September 28, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Glassworks Stretches its Wings

Seattle, WA - Glassworks, the Northwest's premier art glass fabricator, is pleased to announce the completion of their studio expansion. Designed to house a new kiln that can fabricate glass artworks up to 13 feet in length, the new space was built with help of Riehl Construction Services and RH Projects. The idea for the expansion grew from a number of business and creative needs. "Traditional kitchen countertops are always 12-feet," says Glassworks owner, Tish Oye. "We needed an oven that could handle that length and the only way we could accomplish that was to build a space big enough to house a kiln that size."

A large, expansive industrial space, the new addition boasts skylights to bring in natural light, roll up doors for easy access, and plenty of room for the creative and technical team to grow. Connected to the original Glassworks site, the new expansion adds 1,000 sq. ft. of workspace to the ever-growing company.

The larger kiln will support standard countertops but it also makes it possible for the company to fire multiple smaller items at the same time. "Kiln firing is an art," says Oye. "With the larger kiln we can fire more smaller items at one time and that will result in product consistency throughout a project." It also contributes significant energy savings. "The lion share of energy used in the firing process is the ramp time - the time it takes to heat up the kiln. If we have more pieces firing at once, we can streamline ramp times throughout production."

Steve Shahbaghlian demonstrates the new kiln to a group of onlookers.

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