wall art, sculpture, vessels — ours and by local Arizona artists, all of it for sale in the showroom. Every one of them started as the glowing drop you just watched.
Pendant lighting from $275 · glass memorials $50–$525 · showroom pieces vary by artist. Prices as published on phoenixglasscenter.com — confirm before ordering.
Phoenix Glass Center · Phoenix
The studio
Phoenix Glass Center is a small, family-owned glassblowing studio and art gallery just east of downtown — a working hot shop with the furnace running and the door open. The showroom carries glass by local Arizona artists alongside our own: cups and vases, garden art, chandeliers, sculpture. Come in to buy something, book a class, or just stand there and watch. People do that. We do not mind.
“Contribute to the community in a meaningful way, provide quality products and services, and be generally good folks.”— Phoenix Glass Center, in their own words
Classes & workshops
Four steps. The last one is the one people forget about.
An hour for two people, or three hours for up to six. Private — the shop is yours for the session. Team building events and private parties are quoted for the group.
Closed-toe shoes, please — that one is not optional. Natural fibers are a good idea near a furnace. Get here about ten minutes early for paperwork.
7-day cancellation · 2 weeks for private & team eventsPaperweight, heart, sun catcher, garden orb, cup, or votive. You gather it, you color it, you blow it. An instructor is on the pipe with you the whole time.
Glass has to cool slowly, so it stays overnight in the annealer — nothing goes home the day it is made. Pick it up during posted hours. Fused glass is ready seven days later.
$170 total · up to 2 people
Pick your piece, pick your color, and get on the pipe. Ages 8 and up with a parent or guardian.
$510 total · up to 6 people
The one for birthdays, bachelorettes, and offices. Everybody makes a piece. Nobody checks their phone.
Single-session workshops
Fused: suncatchers, magnets, garden art, nightlights (ages 8+, ready in 7 days). Stained: copper foil, lead came, patina (ages 13+). Tools and materials included.
Seasonal open workshops: pumpkins September–November · ornaments November–December · bowls January–June, Wednesdays & Sundays at 5pm. Gift certificates are good for 13 months (call us to redeem — the website will not do it).
From the bench
Booked the one-hour class as a date night with zero expectations and left with a garden orb we both fought over. The instructor never once made us feel like we were in the way.
Did the three-hour class for my team of six. Everyone made something, nobody looked at a phone for three hours, and the pieces are still on people's desks a year later.
They made a memorial orb for my dad with some of his ashes. They were unbelievably kind about it, and it sits in the window where the afternoon light hits it.
The furnace is on
Tell us what you want to make and who is coming. Classes, team building, private parties, custom lighting, memorials — all of it starts with a note here or a phone call.
We read every one and get back to you with open bench times, usually within a day or two.
In a hurry? Call the shop at (602) 390-0493.
Brandon will reach out shortly.
Drop your details and Brandon will get this live on your own domain — usually the same week.
The website for Phoenix Glass Center is built and it still exists — it's just not public any more. If you want another look, or you want it live on your own domain, say the word and it's back up the same day.
Email me and I'll put it back →