I missed my usual Friday email this week because I was on vacation in Seattle. And, at about the time I would normally have been hitting “send,” I was standing inside the Chihuly Garden and Glass museum watching a glassblowing demonstration.

It was incredible.

Of course, I’ve seen glassblowing before (and even tried it myself) in Guatemala. But I had never had someone explain the process in such detail: how the glass moves, how quickly the artist has to work, how much of the process depends on timing, temperature, teamwork, and muscle memory.

One thing really stuck with me: it can take about three years of practice before a glassblower reaches the point where more pieces survive than break.

Three years.

There is so much skill hidden inside something that can look almost effortless when you watch an experienced glassblower work.

At Chihuly, the glassblowers have sophisticated equipment that helps them know when the glass has reached the ideal working temperature, somewhere around 1,000–1,200°F depending on the stage of the process. In the small glass workshops I’ve visited in Guatemala, the artisans don’t have that technology. They learn to recognize the right moment through experience, by the look of the glass, the way it moves, and simply how it feels.

Watching the demonstration made me appreciate their skill even more.

And it also made me wonder.

How excited would some of the glassblowers we know in Guatemala be to stand where I was standing, watching artists halfway around the world work with the same material using different tools and techniques? And what might American glassblowers learn from artisans who have developed extraordinary skill while working with much simpler equipment?

I love the idea of those two worlds meeting.

Maybe one day Intertwined can bring a few of our artisan partners to a place like Chihuly: to learn, to be inspired, and perhaps to inspire the artists here, too.

That’s a pretty big dream for a business that started with a few handmade products and a belief that connection matters.

But you never know.

Here’s to hoping.

With love,
Ginger

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