Heather P.
Yelp
Because there isn't a glass blowing place in Lexington, I took the the trip up to Louisville from Lexington. Actually met up with a group of about 20 people. Our appointment time was at 1:30 and we were there pretty much all day. We were already aware of that, so we all brought along drinks and snacks. There's also a cafe attached, but it was closed while we were there.
Parking was a bit of an issue here, as it is with any downtown Louisville experience. There is a parking lot very close, and it is $6.00. We lucked out and scored a curbside, metered spot and it was free on the weekend.
We entered through the blazing studio area and then walked up the stairs and paid in the gallery area. There were many items to purchase, including glass blown Christmas ornaments starting at $20... or you can spend $45 and blow your own ornament. Most of us in the group made a wine glass and or an ornament. The wine glass was $65 and to do both, it was $100. My daughter did both an ornament and a glass, for a package deal for $100. You choose your color options before you pay, they have the colors hanging behind the counter, so that you can see them to make your decision. The price is a bit steep, but I'm sure that the facility, equipment and overall overhead is costly, especially in the prime downtown location.
The ornament process was much faster than the wine glass blowing process. I thought that the neat thing with the ornament is that it's a permanent keepsake with her actual breathe in it... that beats all of those handmade ornaments that we add to the tree every year. Yes, I'm sentimental like that. You can choose three colors if you choose the ornament.
During the fall and winter are perfect times to go here, because I've heard that it gets toasty in the summer or warmer weather. There are several blazing ovens, that I'm sure has a different name other than ovens, but I don't know the terminology. The day that I was there, there were three different glass artists, one lady helping and one man guiding those of us waiting our turn.
The actual glass blowing is indescribable, well it's just one of those things that you have to do at least once. Watching the artist create the glass was amazing and like I said, it was way more involved than the ornament process.
All of the artists were nice, but one of them asked me one of the strangest questions ever... and then at the end, he pointed out the tip jar. I felt horrible because I hadn't brought cash or even considered that I would need to tip. We almost dropped $300 for the three of us and gratuity never crossed my mind. So whether or not you're on a budget, keep the tipping part in mind.