LIVINGSTON — Glassybaby is a renowned artisan glassblowing company whose growing operation in Livingston is committed to nurturing Montana arts.
"For me, I love the material. I have a connection to glass, it’s awesome. There are very few materials that behave like molten glass," says Director of Productions Adam Burges. "When I blow glass it’s something where you have to focus. Just kind of clear your mind. It's like meditation. So I view that as, like, my therapy."
Burges has been director of productions for Glassybaby's Livingston location since 2022.
"With glass you have to, you can’t just quit in the middle. You kind of have to follow through and finish it. And that’s a challenge. Otherwise, you’d have a bunch of unfinished stuff, right? So it’s making you follow something through," he said.
Glassybaby got its start in Seattle after founder Lee Rhodes, while fighting cancer, gifted a glassblowing class to her husband.
"And then he made this little vessel, she dropped a tealight in, and that started the whole thing," said Burges, describing the iconic votive candle design.
Each piece is handmade from the very first step, making no piece the same.
"Our line is perfectly imperfect. You can tell that a human made it. And that’s kind of the draw. If they all looked exactly the same, then there’s no uniqueness to it," said Burges.
Over 20 years after it was founded, Glassybaby has expanded to multiple hot shops, employing over 70 glassblowers. And after bringing operations to Livingston in 2022, they hope to invest further in the community.
"I’d like to have the shop more geared towards catering to events, and field trips, and learning, and giving the public access to be involved with the material more directly," said Burges.
In addition to bringing 20 new jobs to the local economy, Burges hopes to use his Master's degree in youth advocacy nonprofit leadership to create pathways for employment with local schools.
"I think this is a killer opportunity to give folks that kind of resource and see how it goes," he said.
Burges says 90% of his employees had no glassblowing experience, and he wants people to be paid to learn.
"I like seeing people overcome these obstacles that they never thought they’d be able to accomplish, and then they do. Just seeing them succeed, like, that is rewarding for me," Burges said.
