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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.

Thursday, November 09, 2017

Blenko Glass. Heart of Glass Blog. New Blenko Design Team



* In mid October Blenko Glass announced a new design team, this was the press release.  
NEW DESIGN TEAM JOINS BLENKO GLASS IN MILTON, WEST VIRGINIA



Continuing a long tradition of engaging exceptional designers, Blenko Glass of Milton WV, has joined forces with a dynamic new design team of Emma Walters and Andrew Shaffer.



Blenko has been handcrafting glass since 1893 and hired its first designer, Winslow Anderson, in 1947. The position has been held by an impressive of who’s who in glass since Anderson’s time. The hiring of these two young talents continues that



Upon accepting the full time positions as designers at Blenko, Walters and Shaffer add to the glass company’s design legacy. They bring a powerful blend of academic and design experience accompanied by practical hot glass knowledge.



Emma Walters is a central Pennsylvania native who received her BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art before studying at VSUP in Prague in the Czech Republic.



She has traveled the world on a cruise ship presenting glass blowing demonstrations. From Australia to Alaska and beyond Walters was an employee of world renowned Corning Museum of Glass and their Hot Glass Roadshow.



Additionally Walters has worked in places and with glass masters that include some of the world’s best.  She has worked with glass master Martin Janecky, Pablo Soto, Gianni Toso and Sonja Blomdahl. She has made glass at prestigious locations including Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, The Pittsburgh Glass Center, Haystack School of Crafts in Maine  and Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State.



Andrew Shaffer hails from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and studied Furniture Design and Sculpture at Kutztown University. He first encountered hot glass in a public arts facility in Reading, PA and then worked in several glass studios in that area. He received his BFA from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. While a student he continued to work at a number of hot glass facilities in the Philadelphia area.



He worked as a design and production liaison for Simon Pierce in Vermont and then at a secession of other hot glass houses in the New York and eastern United States with projects that included modern hand-blown lighting.  His work with design and hands on skills crafting hot glass gives him a much desired skill set.



Shaffer and Walters joined forces to launch their own hot glass studio specializing in high quality art glass and architectural lighting in 2014. From their hot glass studio in the Finger Lakes region of New York State they specialized in producing high quality, specialized glass that included architectural lighting.



They joined Blenko at the first of October 2017 and have claimed the onsite Blenko design studio as their workshop.



Regarding the future Walters states “”I am inspired to work with the talented Blenko glass team, combining traditional techniques with modern ideas to create new glass works in the brilliant Blenko colors that are impossible to ignore.”



Reflecting on joining Blenko Schaffer remarked “I feel honored to design for the Blenko Glass Company.  I am excited to collaborate with such a knowledgeable and skilled team enabling conceptual ideas to be executed by hands and minds steeped in years of artistry and experience.  I am grateful for this opportunity to carry on not only the West Virginia tradition of hand crafted glass, but to build upon and contribute to America’s oldest industry.”



They are diligent at present working to creating a line of Holiday items for immediate production as well as developing new items and line for release in early 2017. The future is bright as they look to new ideas, a new color, practical beverage and serving ware, exploring options for Blenko designed and made lighting and more.



For a century old company the future looks bright with the talents of Walters and Shaffer joining the skilled Blenko artisans. Assuredly decades of success will be repeated from the hot glass tanks in Milton.                         -30-


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