Entry No. 196 — the Denver file — filed under: hands-on
The Furnace: A Glassworks
The Furnace is a glassworks and gallery in Lakewood, about ten minutes from downtown Denver, that offers hands-on taster workshops for one to six people. The session is a two-to-four-hour intro where you work molten glass with an instructor rather than spectate, making it an easy way for a pair to try hot glass without committing to a full course. It doubles as a gallery so there's finished work to browse on site.
The story
Tucked along West Colfax in Lakewood's 40 West Arts District, about ten minutes west of downtown Denver, lies a high-heat hotshop where two-thousand-degree molten glass gets gathered, blown, and sculpted daily. The Furnace was launched in 2016 by glass artist Corey Silverman—a graduate of the Alfred University glass program—and Leanne Silverman, expanding on hotshops Corey had co-owned since 2007. While the studio crafts large custom installations, including a 150-cylinder glass feature suspended for Denver's Guard & Grace restaurant, its real draw is that it strips away the usual gallery distance and puts a blowpipe directly in your hand.
Glassblowing typically feels like an insular craft guarded by expensive industrial kilns and multi-year apprenticeships, but The Furnace operates as a public-access studio. Resident glassmakers produce functional drinkware, vases, and sculptural art on site for galleries across the country. Rather than keeping you behind safety glass to watch the team work, their introductory workshops pull you onto the hotshop floor alongside an instructor, demystifying how glowing liquid silicon gets shaped into solid form.
What it's like
Stepping into the studio, you'll immediately feel the blast of ambient heat from the furnaces and hear the hum of burners mixed with whatever music the hotshop crew is playing that day. Taster sessions skip long lectures—after a fast safety briefing, an instructor guides your hands through dipping a metal rod into molten glass, rolling it across a steel marver, and shaping the soft mass with wet paper or wood tools. The instructor keeps a steadying hand on the pipe so you won't drop a glowing lump. You'll want to wear cotton or natural-fiber clothing and closed-toe shoes, since synthetic fabrics melt easily near heat. Because hot glass will shatter if cooled too quickly, your finished piece goes straight into an annealer to cool down slowly overnight, meaning you'll need to head back a day or two later to pick it up.
The move: Book a two-person taster session and each gather and shape molten glass into your own object with a glassblower coaching every step.
📍 Before you go Taster workshops run 2-4 hours by reservation for 1-6 people; finished glass requires annealing before pickup.
- 📍 Lakewood
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: Lakewood, CO (Denver metro, ~10 min from downtown)
Hours: Added 2026-06-23 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Chain Reaction Records — Trade two-thousand-degree glass heat for heavy vinyl riffs just half a mile down West Colfax at Lakewood's premier punk and metal record shop.
- The Electric Cure — Head less than two miles east into Edgewater to cool down from the hotshop furnace with an irreverent tiki cocktail.
- Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls & Toys — Shift your perspective from wrestling heavy iron blowpipes to examining over 20,000 tiny historic artifacts five minutes away in Lakewood.
- Rocky Mountain Punk Nature Art & Oddities — Swap molten glass for pinned insects, taxidermy, and bone jewelry in a nearby Lakewood strip-mall storefront.
Good to know
How long do the taster workshops last and how many people can attend?
Taster sessions run between two and four hours by reservation for groups of one to six people, making them an approachable way to try hot glass without committing to a full course.
Can I take my finished glass object home immediately after the session?
No. Freshly shaped hot glass must spend hours in an annealing kiln to cool down gradually and relieve internal stress, so you will need to return later for pickup.
What should I wear to a class at The Furnace?
Wear closed-toe shoes and clothes made of natural fibers like cotton. Avoid synthetic materials such as polyester or nylon, which can melt near intense heat.
Do I need any prior glassblowing experience?
No prior experience is required. Instructors coach you step-by-step through gathering, blowing, and shaping the molten glass.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · Yelp · Tripadvisor
last checked: 2026-06-23