About Glastonbury Glassworks

When he's not working in his home-based wholesale bakery in Glastonbury, Connecticut, or enthusiastically exploring the world with his children, Scott Varrell can often be found playing at his torch. His wife, Debbie, took an introductory lampworking class in 2003. Scott quickly learned the basics from her and headed off in new and exciting directions.

Lampworking involves melting glass rods in a torch flame and winding the molten glass around a steel rod ("mandrel"). Beads are then shaped and embellished with more glass colors, silver/copper/palladium foil, and/or powdered glass ("enamels"). The vessels are made by gathering molten glass on the end of a hollow steel tube, then gently blowing and shaping until it reaches the desired form. Glass handles and other decorative techniques are then applied. The hot beads are then placed in a digitally-controlled kiln and slowly brought to room temperature ("annealed") over a period of many hours for optimal strength and durability.

Combining an artistic flair with proven techniques and his own unique style, Scott's glass art is constantly evolving and leading him down new and wonderful paths.

Please visit our blog, Live and Let Learn!, for pictures of our most recent projects, not all of which are made of glass!

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A note about our name:
As a lifelong resident of Glastonbury, Connecticut, it seemed only fitting to market Scott's glass art under the name Glastonbury Glassworks. As a homeschooling family, we've been enjoying membership at Old Sturbridge Village living history museum over the past few years. You can imagine our surprise when we visited the antique glass exhibit in the Village and discovered that Glastonbury Glass Works was the name of the fourth oldest glass works in the United States, dating from 1816. The building has long since been demolished, but our home is within a few miles of its original location!