A Glass Blower’s Companion with Jason Michael -Helping Today's Glass Artist Think Like an Artistic Entrepreneur

Episode 118-Chris Piazza (aka-KrispysGlass) As mentioned in the intro I have an idea of doing a "Christmas in July Secret Santa Pendant Trade". The way this would work is by you sending me your shipping info via email or via a direct message to the WyzGuy Radio facebook page. I would then randomly pair your info with another's and then send each of you the others info..if that makes sense..lol.. In my opinion it would be super cool to receive a pendant form an artists half way around the world. Your info is safe with me and will never be shared with anyone except in this case with another artist whom would be sending you a pendant. Please contact me to let me know what you think and whether you'd like to participate or not. I'm 100% participating in this and hope you will too!! email [email protected] or www.facebook.com/wyzguyradio In this episode Chis and I sit down in the virtual studios of WyzGuy Media and discuss his glass journey which started years before he even lit a torch for the first time. Chris is a great example of what it truly takes to become successful as a functional production artists. He has overcome many personal hurdles along his journey which we discuss as well as those who have had his back and shown what a mentor is all about. We discuss the current landscape of pricing, hype vs. real pricing , the potential of a "bubble " as well as how to properly setup a studio and what it takes to be an apprentice. I truly hope you enjoy this conversation with Chris as there are a ton of takeaways. @krispysglass on instagram Chris ‘Krispy’ Piazza (@KrispysGlass & www.KAglass.com) is the owner of KA-Glass, LLC. He was born in the suburbs of Chicago and learned to blow glass in Colorado. Krispy started on a MAPP gas torch on a porch of a condo at 10,000 feet during the winter, until he got an apprenticeship in Denver under Tyrel R. (@RoneGlass). He was brought up learning the fundamentals. Started with a jar of marbles and moved on to making sets of a 1,000 fume spoons, wrap’n rakes and frit spoons. Krispy put in the work and paid his dues during his apprenticeship. After about a year Tyrel brought them up to work at Plump Glass with Ryan R (@RosburgGlass) in Boulder. This was a great experience of working with many great artists from @CajunRick, @Marni420, Nancy Nagel (www.NancyNagel.com). During the end of this period Chris ran into some personal issues and really got to experience the bonds of having a true glass family. He moved back to Chicago to restart. At first it looked like he was done with glass, but knew that couldn’t be true. For about 9 months he worked in a warehouse until he found a space to work. Rather quickly life came together. Krispy worked at All About It a local headshop for a short time until getting a scientific glass position making X-Ray tubes. He learned his way around a lathe, working with microscopic tolerances and glass to metal seals. This job gave Krispy the opportunity to purchase his own house and build out his first studio where he currently has 4 benches set up. His first apprentice has been with him for a year and a half (@saturn_glass) and recently has 2 new students working with him as well. Krispy believes in passing on the craft the same way it was passed to him so each of the 3 began by making a jar of marbles. Krispy has mainly focused on production but is starting to branch out to find his own style. He also has a side glass business geared towards marketing using pipes as a medium (@promopipes & www.PromoPipes.com). Having a diverse platform of products from $1 hitters to $100+ rigs allows KA-Glass to perceiver. Focus on quality and consistency creates stability for Krispy and the shop as a whole.

Episode 116- Commisions and Customs : part3/5 selling your art B to C As the functional Glass scene continues to evolve with social media taking over a big portion of the landscape in tegards to marketing it gives the artist an Opportunity to promote theirselves. One area that not all artists participate in is customs or commissions. In my opinion this area is one that will give you an opportunity to promote your work in a more intimate way. When you create a one of a kind for a client they are more likely to promote your work not only through their social media feeds but also in person with their friends. Imagine if your client takes your work in the road and share it with others while traveling. The potential first hand exposure and function of your work is exponentially greater then if they shared it in Instagram. Even if say they get 1,000 likes on an image or video of the client using your work the 20-30 friends or aqua intended that they share your work with will be more likely to contact you to purchase their own custom or seek your work out in their local retail spots. Word of mouth is and has always been the greatest form of advertisement. With all that being said before we get into the details On how To go about setting up a custom order it is imperative that we give thanks and acknowledge that the retail stores are on the front lines of our industry and shouldn't be overlooked when it comes to selling your work. This episode is dedicated to the process of working with a client for a commission as well as how to set yourself up with your work to give you an easier system to give your clients to follow making the custom order a fun and engaging process from start to finish. Over the span of my glass career I've had the opportunity to create some amazing works of art for clients creating everything from $20,000.00 chandeliers to $3500.00 rigs and everything in between. By working hard at my craft as well as having been exposed to interior designers and other types of retail entities, I've learned through observation how to go about the process of working with your potential client from the initial consultation to the final install. Every client has their own needs and wants and it's your job to find out exactly what they are looking for and visualizing in their head One of the worst thing a client can say to you is "your the artist, have fun!" In the end this can be the worse situation to be in. Finding some form of direction will helo you finetune the price of the work as well as give yourself and your client an estimated time of completion Start off by asking your client what their budget is. This will give you a guide and a boundary to set based on what you are being asked to make. This will also give you a chance to estimate the time it will take from start to finish making sure you aren't undercharging or overcharging. One way to help you in this process is to finetune your lines of work which will give you a baseline to work with Here's how I go about making this work. This is from my personal experiences and a way that had made this process less of a challange and more of a fun time for both parties involved Let's use a custom 14mm WyzGuy water pipe for example : My baseline retail price for a standard 14mm WyzGuy is $180.00. This model is a clear body with colored accents. Brows and wings and a male joint. If a client asks for a full color WyzGuy my base price is $225.00. If they want opals I charge $25.00 per opal. If they want a full crushed opal body it's an additional $100.00. The wings on the standard WyzGuy are flat against the body. If they want them extended out at its sides it's 25.00 extra. All these extras are my way of upwelling my work. So instead of selling a cheese burger I'm also adding fries and a coke. This gives me a way to finetune a price and time to produce . Now another area of commissions is work that is outside of your norm. For instance a specific character or maybe even a style rig you've never made before but maybe always wanted to. Sometimes a commission will give you the opportunity to try and make new items. Whether a character or new model this type of commission can be a little tricky. Based on your skill level don't be ashamed to let a client know tat you are not ready to make something that they are asking. We all Have limits it just depends on your Time and financial situations to whether or not you can take a risk by trying to make something. There has been several Times where a specific custom took 3-4 attempts to get it right without catastrophe. This can get expensive and defeating. So step outside your box but maybe not too far. To get in the same page with your client you'll need to establish a few details beige getting started.

• For one like before find out if they have a budget This will give you a chance to say no right away of it feelsLike they are low balling the work.
• Next once a specific budget is established and an idea...

Episode 51- Josh Hamra Getting Old, making spinning tops and vortex hunting

Josh and I sit down and chat about his history, being a second generation glass artist, and work/life balance.

Check him and his glass out on Instagram @hamstafam and www.http://ballersectionglass.com

Much Love and Hope You Enjoy!!!! 💕

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Episode 114- Lewis Wilson The "P.T.Barnum " of the glass world

Lewis C. Wilson was born on January 14, 1949 in Roswell, New Mexico. He was part of a military family. Moved to Dallas, Texas in 1954, then lived in Sidi Slamane, Morroco, North Africa from 1956 until 1959, and then moved to Riverside, California. In 1960 he moved to Goose Bay, Labrador, Nova Scotia Province, Canada. While in Goose Bay (age 11) he taught himself how to eat fire, juggle, throw knives and do various magic and circus tricks. In 1963 his family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. He started learning Shotokan karate in 1964. Received his first degree black belt in 1969 and fought in 10 to 12 tournaments a year from 1964 to 1974. Lewis joined the United States Air Force on January 19, 1970. He worked in the emergency room the last 3 years of active duty as a physician’s assistant. In the fall of 1970 he founded the Patrick Air Force Base karate club. He was part of the ground medical crew for Apollo XII in 1971 for the second lunar landing. In 1972 Lewis got an old book on scientific glassblowing from a local library and taught himself how to make small glass figurines by using the Bunsen burners in the medical lab. In October of 1973 he approached the Arribas Brothers who held the concessions for the glass blowing at Walt Disney World. Lewis worked for the Arribas Brothers for 3 months under a transition program from the Air Force. Lewis left the Air Force on January 20,1974. The next day he went to Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida to try to get a job as a glassblower. He wasn’t able to be their glassblower, but they did have a vacancy for a juggler and fire-eater. For the next 2 years Lewis worked with tattooed belly dancers, a magician, and an organ grinder and his monkey. In July of 1974 Lewis got married, and they moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. He named his glass business Crystal Myths. In July of 1975 Lewis’ daughter Jennifer was born. In 1977 they moved to Quincy, Massachusetts and did about 30-35 art shows a year. In 1981 Lewis got divorced and moved back to Albuquerque, New Mexico along with his daughter. In 1987 Governor Gary Carruthers presented King Juan Carlos of Spain with one of Lewis’ limited edition Eagle dancers as a gift of state. The State of New Mexico later used a limited edition Eagle dancer as an inaugural gift to President George Bush and a limited edition Red Tail Hawk dancer as an inaugural gift to President Bill Clinton. In 1993 Lewis produced his first glassworking video, Glass Bead Making. Crystal Myths has now produced more than 20 titles on glassworking. In 1996 Crystal Myths promoted their first show, The Best Bead Show, in Tucson, Arizona. This was the same year that Robert Lui, one of the editors of Ornament Magazine, called Lewis the P.T. Barnum of beadmakers. In 2002 Lewis promoted the world’s largest hot glass competition. It was called the Albuquerque Flame-Off. There were 300 glass workers from the U.S. and Canada and 6 torches running for twelve hours a day for 2 days. In the 2003 winter issue of Ornament, Robert Lui once again granted Lewis a title, “The Impressario of Beads”. In 2005 Lewis demonstrated at the Kobe International Lampworking Festival in Kobe, Japan. Lewis taught himself Japanese and only spoke Japanese during the demo.

One of the highlights in Lewis’ career was the dedication of a building named after him at Art Glass Invitational in September of 2005. Lewis is a founding member of the International Society of Glass Beadmakers, a member of the Glass Art Society. In 2008 Lewis sold the Best Bead Shows . 2008 was a pivotal point in his life. Reemerging as a talented artist and being able to concentrate fully on lampworking. In 2008 at the Oakland ISGB convention, Lewis was presented with the Hall of Flame Award. In 2011 Lewis married glass artist Barbara Svetlick. Together their work made it to the cover of Glass Art Magazine in Jan/Feb 2012. Together , Lewis and Barb do a few shows a year. Lewis is teaching privately and enjoying life

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ABOUT SEA CUBE

Sea Cube Co was established in 2001 by Christopher Bock.Chris is a glassblower and has worked his way up through the ranks from assembly worker to senior glassblow...

Episode 19- Judeh Judeah- Co-owner of Dragon Headz SmokeShop

In this episode Judeh and I discuss the spects iif being a professional artist. Judeh gives his perspecttive as a shop owner on what he looks for in an artist from the moment you walk in his store to the point of sale.

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