This Columbus Hot Shop Turns Molten Glass Into Holiday Gifts

Holiday gifts take a different form at the Hot Shop, where molten glass becomes snowmen, ornaments and Christmas trees. The studio opened at Columbus’ Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in 2009 and is staffed by professional glassblowers (known as gaffers), who shape the glowing material into colorful works of art.  

Jesse Luketic, the Hot Shop’s supervisor, discovered the medium while earning his undergraduate degree at the Cleveland Institute of Art. Luketic joined the Hot Shop in 2017, eventually taking over the program and becoming lead gaffer in 2021 before stepping into his current full-time  role in 2024. Today, he leads a team of glassblowers who teach and demonstrate from late March through mid-January.

“I quickly fell in love with it,” he says. “I definitely got the glass bug.”

The process starts in a 2,100-degree furnace that holds 140 pounds of molten soda-lime glass. Gaffers dip a long steel pipe into the glass, which has a consistency of honey, then quickly begin sculpting and shaping the piece. Artists add colors and patterns or use molds to create textures and distinctive shapes.

Taking anywhere from a few minutes for a simple work to several hours for a complex one, each piece is periodically inserted into a heating chamber to slow cooling and prevent shattering. Finished pieces go into an annealer, a kiln that cools them gradually for roughly 16 hours depending on the piece’s thickness. 

Glasswork made in the Hot Shop can be purchased year-round at the conservatory’s Botanica Gift Shop & Greenhouse, during the annual Holiday Sale on Dec. 11 through 13 and Dec. 18 through 20 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and starting at 5 p.m. during the Conservatory Aglow event.

The Holiday Sale brings regional artists to the conservatory who sell blown- and fused-glass ornaments, snowmen, Christmas trees, vases and other gifts. The Hot Shop also offers hands-on classes on select dates in November and December, during which participants can create a blown-glass ornament. It’s a chance to experience the heat and creativity of glass blowing under the guidance of a professional gaffer.

“It’s always fun to see the way people react to the heat,” Luketic says. “Some of my favorite [classes] are teaching kids and seeing how well they tend to do right off the bat.”

1777 E. Broad St., Columbus 43203, 614/715-8000, fpconservatory.org

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