Hand-Blown drinking glasses from a shared studio

Restaurants, bars and hotels wanting house glassware, independent homeware shops, galleries, and private customers buying sets or gifts.

Wholesale and trade orders for sets of glasses, plus higher-priced retail pieces and commissions. Repeatable designs that you can make quickly are key to profit.

• Glassblowing technique, usually learned through courses or an apprenticeship
• Making consistent, matching pieces
• Design sense
• Dealing with trade buyers and quoting for orders

• Hot glass is a serious burn and fire risk. Get proper training and make sure the studio's safety rules and insurance cover you
• Public liability and product liability insurance, and check whether the studio's policy covers your work
• Start-up costs assume renting bench time and buying hand tools, packaging and insurance. Taking your own unit and furnace would cost far more, and you would need to check planning use, gas and fuel safety, and business rates with your council
• Furnace and annealing energy costs can be high and change, so build them into pricing
• Glass for drinking must be suitable for food contact. Check any colourants or decoration before selling
• Building a skill level to produce matching sets can take time, so expect a slow start

Startup costs are typically around £1,000 to £5,000, depending on bench time, hand tools, packaging and insurance. These assume renting studio time rather than building your own furnace, which would cost far more.

Monthly revenue is typically around £1,000 to £5,000, depending on how many matching pieces you make and your trade and private orders. These are estimates, and furnace energy costs can change, so build them into pricing.

Hot glass is a burn and fire risk, so check the studio's safety rules and that its insurance covers you. Check public and product liability cover, and whether colourants or decoration are suitable for food contact before selling drinking glasses.