One of the most common question people ask me when I tell them I’m a glassblower, is “Where does the glass come from?”. This is a really interesting question because when you think about all glass objects you use throughout the day from glasses to phone screens, it becomes quite amazing that this substance can be shaped and used for so many different things.

So in this post I will explain how we make the glass that we use in all our work.

The Glass Furnace

The first thing to know is that our glass is kept in a furnace at over 2000 degrees 24/7! At this temperature it has a consistency similar to hot honey.

Inside is a big pot that holds 500 lbs of liquid glass and we open the door and gather it up on steel rods or pipes.

How does the glass get in there? Glad you asked!

So there are two parts that we use for this recipe. The first is batch, made from silica, soda ash and variety of other minerals and chemicals. The second is recycled clear glass that we have used already.

Glass Batch

Glass Batch

We mix these two ingredients in a loading trough and dump it into the furnace. After the melting process, the mixture of the two create a crystal clear glass with no tarnish or seeds (bubbles).

Loading Trough

Although this process makes beautiful crystal clear glass, the chemicals in the batch can be harmful if inhaled over a long period of time. So always remember to wear your Respirator!