Celebrating 27 years · Handmade in Elora · Free local pickup and Canada-wide shipping
Celebrating 27 years · Handmade in Elora · Free local pickup and Canada-wide shipping
No experience needed. That’s exactly who these classes are for. You’re at the furnace within minutes, with Tim or Katherine beside you, and you leave with a piece you made yourself. Twenty-seven years of teaching and thousands of first-timers: One Hot Date for two, single-session workshops for one, and team building for groups, at our working hotshop in Elora since 1999.
Making & teaching in Elora
189 Google reviews
Glass artists
No experience needed
As seen on
CBC Mercer Report
Rick learns to blow glass with Tim & Katherine in Elora, ON
In 2016 Canadian comedy icon Rick Mercer brought The Rick Mercer Report to Elora and learned to blow glass with Tim and Katherine. Ever since the episode aired, guests keep telling us the same thing: they booked their very first class because they saw it.
Whether it’s just you, the two of you, or a whole group, there’s a way in. Every class is hands-on and beginner-friendly, and you leave with something you made. Start with who’s coming.
Our best-known night out, and a six-date series you can work through together.
Come once, make one thing, take it home. Pumpkins, glasses and friendship balls.
Teams, birthdays and bachelorettes. Built around your group, from $700.
Not sure which one suits?
Tell us who’s coming and what you’d like to make, and we’ll point you at the right session.
Our best-known night out, and a whole series you can work through together. Each One Hot Date is two hours at the furnace for two, with 2 pieces each to take home and no experience needed. They’re designed to be done in order, from your first date to a grand slam.
Two hours, a piece each
Shaping it together
Or bring another couple
Swipe for more →
$350 + HST
Couple
2 hours
A piece each
Fri–Sun
A paperweight and a drinking glass each.
A blown ornament and a bowl each.
A drinking glass, then a vase each.
A glass to match your set, then a plate.
Warm-up glasses, then pendant lights each.
Anything of your own design.
$700 + HST
One Hot Date for four. Bring another couple; a paperweight and a drinking glass each.
$525 + HST
One Hot Date for three, running a little earlier: Fri 3:30–6, Sat & Sun 10:30–1 & 2–4:30.
When: Fridays 4–6, Saturdays & Sundays 11–1 & 2–4. Prices are per couple, plus HST.
The simplest way to try glassblowing, and built for complete beginners. Blow a pumpkin through the autumn, a whiskey, wine or pint glass you can drink from, or a friendship ball to hang in a window. Ornaments and hearts are seasonal for fall & winter. Prices are per person, plus HST.
Blow your own glass pumpkin in the colours of your choice. Autumn only, and it books up fast.
$100.00 + HST per person
Runs September 27th from 2–5, October 15th from 7–10 & October 25th from 2–5.
Blow either a whiskey, wine or pint glass in the colours of your choice, then drink from it afterwards.
$125.00 + HST per person
Runs September 12th from 2–5, September 17th from 7–10, October 24th from 2–5.
Each person blows a friendship ball in the colours of their choice, to keep or to give away.
$90.00 + HST per person
Runs Thursdays from 7–10, Saturdays & Sundays 10–1 & 2–5.
Elora is a great place to bring your team, with plenty of places to eat and stay and lots to do with your colleagues. Bring a team, a birthday or a bachelorette party, and we’ll build the session around your group.
Make something together
Watch the masters at work
Toast to a job well done
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Each member blows an ornament in the colours of their choice.
$90.00 + HST
per person · minimum $700 · maximum 12 guests
Each member blows a piece of fruit in the colours of their choice.
$100.00 + HST
per person · minimum $700 · maximum 10 guests
Each team member blows their own glass in the style and colours of their choice.
$125.00 + HST
per person · minimum $700 · maximum 10 guests
Gift certificates available upon request.
You don’t need to have held a blowpipe before. After a quick welcome and a word about safety, you’re at the furnace within minutes, gathering molten glass on the end of a blowpipe from a furnace burning well past 1,000°C. With one of us beside you the whole way, you shape and blow it at the bench while it’s still glowing, choosing your colours as you go. Everyone leaves having made something themselves.
One of us beside you, the whole way
Every session is built for first-timers. Tim or Katherine is beside you for each step, and does the parts that need a practised hand.
A glass you can drink from, an ornament, a paperweight, a friendship ball, a pumpkin in season, or a small piece to keep.
Most single-session workshops run about three hours; One Hot Date is two hours for two. We confirm the length when you book.
We keep groups small, usually up to ten or twelve, so everyone gets real time at the furnace rather than a turn to watch.
Ages 18 and up.
Light cotton clothing and closed-toe shoes; natural fibres sit better than synthetics close to the heat, and long hair should be tied back. Bring a water bottle. We provide everything else.
No problem. The tools are set up right-handed, but you blow comfortably either way, since both hands are used throughout.
Hot glass cools slowly overnight so it doesn’t crack, which is called annealing. You collect your piece the next day, or we can pack and ship it to you.
Shown per person unless noted, plus HST, and subject to change. We confirm the current price when you book.
Classes are non-refundable and non-transferable. Cancel more than two weeks ahead and we hold 50% toward a future class or a gallery piece; within two days, or a no-show, there’s no refund. Classes expire two years after the purchase date.
When you book a class here, you’re taught by Tim or Katherine McManus themselves, award-winning glass artists who met at Sheridan and have worked the same Elora furnace since 1999. It isn’t a rotating roster of part-time staff: you get one of us, a small group, and twenty-seven years of teaching people who’d never picked up a blowpipe before.
Tim & Katherine, Elora, ON
If your question isn’t here, give us a call or send a message and we’ll help you choose the right session.
None at all. Every class is built for complete beginners, and one of us is beside you for every step. Most people are surprised how much they manage on their very first try.
If it’s your first time, a single-session workshop or a One Hot Date is the easiest way in. Couples tend to book One Hot Date and work through the series; groups go for a team-building event; and seasonal sessions like pumpkins make a fun one-off. Not sure? Call us and we’ll help you pick.
It looks harder than it is on your first visit. We handle the parts that need a practised hand and guide you through the rest, so yes, you finish a real piece the same day, made by you.
A single-session workshop usually runs two to three hours, and One Hot Date is two hours for two. You make a finished piece in that one visit. Learning the craft properly takes years, but making something you’re proud of takes an afternoon.
It depends on the session: single-session workshops are $100 to $125 per person, One Hot Date is $350 a couple, and group events start at $90 a head with a $700 minimum, all plus HST and subject to change. Send us a booking request with the session you’d like and roughly when suits, and we’ll confirm the date and the current price.
It is hot, and it is safe. You’re guided the whole time, we handle the furnace, and we’ll ask you to wear closed-toe shoes and tie back long hair. We teach ages 16 and up.
Depending on the session: a glass you can drink from, an ornament, a paperweight, a friendship ball, a pumpkin in season, or a small piece to keep. You choose your colours, and no two pieces come out the same.
Light cotton clothing and closed-toe shoes are a must near the hotshop, and long hair should be tied back. Bring a water bottle; we provide everything else.
Not quite. Hot glass has to cool slowly overnight so it doesn’t crack, which is called annealing. You collect your piece the next day, or we can pack and ship it to you.
Classes are non-refundable and non-transferable. If you cancel more than two weeks ahead, we hold half toward a future class or a gallery piece; within two days, or a no-show, there’s no refund. Classes expire two years after the purchase date.
We’re at 6506 Wellington Road 7 in Elora, Ontario, with parking on site. It’s an easy day trip: about 25 minutes from Guelph, 30 from Kitchener–Waterloo, and 90 from Toronto. Many people make a day of it in the village.
We do. Bring a team, a birthday or a bachelorette party, or book a private group, and we’ll build the session around you. Classes are for ages 16 and up.
Pick a session, choose a date, and come and make something molten. No experience needed, and one of us with you the whole way. If you’d rather see the hotshop first, come and watch: it’s free, and you can book when you’re ready.
Tell us the class and dates you’d like and we’ll confirm availability by email.
Cancellation & refund policy: All classes / workshops / teambuildings / parties / events are non-refundable and non-transferrable. You will lose 50% of the full amount if you cancel your workshop within 2 weeks of date confirmed. The other 50% can be put towards another class or on pieces already for sale in the gallery. If you cancel within 2 days or miss your class no refund will be issued. Classes expire after 2 years of purchase date.
