Gordon Studio Glassblowers — Attraction in Melbourne

I have been so in love with the art of glassblowing since I was a child. I decided to finally take a class to experience it for myself. I found this gorgeous studio after much research, I wanted the right fit, & booked a solo one on one class as I really wanted to immerse myself in the experience. I also fell in love with the enchanting “Sloopy” glass vases on their website so I was SO excited to find out that Hamish, 3rd generation glass blower & Sloopy creator, was running my class!! Hamish could not have been a more perfect teacher - gentle, calm, encouraging, patient, & SO knowledgeable! I’m a left hander & the studio is set up for right handers which meant working around things a little differently, my hands are also not super strong, but Hamish helped me every single step of the way. Under his guidance, I made a paperweight, a small bowl for my beloved plant cuttings & some coloured drinking glasses. I learned just how hard work it is, & as Hamish said, it’s humbling because…well…glass will have its own way!! Hamish’s dad Grant was working on a large piece whilst I was having my class, & WOW, watching the seamless assistance & support of each other while working with the hot glass was simply breathtaking. Located in such a gorgeous part of Victoria surrounded by nature, we were greeted by the adorable Kapati, resident doggo, & a magical garden full of wonderful glass sculptures & installations. I left with my own glass pieces & of course, 3 Sloopy vases!! The whole day was like a fairytale for me, & I’m 100% coming back again to learn more!! Thanks Hamish & team for making my childhood dream...

We were disappointed with this business today. According to all their information, the gallery was supposed to be open at 10am. We travelled 50 minutes to get there and arrived at 10am to find the "now open" sign displayed at the entrance. We excitedly went to the door, only to find it locked. We patiently waited 20 minutes. Then, not knowing whether they were actually going to open or not, called their phone number. There was no answer. Not wanting to waste any more time, and feeling disappointed we had to move on, as we had guests with us and wanted them to have a good day. Sometime later, I received a message from them to say that they were finally open. I was going to take our visitors back to the gallery again, but when I asked if they were blowing, was told that we could watch a video of it! Well, that didn't quite make up for our wasted trip, so we decided to take our guests somewhere more reliable. If they want to turn up late, they need to take down the 'now open' sign, or change online information, or at least leave a note on the door so that people know whether it's worth waiting or not! Answering the phone would be...

Beautiful and unique place to learn about the glassblowing process. If you're planning to visit, be sure to include it in the first half of the day perhaps, we arrived about an hour before closing (4pm) and furnace was off. Could still marvel at the beautiful glassware, and the cute little glassware garden they've built on the outside. I remember visiting pre COVID and they also had the opportunity for guests to buy into a workshop on the day to try making their own glassware. Even if you didn't purchase, still pretty cool watching from the gallery upstairs. There's also large placards and monitor with a video that's constantly playing glassblowing information, but it was certainly more worth the visit to watch it happening in person, so arrive early. As others have mentioned, the entrance is a bit tricky, easy to miss, and if you did, you could end up on the highway (80 speed limit) and drive quite a bit away to U turn back especially with other...