Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael and Sally Brown.
Three Dimensional Visions Glass Blowing Houston is a glass studio located in Tomball, Tx. We offer unique glass art for sale, a venue for corporate & social glass blowing events and a hot shop to allow folks to experience the magic of glass through glass blowing experiences, workshops, and classes.
As Sally Pennington Moore and Michael Kerry Brown retired from their respective careers as a geoscientist and art instructor, Michael stated that he had always dreamed of having a glass blowing studio. So, the couple traveled around to see studios in Colorado & Texas to learn what they were getting into and finally headed out on vacation to the Pacific Northwest which included a couple of weekend glass blowing classes. After the first class, they were hooked.
When they returned home they found a one-week school at Coastal Bend State College that offered two sessions for beginning glass blowers. Sally & Michael decided to go to one and then asked their son Patrick Kerry Brown if he wanted to attend. Patrick took the plunge and then became hooked on glass just like his parents.
While continuing to work their current careers the couple started looking for just the right property to develop their dream of a glass blowing studio. Initially, they wanted to build the business from the basic foundation, from the ground up. After much searching, multiple offers and due diligence they found just the right property, a 6.5 acre tract with a building on FM 2920 Rd that would work as the hot shop, an additional metal building on another piece of the property that could be used as a fabrication studio/cold shop and a house where they could put in another small studio for kiln forming and had a great space for their art gallery. With the purchase of this property Three Dimensional Visions Glass Blowing Houston was born and then the real work began, building equipment, “furnishing” the studio, fabrication shop, & gallery space and learning the art of glassblowing.
This all developed rapidly once they set their minds to it. Sally & Michael retired in March and June of 2013. Sally’s last official date was actually on Good Friday, and by January 2014 they had the studio equipment built, the furnace charged and were open to the public on April Fool’s day 2014, turning their dream into a reality.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Starting and developing a business has its own unique set of challenges as every entrepreneur knows. But, starting a business and developing new skills and competencies in a new career adds additional hurdles. But this couple was up for the challenge. They each had to reach into their previous experiences and find ways to link into concepts that were similar yet different.
Sally leveraged her expertise in business development, complexity science, and knowledge sharing to create a business model for something that she initially knew very little about taking it from a startup to a thriving glass art studio. Michael, with over 40 years as a sculptor was able to utilize his proficiency in fabrication to solve equipment problems and develop the work areas for the studio and keep things real while building a state of the art glass blowing facility. Patrick with his background in business management and marketing along with his great enthusiasm and his ability to learn by doing developed the necessary skills to get the job done and teach others!
During this journey, they have all been lucky enough to meet some great people in the glass community who were able and willing to share their knowledge and provide guidance. The power of networking and leveraging your network is so important as you develop your business and your skills. They received help from studio owners and artists regarding business models, equipment construction & fine tuning, skill development, absolutely everything.
Each person then has further developed the network for Three Dimensional Visions linking them with others who then willingly participated and provide guidance.
But remember, this was all being developed by people who had no official training in glass making. Michael does have an MFA so he is their design and art expert. Sally has a MS in Economic Geology so she knows about fluid flow, the chemistry of metal oxides and how to manage plans & processes. Patrick’s expertise is as a musician with a BS in Business Management & Marketing. Thus, none of their academic training taught them to gather from the furnace, blow a bubble to create a blown glass form. Their glass blowing training predominantly consists of working in the studio together, learning from each other and having visiting artists come and model/teach the next level of skills.
Patrick is the most intuitive glass blower of the three and has worked the hardest to develop his skills. He is the studio manager and head gaffer. He takes the lead in learning new skills and developing the Three Dimensional Visions Glass Blowing team.
Like their relationship, their studio is the perfect marriage of science, art and business acumen. It takes the dedication of this entire family to make this endeavor work.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Three Dimensional Visions Glass Blowing Houston story. Tell us more about the business.
Three Dimensional Visions Glass Blowing Houston offers glass art for sale, a unique venue for your event, and glass blowing experiences, workshops, and classes.
Three Dimensional Visions unique art glass is for sale at their studio showroom & gallery in Tomball (10-5 pm Wed-Sunday and by appointment) and in their gallery space at #207 The Silos (1502 Sawyer Street). The Silos location is currently open on 2nd Saturdays from 12 noon – 5 pm and by appointment).
Groups have a great time at this glass blowing studio. The studio offers a venue for school field trips, seniors, families, social clubs and team building. Events range from a narrated glass blowing demonstration to a demo & make a something event, where each person gets to help apply color, blow and shape a personal glass piece. For more information or to schedule your event, please contact the studio.
Instruction and glass blowing experiences are their bread & butter, reservations can be made online via their website or Facebook page.
Three Dimensional Visions is the only open access glass blowing studio in the greater Houston area. As you know Houston is the 4th largest city in the United States and Harris County which contains Houston is larger than the state of Rhode Island. So just having one place in this large region that you can go to make hot glass really sets you apart! Three Dimensional Visions is a gem to be discovered in a city full of diversity and beauty.
People come to us not knowing what to expect and they leave with an increased knowledge of glass and a big smile on their face. Our enthusiasm for glass is shared with each person who comes to our studio or gallery space. We share the stories of how a piece was made and the science and art that it exhibits. We model the power of teamwork when we demonstrate our glass blowing skills, because to make something really beautiful in glass takes people working in unison. We share the magic of glass through our glass blowing experiences, workshops and classes. We are set apart by our ability to “Enrich lives through artistic self-expression.”
Three Dimensional Visions is very proud to be family owned and operated. In addition to Sally, Michael and Patrick they have Jacqui Renae Brown on their team. Jacqui is Patrick’s wife and the newest addition to their glass blowing team. She is building her glass blowing skills & competencies and is taking the lead in customer service & sales.
A third-generation glass lover is being nurtured in their son, Silas. Silas loves making red glass paperweights with his Dad and making drawings of his Mom, Dad and Grandparents assisting him in the studio.
Visit our studio, experience the magic of glass, and take home a piece of art you’ll cherish for a lifetime.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck is not a quantitative factor in our business. We have been lucky at times and unlucky at others, like with the power grid in our part of the county. Having constant and dependable power is very important to a high utility business like Glass Blowing Houston. When the power goes out a decision must be made to empty the furnace which can have up to 300 pounds of glass in it, or not. If the wrong decision is made the glass within the refractory crucible can crack and ruin the heating elements and even the furnace itself. If the crucible (the pot that holds the glass) cracks the furnace must come down and you can lose a month of workable time. Each of the times our power has gone out (17 in 2016 and 9 in 2017) we have made our decision to unload the furnace or keep it working with as much information as possible and hoped for the best outcome. I guess you can say we have been lucky most of the time. Of course, there is the old adage, I would rather be lucky than good.
Pricing:
- Art Glass: $25->$7000
- Events: Demos start at $15/person, Make a Something Events $50/person
- Instruction: Glass Blowing Experiences start at $50/piece and Six Week Glass Blowing Classes at $600/person
Contact Info:
- Address: 17442 FM 2920 Rd
Tomball, TX 77377 - Website: www.threedimensionalvisions.com
- Phone: 281-734-0366
- Email: info@threedimensionalvisions.com
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
