Glassblowing is one art form that definitely is starting to lose a lot of the talent to do the work successfully, but also to form the art pieces that are unique and only meant to the piece. Now, one place that still has the talent is located in Gatlinburg and that is Sparky’s Glassblowing. Now, since this location is in the Arts &Crafts community not many people know about this gem of a location. That is why I decided to do my full review of the Sparky’s Glassblowing so you know if this is a must stop for you or not.
Location Of Sparky’s Glassblowing
Well, as I already mentioned the shop is one that many people would miss on accident because they may not make it out to the Gatlinburg Arts & Crafts community. However, I would have to recommend even if you are not going to see Sparky’s Glassblowing to check out the community as it is a great place to find unique gifts, but here is the address so you can put it into your GPS to find the store.
849 Glades Road
Gatlinburg, TN 37738
Features Of Sparky’s Glassblowing
- Provides some wonderful hand blown glass items
- Takes time to educate people about the work.
- Offers classes if you want to learn the glass blowing art form.
What I Like About The Shop
Great Guy With Wonderful Stories
Usually when I go to a shop I do not get to meet the owner and the person who is making the products. However, at this location you get to meet the owner and the crafter at the same time. This makes the shop a unique one to visit and definitely makes it easier for you to get the right feel for the location. At the same time, when you start to talk to the owner it is easier for you to see that the quality of the work and get the humor filled stories that you never really get a chance to hear from any of the other places that you go and shop.
The Prices Are Reasonable
In my own experience selling products that are homemade and unique tends to raise the price more than what you think or are used to seeing. Well, I have to say compared to some of the other shops that I have shopped in before the prices you find here are very reasonable. These prices vary depending on what you are buying, but if you take into account all the time and money that it takes to make the pieces, it is easy for you to see that the prices are not overly high compared to what you are actually getting.
Quality Of The Pieces Is Amazing
Now, I know these are hand blown glass pieces, but what is really impressive is the fact that the quality of the pieces you are buying tend to be quite a bit higher than what you would expect. This does not mean that the glass does not break, but it does mean that the glass blown pieces will last you quite a bit longer than what you may expect. As I said, this is going to only be a factor if you take the proper care to keep the glass safe when you are bringing it home, but also that you take care of it properly when you do get the piece home and start to display it at your home.
What I Did Not Care For
Selection Is Somewhat Limited
I know that the crafter can only make so many pieces at a time, but I have found that the selection of the pieces is limited. Now, this limited selection is somewhat disappointing, but at the same time the pieces you can select are very high quality. This makes it easier for you to find the pieces and know that they will last you for a longer period of time. Just a warning you do not want to go into the shop and expect to find anything you want, like you would get at Walmart, instead you get extremely high quality pieces at a limited number of choices.
What Others Are Saying
While you know we try to find what others are saying, we found this from mscasysh from TripAdvisor, “prices were reasonable”. Now, I have to say as a crafting artist myself the prices tend to cost more than what you find at Walmart, but that tends to come from the fact that nothing a crafter makes is mass produced and the items you get from a crafter tend to be of a lot higher quality than what you find elsewhere.
Now, Paula G off of Tripadvisor is talking about Sparky here, but I will only pull out a little detail here, “Sparky is an incredible glassblower artist”. Now, that is not the full review, but she would go on to provide details about how likable he is and how he treats people, not like strangers, but more likea friend that he has not seen in some time.
My Final Thoughts On Sparky’s Glassblowing
Now, I have to admit that I never really went into the Arts & Crafts community in Gatlinburg a lot. However, I do have to say as I have gotten older I have started to really appreciate the crafters more and the time they spend to complete the products. All of these make it easier for me to find the unique gifts that I want to buy to bring home with me. With that being said, Sparky’s Glassblowing is a great shop to check out and one that has great gifts if you do not mind hand blown glass. If you have younger children who like to break items, which was my case a few years ago, the shop is great to go into and if you can keep the glass items out of reach of your kids it is a great place to buy some gifts for you or someone else.
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