A huge open flame, a pair of safety goggles and a good instructor are all you need to become a glass blower.
Jason Dederich teaches a glass blowing class at The Foundry in Buffalo. Classes are for up to six people at a time and $50 per class. Each class includes all the materials needed to create a blown glass ornament that you get to keep!
"You don't need to know anything, that's why the class is here," says Dederich. You can come in a blank slate, just be ready to learn the safety, the science and craft behind working with glass.
The craftsman and instructor makes anything from glass Pokemon to slices of pizza and Buffalo Bills tobacco pipes to fruit fly traps.
Dederich has been working with glass for more than a decade, creating custom gifts, home decor and lighting fixtures. He's currently working on chandeliers with more than 100 glass pieces, commissioned for new downtown buildings.
You can sign up for a class here or browse his gifts here!