Commercial Glassblowers?

Do glassblowers who make simple glass parts exist? Like if I needed a
plain glass bottle or jar of a certain size are there people who could
make me just one or maybe two? I realize that the overhead for making
single parts is pretty high but for simple stuff I imagine there must
be some small studios that offer that service? I found one place but
I was wondering if there are others? Maybe there is a website or a
glass forum somewhere that has a collection of people and/or small
studios who can make glass parts?

The simple answer is no. Small glass parts are commonly mold blown and
most art glass studios
sneer at mold blowing of any kind. As I have discovered, making even
partial molds, as for necks or
bottle shapes is a time consuming process.
When bottles were all hand blown, almost all used different
stopper/closers than we use now.
The best chance, where you have people making small glass parts in
quantity 2 would be scientific glassblowers
who are using torches to make lab equipment. Then you would have to find
someone who like fooling around, instead of being someone who is just doing
his job. Most of the advertised (ie. Yellow Pages) glassblowers are guys
doing quartz work for the semiconductor industry and most Pyrex guys work in
college and university chemistry departments.
Including the development work and failures, your small parts are likely
to cost $10-20 each. Is that what you were planning on spending.

--
Mike Firth
Hot Glass Bits Furnace Working Website
http://users.ticnet.com/mikefirth/I-UPSUMM.HTM
shows recently changed files, click on link
"GOD" wrote in message
om...
Do glassblowers who make simple glass parts exist? Like if I needed a
plain glass bottle or jar of a certain size are there people who could
make me just one or maybe two? I realize that the overhead for making
single parts is pretty high but for simple stuff I imagine there must
be some small studios that offer that service? I found one place but
I was wondering if there are others? Maybe there is a website or a
glass forum somewhere that has a collection of people and/or small
studios who can make glass parts?

GOD wrote:

Do glassblowers who make simple glass parts exist? Like if I needed a
plain glass bottle or jar of a certain size are there people who could
make me just one or maybe two? I realize that the overhead for making
single parts is pretty high but for simple stuff I imagine there must
be some small studios that offer that service? I found one place but
I was wondering if there are others? Maybe there is a website or a
glass forum somewhere that has a collection of people and/or small
studios who can make glass parts?

Not sure what type of bottle you want. I know blowers that make perfume
bottles which they wholesale for around $40. They are quite versatile.

I would agree with Mike. If you have a local scientific glass blowing
shop you should try there.
--
Jack


http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/xmissionbobo/

Including the development work and failures, your small parts are likely
to cost $10-20 each. Is that what you were planning on spending.

--

No, the few I've found usually charge like $200 - $300. I always get
that answer (but the part is worth only a few dollars) and they never
seem to understand that I have a client who is willing to pay a lot of
money. I work in a restoration store and every now and then people
break a glass decorative item. Many times the item is quite simple
and my only concern is that it be symmetric and match the dimesions.
I guess I shouldn't have said a bottle or jar b/c that's misleading.
I'm familiar w/ the lab equipment people but they only make standard
parts (most of them don't even blow glass) so they are useless to me.

GOD wrote:

Including the development work and failures, your small parts are likely
to cost $10-20 each. Is that what you were planning on spending.

--

No, the few I've found usually charge like $200 - $300. I always get
that answer (but the part is worth only a few dollars) and they never
seem to understand that I have a client who is willing to pay a lot of
money. I work in a restoration store and every now and then people
break a glass decorative item. Many times the item is quite simple
and my only concern is that it be symmetric and match the dimesions.
I guess I shouldn't have said a bottle or jar b/c that's misleading.
I'm familiar w/ the lab equipment people but they only make standard
parts (most of them don't even blow glass) so they are useless to me.

Sounds like you need a flameworker or a caster. Be more specific about
the "part" and I may be able to make what you're looking for.
--
Jack


http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/xmissionbobo/

Sounds like you need a flameworker or a caster. Be more specific about
the "part" and I may be able to make what you're looking for.
--
Jack
Sounds to me like he wants an ongoing relationship to solve problems where
people want an exact match.
This puts you in the area where people look at mass produced 4" brass
numbers hanging on a peg and declare
that the 6 is not the same color as the 4 so can we (at the hardware store)
get them in the "same" color!
Time consuming, with lots of discussion of what doesn't match, etc.

--
Mike Firth
Hot Glass Bits Furnace Working Website
http://users.ticnet.com/mikefirth/I-UPSUMM.HTM
shows recently changed files, click on link
"nJb" wrote in message
...
GOD wrote:

Including the development work and failures, your small parts are
likely
to cost $10-20 each. Is that what you were planning on spending.

--

No, the few I've found usually charge like $200 - $300. I always get
that answer (but the part is worth only a few dollars) and they never
seem to understand that I have a client who is willing to pay a lot of
money. I work in a restoration store and every now and then people
break a glass decorative item. Many times the item is quite simple
and my only concern is that it be symmetric and match the dimesions.
I guess I shouldn't have said a bottle or jar b/c that's misleading.
I'm familiar w/ the lab equipment people but they only make standard
parts (most of them don't even blow glass) so they are useless to me.

Sounds like you need a flameworker or a caster. Be more specific about
the "part" and I may be able to make what you're looking for.
--
Jack


http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/xmissionbobo/

"Mike Firth" wrote in message ...

Sounds like you need a flameworker or a caster. Be more specific about
the "part" and I may be able to make what you're looking for.
--
Jack
Sounds to me like he wants an ongoing relationship to solve problems where
people want an exact match.
This puts you in the area where people look at mass produced 4" brass
numbers hanging on a peg and declare
that the 6 is not the same color as the 4 so can we (at the hardware store)
get them in the "same" color!
Time consuming, with lots of discussion of what doesn't match, etc.

--

No that's not what I said. So from what I understand, if someone had
this simple glass lampshade and they wanted another one and were
willing to pay a thousand dollars to make another one, no glassblower
would do this b/c they don't have the skill? My requirement was that
it be symmetric and of a certain size. I don't care about patterns or
colors. If a glassblower can't do that then what can they do?

GOD wrote:


No that's not what I said. So from what I understand, if someone had
this simple glass lampshade and they wanted another one and were
willing to pay a thousand dollars to make another one, no glassblower
would do this b/c they don't have the skill? My requirement was that
it be symmetric and of a certain size. I don't care about patterns or
colors. If a glassblower can't do that then what can they do?

So who's going to pay that much when I can get you a lamp that will
knock your socks off for around $700? Base and shade blown.

As to your requirement, it's a piece of cake. Just sounds too good to be
true. Are these people interested in mountain property?
--
Jack


http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/xmissionbobo/

nJb wrote in message ...
GOD wrote:


No that's not what I said. So from what I understand, if someone had
this simple glass lampshade and they wanted another one and were
willing to pay a thousand dollars to make another one, no glassblower
would do this b/c they don't have the skill? My requirement was that
it be symmetric and of a certain size. I don't care about patterns or
colors. If a glassblower can't do that then what can they do?

So who's going to pay that much when I can get you a lamp that will
knock your socks off for around $700? Base and shade blown.

As to your requirement, it's a piece of cake. Just sounds too good to be
true. Are these people interested in mountain property?

There is something called sentimental value and sometimes a glass part
to some decorative item that is of great family value may break. They
don't care if it's cheap and not worth anything. They just want it
replaced and finding close replacements is impossible. I know of two
guys that do that kind of work and I was hoping to find others ... but
here people are just interested in arguing.

See below

--
Mike Firth
Hot Glass Bits Furnace Working Website
http://users.ticnet.com/mikefirth/I-UPSUMM.HTM
shows recently changed files, click on link
"GOD" wrote in message
m...
nJb wrote in message
...
GOD wrote:


No that's not what I said. So from what I understand, if someone had
this simple glass lampshade and they wanted another one and were
willing to pay a thousand dollars to make another one, no glassblower
would do this b/c they don't have the skill? My requirement was that
it be symmetric and of a certain size. I don't care about patterns or
colors. If a glassblower can't do that then what can they do?

So who's going to pay that much when I can get you a lamp that will
knock your socks off for around $700? Base and shade blown.

As to your requirement, it's a piece of cake. Just sounds too good to be
true. Are these people interested in mountain property?

There is something called sentimental value and sometimes a glass part
to some decorative item that is of great family value may break. They
don't care if it's cheap and not worth anything. They just want it
replaced and finding close replacements is impossible. I know of two
guys that do that kind of work and I was hoping to find others ... but
here people are just interested in arguing.

Not arguing, speaking from experience about reality. I have been a
free-lance computer programmer, written plays, and worked for years in a
hardware store. I see this attitude in both.
Glass blowers consider themselves artists, who work their kind and shape
of glass
to their satisfaction. They may be able to make identical goblets or pride
themselves that each goblet is a new creation.
You want them to produce replicas of mold blown or mold pressed glass that
come close
to matching something and you say people will pay anything to get it. But
they don't. They look on
the internet (or look in a shop before the internet) and feel they should
get it cheap and when you
say no, THEY argue. And if they say they will pay anything, you make one
(or show them one) and
it's not right, they want to match exactly. So you make another, and
another. And they still don't want
to pay and they don't pay because they didn't get exactly what they want.
Even if you produce four that match
each other, they will go and buy four that match off the internet for
$40-$80-$100
In the programming world, it's "I have this great idea for a horse racing
(or lottery) program and all you have to do is write it and share the
profits" (You won't be paid until it does.)
In the writing world, it's "I have this great idea for a novel and all you
have to is write it down." (and fill it out, and polish it, and sell it
.....)
In the hardware store, it's "Well I have it in my hand, broken, so you
should be able to get it." (even though it was made by a company that went
bankrupt 20 years ago and never sold the parts retail.)