Our one day glassblowing course with our glass blowing courses and glassblowing taster course in our glass school in Nottinghamshire.

These hot glass lessons, taster glassblowing lessons, and 1 day glass making course provides great enjoyment.

The course for everyone - for personal artistic experience, a birthday treat or gift, a surprise for a family member or friend or just for pleasure!

With a background working with cold glass for many years, it was a special treat to have an ‘experience day’ working with hot glass, blowing a variety of vessel shapes, using a number of techniques. After a health & safety talk and a brief demonstration this course is definitely hands on, in a well equipped studio for the rest of the day.

Dan has all the qualities of a natural teacher, patience, constant attention, unflappability and the ability to continually instruct you through making each piece reminding of each process until by the end of the day you are remembering what to do when (almost), his positive reassurance that you are working well is great comfort when you feel that you cant do 3 things at once – hot glass is a relatively fast process

Some surprises though, the molten glass acts like treacle and is trying to run off the blowing iron, but it is still quite solid to work

The only down side, was at the end of the day knowing that you definitely can’t use these newly acquired skills at home!

I would thoroughly recommend this enjoyable day course and enthusiastic tutor; it is well worth travelling to from the other end of the country!

Philip Cooper: June 2008

My day with Dan at the Firefly Glass studio was fantastic.
It put a permanent smile on my face and it will you, if you have this experience!
With great facilities in his studio, in a fantastic location, Dan is a wonderful, enthusiastic teacher. He took me through the all important familiarisation and safety guidance, before teaching me how to produce my first few simple pieces.

From the great welcome and introductory briefing and demonstrations throughout the entire day Dan was a great inspiration and instructor. The whole day was everything that Dan had promised it would be and a great deal more. By the end of the day I couldn’t believe that I had achieved so much.
Working with glass was a fascinating new medium to me, and under Dan’s careful and close supervision, I surprised myself (and everyone that has subsequently seen my glass) by producing many wonderful pieces. I would recommend the experience as an unparalleled artistic and creative opportunity for anyone who wishes to gain develop a new skill.

I finished the day wanting more, and buzzing with the possibilities of what further techniques and items I might be able to attempt next.

Thank you Dan, I hope to see you again soon.

Darren Gill 2007

I received the one day glass blowing course as a birthday present after mentioning it was something I fancied trying to my best friend. We had a really fantastic day at the Firefly Glass Studio. Dan was an excellent teacher, full of passion for what he does and pride in the business he has built.
Initially he ran us through the safety elements and then before we knew it we were hands on and having a go. Dan makes glass blowing look easy but in reality there is an awful lot to remember and certainly my 1st attempt was somewhat disastrous but with Dan’s tuition, patience and constant attention we slowly managed to make small improvements and by the end of the day had a number or really quite passable pieces.
I still look at my paperweight and swung vase with pride!
Dan is a great teacher; he stays very calm and positive and gives you confidence as you go along. It’s really important to him that you get the best out of the day and that is really evident in the time you spend with him.
I would highly recommend glass blowing at Firefly as an experience, unlike a lot of these things you can really get involved and get hands on and you will be surprised how much you can achieve in just one day. Apart for having a really fantastic day out, I have now found a new appreciation and admiration of what it is to do glass blowing well. It’s a really wonderful skill and one which Dan has certainly mastered and evidently enjoys passing on to those who spend a day with him. I’m just looking forward to glass blowing – level 2!
Thanks again Dan for a great day!

Helen Lyons: August 2008

If you would like overnight accommodation before or after your day course, the Tourist Information Centre at Ollerton near Edwinstowe provides a wealth of information on all the interesting places to visit together with a wide range of places where you can stay in the Sherwood Forest area.

Alternatively Dan can also recommend several places in Edwinstowe itself which are just a short walk from the studio.

I received the glass blowing taster course as a present and spent the day there in October 2007. I had always wanted to have a go at glass blowing, but it was even more fun than I could have imagined. I felt really involved in every process and was pleasantly surprised by how hands on the course is, which made me even prouder of my creations! I took away lots of different pieces, some of which have been distributed between family and friends for presents. Dan is a really patient teacher and explains everything very clearly which helped to me to progress quickly and with confidence. We also had a good laugh all day, especially when the glass took on strange shapes!

Overall it was an excellent day and I can’t wait to have another go!

Rebecca Wilkinson 2007

My glassblowing day was fantastic!

Dan was very thorough in his explanations of how the processes work, how to use the equipment and the health and safety issues.

The informal, approachable manner put me at ease and allowed me to ask many questions and the enthusiasm, encouragement and motivation given, inspired me throughout the day, with each level being backed up by practical demonstrations.

It was most interesting and exciting to have the opportunity to experience a very friendly and hands- on practical experience.

Many thanks to you Dan and please let me know when you are running 'Part 2'.

Sheena: Lincoln 2007