Grinter Glass Ltd — Local services in North Island

WOW! What an amazing experience! We happened to see Keith glass blowing in his workshop and I asked if he offered lessons, which he does. My wife and I booked in for the next morning. The two hour lesson was run by Brendan who is an excellent tutor. He is thorough, from the safety brief to the finer points of workflow, he explained and encouraged us while we made paperweights and bowls. I did not imagine we would create much more than an unrecognisable blob of glass, but with B by our side, we turned out some beautiful keepsake creations. Glassblowing is a thoroughly enjoyable form of artwork, the experience far exceeded our expectations. I would highly recommend booking a lesson, you won't be disappointed. We will definitely return as it is very addictive!! Thanks B and Keith, you made our time in Whangarei...

We booked a workshop to make a first clear piece, a paper weight, and a blown piece each.

To start there's a safety chat, then it's straight into learning/working glass. The workshop is hot, so recommend taking electrolyte drinks or drinking lots of water. Afterwards the glass needs to anneal (slowly cool) in an oven for a day or so before you can pick it up or have it couriered.

It was an amazing experience; learning about the tools, working molten glass, feeling the heat, choosing colours, and listening to the discarded glass explode in the buckets (not annealed). I didn't like the occasional smoke when the newspaper wasn't wet enough, but not enough to stop me wanting to go back.

Brendon was hands on to help whenever needed and hands off when we could handle things. Thanks so much for the...

I contacted Keith to enquire about getting a bowl made for a friend who has a collection of his glasses as well as a vase/carafe. He was so helpful and made the process super easy. He provided a price with shipping and I gave her the voucher as a gift. She contacted him, chose her colour and he made the rest happen. The bowl arrived safely - it was packaged really well. The colours are fantastic, the shape of the bowl is versatile - not too shallow and not too wide. She can use it for salads, punch, fruit bowl etc which imeans she'll get good use out of it. She is SO happy with it, and even better - it was made to order ('just for her' as Keith said) which makes it even more personal and a bit more spesh. Thanks for making the experience so easy and enjoyable...