A Passion for Glass

In the stainless steel and concrete confines of [UrbanGlass] in Fort Greene, two glassmakers plotted their session. Isaac Tecosky, the teacher, sketched in chalk on the floor. He drew an outline of a rod holding the base of a pot and strands of fiery hot glass.

“Bit by bit, we’re going to build something,” he said. He reassured his student, Sara Hingley, by saying, “We’re more interested in the process than the product.”

Hingley, a 21-year-old New York University student, has come here every Sunday of late to work with secondand third-generation glassblowers who learned their craft from the Studio Glass Movement. Glassblowing has had an established presence in the United State for the past 60 years—yet it is already waning. There are fewer than 100 glassmakers in New York City now, and all of them use four glassblowing studios in this area of Brooklyn to create their work.

Tecosky, 26, started blowing glass three years ago. After graduating from Hampshire College in Massachusetts with a degree in sculpting, he followed his older brother to UrbanGlass. “The allure is that it’s different, and not too many people do it,” Tecosky said. “And then once you get past that, there’s a deep love and passion.”

Since glassblowing isn’t practical as a fulltime job, he multitasks. He works making light fixtures as a gaffer, or lead glassblower, for Niche Modern Design. He helps artists at UrbanGlass, teaches and travels the East Coast assisting at glassblowing workshops.

“I want to make beautiful objects,” Tecosky said. “And I don’t mind making glass for other people.”

His quick climb in the field is unusual. Artisans in the city are a tight-knit group, with loyalty driving hiring. “It’s really difficult to break in, because there are people who have been here a long time,” said Tecosky. “The longer you’ve been here, and also the kind of skill you acquire, is what determines how often you get hired. I was really hungry for it, and I didn’t want to do anything else. That wasn’t an option, so I just made it happen.”

Hingley showed the same determination last fall when she came to glassblower Kanik Chung’s Dumbo showroom seeking professional guidance. Chung had taught Hingley at NYU the previous semester. She emailed him about an apprenticeship, but after six weeks of no reply, she decided to track him down.

After chatting with his former student at the showroom in Dumbo, Chung invited Hingley to help retrieve four light fixtures from his workshop. She jumped at the opportunity, so they hopped in a cab to UrbanGlass, located about a mile and a half away.

Chung is among a handful of glassblowing professionals in New York City. During seven months of working for him, Hingley witnessed his struggle. Chung works 18-hour days creating glass, managing his showroom and promoting his artwork. “I see how hard he works, but he doesn’t let onto it,” Hingley said. “He says everyone he knows works just as hard.”

Chung’s work is simple, with minimal color. Signature pieces include dewdrop vases, U-shaped candelabras and chunky glass with floating bubbles as the bases for bookends, lamps and candleholders. These modern design pieces stand in contrast to his latest line of chick-shaped vases, which Chung created to make money.

“The chicks sell,” Chung said during an Architectural Digest show this past March. “Women think they’re adorable and have to have one.”

Chung has an MFA and teaches, but he prefers to work. The dozen students in Hingley’s class created simple fish, but Hingley was immediately drawn to his style.

“He gave me all the information I needed, plus tons of information that I would probably never need to know,” said Hingley.

Hingley pays for studio time and instruction at UrbanGlass, which offers intensive courses as well as private lessons. She pays $100 for a three-hour session with Tecosky, as well as up to $50-perhour for time at UrbanGlass. It may seem steep, but Hingley is willing to make the effort since she works with some of the best craftsmen in the business.

According to Tecosky, Hingley is on the path to success. “She’s very similar to a lot of us,” he said. “She’s driven, passionate and she knows how to make connections. It wouldn’t take her long to get where I am.”

For Hingley, however, it comes down to whether she can make a living with her skills. “If I knew that I could support myself through glassblowing, I would blow glass and that’s it,” she said. “It’s going to be a part of my life for the rest of my life. Whether it’s going to be my career, I’m not sure.”