Bay Area Glass Institute (BAGI) — Attraction in San Jose

I have attended 2 workshops with them-- one glass fusion and the other glass blowing (pumpkin making). I had a superb time on both occasions. The glass fusion workshop involved creating a mosaic pattern of one's choice from shards of colorful glass positioned on a large slab of clear glass. The glass slab could be used as a whole, or partioned into three long sub-slabs. The pattern is then baked by the experts in a kiln and the resulting fused conglomerate is ready for pick up in a few days. I chose the three sliver style, one with red shards (combination of transparent and opaque), the other blue and the third green. I was delighted with the outcome. The second workshop was scheduled just in time for Thanksgiving and the pumpkin blowing instructor duo (Jarrod and Gavin) was outstanding! The students were taught to work with molten glass to create a hollow glass bulb, pattern ridges on the tube, add two different colors (of their choice). Finally, the students were taught to fuse a stem (slender piece of molten glass, also with ridges and of a third color or irridiscence of the students' choosing) onto the pumpkin, twist and curl the stem into a spiral, and securely glue it onto the hot pumpkin body. This was a phenomenal class with significant complexity and a variety of techniques to learn and demonstrate. [In the interest of full disclosure, I did attend a third Valentine's day vase blowing class at BAGI, that was, frankly, quite a bit disappointing; I am leaving that experience out for the purpose of this review, considering it an outlier by BAGI standards (likely they were just having a bad day), and for the sake of otherwise giving BAGI a...

We LOVE BAGI!! It's a place where you can let your creativity bloom while learning from some of the best instructors in a safe environment.

It's our second time here for the vase class with Stephen and Kyle. Our first glass fusion dish class was with Mel. All three instructors were amazingly kind, patient and helpful for beginners like my sister and I.

BAGI class tends to sell out very quickly. I highly recommend you follow them on social media such as Instagram for updates on their super popular classes.

BAGI is located next to History Park on Phelan Ave. BAGI has its own gated spacious parking lot. Once you sign up, you'll receive an email with the gate's passcode. Drive through the gate, park, enter through the building labeled BAGI and enjoy your time here!

The institute is divided into 2 parts: the front receptionist area with product displays (for sale) and the workshop for classes such as glass fusion and the "hot" shop for any glass blowing classes. Safety is a priority here as you'll see signs of "Eyeball" (meaning you need to wear safety glasses) everywhere around the studio.

We felt like a kid in a candy store and were eager to explore all the creativity options around us. Don't let those cool shaped glass products intimidate you! You can do anything, especially with the help of their helpful instructors!

Overall, we had a blast here! True the price is not cheap but considering the amount of work it takes to maintain this institute and the value of the lesson you'll receive, it's totally worth it in my opinion.

Tips: they have Groupon for their glass fusion dish class and occasionally have...

Finished product looked nothing like displays. The peieces that we saw in person had no smears or white dusty matter fused into the piece. They were crytsl clear. My daughters fused glass piece has a white blotchy film all over it, visible from the front of the piece and even more on the back..tried wiping this off as directed by but it was unsuccessful. Very disappointed in the finished result.

**Update: I was offered a chance to remake a new piece to make up for the first one. Lucie was extremely helpful during the class. I will update again once I pick up the 2nd finished...