Glass blowing is one of those tradespeople think very little about in modern-day society. Something that fell out of favor sometime between the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution. After all, anything on display at a historical reenactment must have been replaced by technology at some point, right? That’s wrong. Glass blowing is still alive and vital as an industrial and artistic trade.

On the one hand, the tools and processes of Glass blowing are more advanced than they were in the days when artisans heated Glass on the end of a clay rod and then blew down that rod to shape the molten Glass. On the other hand, the trade is still something an old-world glassblower would recognize if he saw how Glass blowing works. Something we have today that old-time glassblowers didn’t have in the past, though, is a full grasp of the dangers of working with molten Glass. Fortunately, we have developed safety equipment to protect us from those dangers. Even now, it has taken us years to realize the risks associated with Glass blowing to your eyes.