CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The only glass-blowing studio in Charlotte is seeing more people interested in this hands-on experience with art.

What You Need To Know

Hot Glass Alley is approaching five years in Charlotte, and demand for its products is growing

Despite CareerExplorer projections on the industry, the studio is hiring more glass-blowers

The owner says media, TV and the internet are helping to keep the ancient art form alive

Hot Glass Alley has been in Charlotte going on five years, and the business is growing faster than the employees have time to quantify.

During the business' pumpkin palooza in September with live glass-blowing demonstrations, Hot Glass Alley saw a 50% increase in sales compared to the same event in 2021.

Owner Jacob Pfeifer says it's good to see people interested in the age-old art again.

"Glass is starting to become a pretty big thing again," Pfeifer said. "It was like a dying art, but thankfully social media and the internet and TV and everything has like kept it going here in America."

Pfeifer says he has been transforming molten glass through glass blowing for almost 20 years.

According to CareerExplorer, there are about 43,000 glass blowers in the United States, with that number expected to decrease over the next five years. 

With demand up at the studio, Hot Glass Alley is seeing the opposite impact. The studio has hired two more full-time employees to keep up with the growing demand for its products. 

Each piece is unique, and Pfeifer says the technical challenge of it is his favorite part.

"You have to make it, but you can't touch it the whole time until it's like super cool," Pfeifer said. "You can tell it definitely takes a team and the comradery that comes with it all. It's definitely like my favorite thing."

Hot Glass Alley offers date nights and make your own glass-blowing experiences, but according to the website it is sold out through the end of the year.