Glass Blowing Classes

Get hands on experience in the art of glass blowing at JJ Gaffers.

Classes at JJ Gaffers make wonderful gifts for birthdays, holidays and all milestones of life. Or, just treat yourself and come try something new! Certificates for classes and gift cards are available for sale at our studio or online in our shop.

Thanks for your interest in our glassblowing classes!

WHEN DO WE GIVE CLASSES?- We offer classes 5 days a week. We are closed on Mondays and work on orders and gallery pieces on Tuesdays. Class times are Wednesday-Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 10am-4pm. Weekends fill up the quickest. They usually are booked 2-3 months in advance. Weekdays are usually booked 4-6 weeks in advance.

We don't give classes on the first Friday of every month. There is a First Friday event for the building every first Friday that we're open for from 5-8pm. Come visit us and the many other talented artists in the building! Visit the Mainframe Studios website - mainframestudios.org for more information.

We don't have age or physical requirements or restrictions. We've given classes to people ages 2-97 with all types of physical capabilities. Beginners are able to make most any of the options listed below.

HOW LONG DO CLASSES TAKE?- Classes take approximately 20-60 minutes per piece, depending on what gets made. The lower end is for the less expensive pieces. Each class is a one on one experience, unless you want to collaborate with another person and create a piece together. Each person would go one at a time for individual pieces. The piece needs to cool slowly in an annealer, and you can usually pick it up in the next day or two. We give classes Wed-Sat 10-5 and Sun 10-4.

HOW MUCH IS IT?- Class prices are per piece, not per person. Prices range from $40-$400 per class. Prices for each piece are listed at the bottom of the page. You only need to pay for the class certificate to be able to take a class and take your piece home. The price depends on what you make, what colors you use and what design you choose. The lower prices listed below are for our premade popular color mixes (blues, greens, blue/green, red/orange/yellow, pink/purple, blue/purple, etc.) and classic designs. The higher prices are if you want to choose your own specific colors and get more complex with the designs. The coloring and design pattern can affect the price almost as much as the shape. Example - a simple vase can cost less than a complex drinking glass.

HOW TO SCHEDULE- We give classes Wed-Sat 10-5 and Sun 10-4. The way we schedule is through email at info@jjgaffers.com. We would need to know the days/times you're available, what you want to make (each piece takes different times to complete) and if you wanted to use our premixed color mixes or if you wanted to choose your own specific colors. The reason we don't take reservations over the phone is because we like to have a paper trail of the communications for everyone's benefit.

We require the class certificate(s) to be purchased for what's being made for your class to confirm your class reservation.

When purchasing, write in the notes section the day and time of your class, if you've scheduled one with us already, so we know what it's for.

We went paperless with our certificates. We will no longer mail them out. We will note on the schedule when you purchase the certificate and we will mark it fulfilled when you come in for your class to know that it has been used.

We don't schedule many classes in November or December as we'll be busy working on holiday items and orders. If you'd like to schedule a class to make holiday gifts, it's best to schedule those classes for October (or earlier) and get the request in early because they fill up quickly.

If you can't make another month work and need to schedule a class for December or a weekend in November, it would be for a premium price of 25% more per piece since we'll be working overtime with holiday orders and gallery pieces.

We will be closed July 17th &18th and December 22nd-25th & 29th-1st for the holidays.

HOW DO THE CLASS CERTIFICATES WORK? - You would purchase the corresponding certificate for the piece(s) you want to make for your class. The only price you'll need to pay to take a class and be able to keep your piece is the class certificate price. The certificate includes the price of the class and the ability to take your piece home after it cools slowly in the annealer. Class certificates are available for purchase through our website. We went paperless with our certificates, so they are no longer available for shipping or pick up.

CANCELLATION POLICY- If you schedule a weekend class and cancel 48 hours or less before your class, or cancel a weekday class 24 hours or less before you class, there will be a rescheduling fee of 25% of the class value. If you no call, no show to any class and ask to reschedule, you would need to pay 50% of the class again as the fee. If you'd like a refund, we will refund 50% of your class. Cancelling/not showing up to your class costs us money. As a small business, we need to limit our losses as much as possible. We hope you understand.

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We give classes Wednesday-Saturday 10am-5pm & Sunday 10am-4pm

When purchasing the certificates, write in the comment section the day and time of your class, if you've already scheduled one with us, so we know what the certificate is for. We went paperless with our certificates, so they will no longer be mailed out or available for pick up.

Please reach out to us at info@jjgaffers.com for available class times and to schedule a class. Let us know what days/times work best for you, what pieces you want to make, if you already have a certificate or need to purchase one and if you want to do the lower tier pricing or higher tier pricing.

We have some examples of student pieces on our Facebook page under the photos>albums section, and around our website if you'd like to see some reference pictures.

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Lower prices are for our premixed color mixes and less complex patterned pieces. Higher prices let you choose specific colors and the ability to do more intricate designs, shaping, coloring patterns (rainbow, gradient, etc.) -

$40/$75 - Ornament

$40/$75 - Egg

$60/$110 - Small Paperweight

$60/$90 - Drinking Glass

$60/$90 - Wine Glass

$60/$110 - Ring Holder

$60/$90 - Beer Glass w/o Handle

$75/$110 - Beer Glass with Handle

$60/$75 - Small Heart (aprx. 4")

$75/$110 - Medium Heart (aprx. 6")

$90/$150 - Large Heart (6"+)

$75/$90 - Small Bowl (candy dish size)