About us
A studio that treats making as care.
Charlottesville Glass grew out of a simple observation from years in the hot shop: the studio changes people. We’re building an organization around that.
Mission
Glass, for everyone who could use an hour of it.
Our mission is to make working with glass available as therapy support, as training, and as open education — regardless of experience, background, or ability. We believe a craft that demands full attention, rewards patience, and depends on other people is uniquely suited to help.
We’re not a clinic and we’re not a gallery. We’re a working studio that welcomes people in, keeps them safe around the fire, and lets the material do part of the work.
Vision
A Charlottesville where a hard week has somewhere to go.
We picture a studio that partners with local clinicians, recovery programs, schools, and employers; that trains facilitators to carry the practice into their own communities; and that keeps its doors open to anyone curious enough to try.
Long term, we want the skills, the equipment, and the know-how to stay here — owned by the community and passed hand to hand.
What we stand for
Our values.
Everyone’s welcome
No experience required, ever. If you can show up, we can put glass in your hands.
Safety first, always
The fire is real. Clear guidance, proper gear, and small ratios keep every session grounded and calm.
Access and accommodation
We design sessions to flex around mobility, sensory needs, and cost. Tell us what you need to take part.
Rooted in community
We’re part of McGuffey and part of Charlottesville. We build with local partners, not around them.
Made to last
Like a well-annealed piece, we favor things that hold up: owned equipment, shared skills, no lock-in.
Honest about where we are
We’re new. We’ll tell you plainly what’s running, what’s coming, and where your support goes.
Our home
The McGuffey Art Center.
We work out of McGuffey, a 1915 schoolhouse a block north of the Downtown Mall that reopened as an artist-run cooperative in 1975. It’s one of the oldest cooperatives of its kind in the country, home to dozens of working artists with open studios.
Being here matters to us. It means visitors arrive into a creative community that’s already humming — and it keeps our practice tied to the makers around us.
Our status
A newly forming nonprofit.
Charlottesville Glass is in its founding stage. We’re establishing our banking and a donor-advised fund, and we’ll confirm our tax-exempt status here as soon as it’s in place. Online donations aren’t open yet — when they are, you’ll find them on this site with a clear account of how funds are used.
Want to help shape what this becomes? We’d genuinely like to hear from you.