At waterfall-powered shop, blowers create glasses with heat and their own breath

By Sophia Leung, Staff Reporter

QUEECHEE, VT — Have you ever wondered how the glasses sitting on your table were made? My family went to Simon Pearce Glass while we were in Vermont on vacation.

The shop, restaurant and workshop were powered by a waterfall. We saw the glass blowing, which is how they make all of their products.

From what we saw, we learned that the glass blowers dip the end of a metal rod into raw, melted glass pellets. They then put the end of the rod into a furnace that heats up the glass to about 2700 or 2800 degrees. After that, they take it out of the furnace and smooth it out with a leather pad, all while spinning the rod to keep it from drooping.

Then they blow into a hole at the end of the rod (still spinning it) to make the glass longer. They heat up the gooey glass substance again. This time, when they take it out, they put it into a mold and blow into the end of the rod again. They smooth it out with the leather pad, and they clip it off the rod to bring it to the last station where they let it cool for about eight hour hours.

After a long process, the glass is ready to be used.

This story also appears on the Colonial Times website.