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Heart of Glass - Blenko Glass

Blenko Glass is a West Virginia treasure that spans generations. Nothing symbolizes the state of West Virginia better or more beautifully than Blenko Glass. We will discuss current and former craftsmen and designers and how important it is that Blenko and West Virginia glass be appreciated and valued by the younger generation.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

www.blenkoglass.com - Antique & Stain Glass


The Blenko Glass Company was the first United States company to produce mouth-blown sheet glass, using what is called the "muff" process. The process used dates back to the creation of Blenko Glass Company in the nineteenth century. The term "antique" refers to the mouth-blown glass process used to make our sheet glass. At Blenko, that process has not changed in over 100 years. The first step involves mouth-blowing a cylinder of molten glass into a cast iron or hand carved fruitwood mold. The cylinder is then annealed and the ends are removed. It is then reheated just to the point that it becomes soft and flexible and is then flattened into a sheet. After a second annealing period the sheet is ready for use in a stained glass window. * From the Blenko Glass website - info - check this site for additional information and a price list.

Contact Don Lemley the Director of Antique Glass at 304 743 9081 or dlemley@blenkousa.com

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Martina and Shobe are 2 tri state stain glass studios doing tutorials for beginning glass artist. We took classes from both studios and both spoke highly of Don Lemley.
Blenko due to being hand rolled is difficult to use in stain glass for novice but the beautiful color is worth the extra work.
Martina use to say Don Lemley had the ability to see all colors and knew not only his product but the entire market.
Doug T.

Anonymous said...

Last year I was too late for Lemly's stain glass class, if its offered again I will be first in line.

Anonymous said...

can you show us photos of the molds they use for this and other glass items?