By HURON STREET STUDIOS
Huron Street Studios, formerly known as Gathered Glassblowing Studio, is reopening under new ownership.
Glass blower Ryan Thompson and ceramic artist Kayla Kirk have acquired the studio from previous owners Adam Goldberg and Mike Stevens.
To celebrate this new chapter, the community is invited to an open house on Sept. 14 from 3-10 p.m. to experience the new business and enjoy live glass and pottery demonstrations.
Huron Street Studios will continue Gathered’s tradition of offering the community hands-on creative experiences. While the popular glass workshops will remain, the addition of Kirk’s pottery studio on the second floor introduces exciting new opportunities for the public to participate in hand-building and wheel-throwing workshops.
The gallery will have available artwork created by Kirk and Thompson in their respective media, featuring a variety of drinking vessels, sculptural objects, and wall-mounted art.
About the New Owners:
Ryan Thompson discovered his passion for glass as an undergraduate at Bowling Green State University, inspired by the precision and immediacy required in the craft.
After refining his skills at the Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion and working with renowned artists such as Lino Tagliapietra, Thompson further honed his expertise at Greenfield Village (The Henry Ford Museum) in Dearborn, Michigan.
Thompson’s skilled and methodical approach to creating intricate objects earned him a place on Season Four of the Netflix reality competition show Blown Away. Now, he brings his decade-long dream of having his own hotshop to life with Huron Street Studios.
Kayla Kirk, a BFA and BA graduate from the University of Toledo, has opened Charmed Ceramics, her own pottery studio within Huron Street Studios. Kirk has spent the last three years at Detroit’s historic Pewabic Pottery working as a production potter and educator. Kirk’s work is driven by a deep appreciation for nature and emphasizes the transformative magic of clay into fine art.
She is passionate about sharing the joy of clay with others and is excited to offer quality handmade goods and public pottery experiences in her hometown.
Gathered Glass Studio has been a significant part of Toledo’s Warehouse District since 2012, contributing to the neighborhood’s revitalization and the city’s rich legacy as the birthplace of the American Studio Glass Movement.
Kirk and Thompson are excited to keep this heritage alive with the new iteration.
