This place has been one of my favorite stops for many many many years. I have been fascinated with watching hand blown glass being made since I was a child and saw a glass blower making clear glass horses and unicorns at a state fair.
What I love about this place is that they still hand blow glass in the traditional method and I’m still just as fascinated with watching the multigenerational family artists do their magic! It’s best to call ahead to see if they will be doing demonstrations, but they are often doing demonstrations. So if you are driving thru WV, make sure to mark this as a place to stop! It’s not far off the interstate and there is plenty of parking even for a relatively large RV. Pick up some fresh veggies and some home canned jams and jellies while you are there. But the glass available is truly one of a kind and I often buy several different things for gifts (and a few for myself lol).
This year I purchased these truly fabulous solar lights that are perfect to sit in the window of my RV! Bought an extra one for my dads kitchen window and he loves his. They come in so many different colors it was hard to choose just one! Lol … so I had to get multiples. Because they are hand blown, these are sturdy and not thin glass so I also used them outside on the picnic table. I just love these! They glow beautifully at night and we use them in the house when we are not in the RV.
I also usually pick up a few hand blown Christmas tree balls. This year they were actually making these for the demonstration I was watching so I got a little history lesson on blowing glass using a mold which was super cool! This particular one also came in different colors, but I want to hang mine in the RV window… like a prism… and it is super sturdy thick glass so no need to worry about it shattering. This is apparently the same pattern that was used on the Christmas tree in the White House when President Lincoln was in office so as a history buff I was immediately enthralled and had to have one!
And since my neighbor was kind enough to keep an eye on our house while we were traveling and she has the most gorgeous flower garden I have ever seen!!!!! I decided to bring her back a little souvenir 🙂 this beautiful hand blow glass humming bird feeder. She was thrilled with her gift and it is on prominent display in her flower garden now.
I highly recommend stopping by if you happen to be driving thru, and visit this place if you get a chance, it’s well worth the short jaunt off the highway. You can google them for address and more info etc as they have a very nice website. Hand blowing glass is almost a lost skill and something you really might enjoy watching so check out this rare opportunity to see how our ancestors created everything glass related in the home. I always make a point of stopping and this is always on my “have to do” list when I am in the area. The demonstrations alone are totally worth it! But I have to warn you, if you are like me, be prepared to make some purchases because all the hand made treasures in this shop are absolutely lovely and I just want to take them all home! So bring your checkbook lol.
Conestoga Chuck 