Teri's first trip to the Blenko factory.
The people that work at Blenko are absolutely
wonderful. They make it all look really easy. They even handed me a
blowpipe. I managed to mess up the piece, but it was still loads of
fun! On this page, you will see many amazing photos of the process for
making a tumbler and a 2005 Collectors Hank Adams head vase. Plus, as
an added bonus, my commentary... |
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Mr.
Blenko thanks Daniel. |
Barry
makes a stupid joke, Mike laughs politely. |
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Making
a beautiful new tumbler |
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Beautiful tumbler, ready to ship or for me to take home. |
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Dave
Osburn gets ready to let me ruin this head vase. |
You can
see it in his eyes, he already knows this could be a mistake. |
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Yep,
they are going to let me do it. |
Here is
where I mess up the beautiful vase. The good news is, I'm not talking
like "Daffy Duck" for the next 3 days! |
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Dave
telling me to "Blow!"... |
Here is
where the famous "Blenko" pontil comes to be. |
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Dave
pointing out that this vase has a little bit of nose missing. |
They
were kind enough to not kick me out and I continued to watch Mark
finish the noseless vase. |
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Mark
gets it to finish the piece. They knew better than to let me try this.
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They
all make it look so easy! |
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Great
Hank Adams vase sans nose. |
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On
their way out of the lehr. |
Charlie
Harshberger puts the Blenko sticker on and does the sandblast 2005. |
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I think
Rodney was making sure we didn't break anything. ;-) |
Mr.
Blenko & Barry hanging out in the factory. |
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Stained
glass before it is flattened out. |
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On the
wall between the Visitors Center and the factory. |
Barry
still stalking Mr. Blenko. Boy, someone that can talk as much as
Barry! |
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Visitors Center- I'll take one of each! |
Barry &
John Kosla near the cullet. Piles and piles of beautiful broken glass. |
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What a
fantastic first day at the Blenko Glass Factory. Everyone should come
here and see the glass being made and buy LOTS of American glass.
Thanks to everyone that made our first trip to
the Blenko Factory one of the most memorable days we will ever have.
The workers that make the glass, the ladies in the office, Mr. Blenko
and Richard Blenko all made us feel so welcome. This is one day that
I'm sure I will talk about for years to come. It isn't just the glass,
the people that make the glass are what really make it special.
- Teri DiLibero |
Barry &
Dave standing at 'Shippin'... |
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Be
sure to check back for many more great pictures and some amazing video
in the next few days. The convention just started! |
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