Etsy Spotlight: Glass Blasted Custom Engraved Glassware & Growlers

I'm very,very excited to share with you, for the first installment of "Etsy Spotlight", the wonderful store 
Glass Blasted Custom Engraved Glassware & Growlers!  They specialize in engraving glasses, growlers, bar tools with just about any type of customization you can imagine!  Artists Jennifer Harris and her partner Jeff Figg were kind enough to take some time and share details about their business and process.

What does your store specialize in?

Custom and personalized engraved glassware, ceramics, stainless steel  and other gift items.

What sets you apart from other people making/crafting/designing these items?

We offer unique art bases which allow for customers to simply give us their info which we plug into the art bases to make it custom for them. We also offer creative art services and can many times use customer provided art, sometimes for an additional art set up fee.

We also offer a lot of various types of items customers can get engraved. We use sandblasting techniques which allows for a smooth even finish. All items (except for homebrew growlers) are dishwasher safe which makes them easy to take care of.

What inspired you to get into this business?

We got into lampworking (a form of glass blowing) first. When we started doing art fairs we brainstormed on other things we could add into the mix to allow for diversity but still keep it in the glass family. We found engraving and although it didn’t meld as we had thought with the lampworked items, it has turned a corner into a larger world that we are very happy to have found.

What is your favorite brewery?

I (Jennifer) do not drink often, but when I do drink I like either Schofferhofer Grapefruit or Lindemans limbic in cherry or raspberry. Jeff  loves New Belgium and was very stoked to see Fat Tire on our grocery shelves here in FL last year. Soon we will be in Colorado so he will have lots of new beer to try out! 

What is your go-to beer?

Fat Tire

What is the turnaround for custom engraved items? 

Typical turn around on an order that is not wholesale is 1-2 weeks during non holiday times. During the winter holidays it is around 2-3 weeks depending on when you order.

Can you describe the process for engraving?

Yes I would love to! :)

- I create the art using our art bases in CorelDraw, everything can be manipulated in our art, so customers who want something changed to meet their needs have no problem.

- I then print out the art on transparency film, UV expose it on a special film, wash it out in a wash out machine that shoots out high powered super hot water and finally put the film in a dehydrator to allow it to dry

- Once dried I cut the art out and hand apply it to the item to be engraved. I then tape off the rest of the item to ensure areas we do not want to be engraved stays safe

- I then use a sandblast cabinet with specific media (sand like material) to engrave the item. This can take around 30 seconds for a pint glass or 90 seconds for a ceramic coffee mug. The sandblasting is the least amount time spent of the whole process. As they say.. ‘it’s all in the prep’

- Once item is blasted I let it soak in hot soapy water. Once the film is loosened off I take it and the masking tape off, rinse really well and then either hand dry or place in the dishwasher.

- Then it’s off to packing. We are very proud to say we have extremely little breakage and ship worldwide. We pack glassware and ceramics in bubble, wrap it in plastic wrap to ensure the bubble does not come away from the item, then place it in a appropriate sized box filled with peanuts.

- Then it’s labeled and shipped off. Many times we use USPS Priority for orders under 6 lbs and larger/heavier orders go via FedEx

Anything else you want to share?

We are very excited to start offering some more items in the next couple of months including casserole dishes, beer flights as well as wood items once we get a laser to do that type of engraving.

We will be launching a couple of new sites soon as well including our Feelin Hoppy site which will feature items with various art with the wording “Feelin Hoppy” which we are aspiring to make the beer equivalent of Salt Life. As well as a beer themed wedding site.

We would also like to offer your readers a coupon to save 15% off their first order SHHH15 can be used at check out!

**Thanks again to Jennifer and Jeff for participating and getting this series rolling!  I'll be featuring more artists from Etsy for the "Etsy Spotlight" series soon.  Find out more about Glass Blasted below:

Connect to Glass Blasted here:

Website 

Etsy

Facebook 

Twitter  

Pinterest