I know it's bad form to reply to my own message, but, well . . . bump!
The big day is almost here! You definitely don't want to miss it! We know lots of you have plans that day (like visiting the American Craft Council show in Baltimore), but we'll be here at least until 9pm -- come see us, even if it's late!
PRIZES
We've been counting up the loot we have to hand out on Saturday, and we estimate that we have more than $3,000 worth of prizes! Of course, that's not all going to one person. We're even breaking the drawings up, so if you have friends who are curious about glass but not ready to take the plunge, go ahead and bring them! In the drawing for beginners, they could win finished pendants from
Anderson Coats, a gift certificate from
Accents Beads, finished jewelry from
Lori Ellis, an
Accents Glassworks t-shirt, or a six-month subscription to
Glass Line magazine to really whet their appetite for glass! And
Terry D'Addio, SGB-MA secretary, has generously donated a copy of the gorgeous "1,000 Glass Beads" book published by Lark. Experienced lampworkers and glassblowers are eligible for all of those same prizes (except the book) and more, including glass samples from
Double Helix Glassworks and
Trautman Art Glass. This prize pool also includes gift certificates from
Carlisle Machine Works and goodies from
Phillips Safety Products. Additionally, the
Society of Glass Beadmakers, Mid-Atlantic chapter has donated a free one-year membership to their group. We'll be drawing a few prizes for each of these two categories at 2pm and again at 5pm, but most of the drawings will take place at 9pm. You do not need to be present to win; just make sure you fill out your contact info on the entry form you'll receive on Saturday. And any names not drawn at 2pm or 5pm will stay in the running for the later drawings. (So the earlier you come, the more chances you have to win!) We will have two special, separate drawings going on -- for people who rent studio time on Saturday, and people who sign up for classes on Saturday. Each of these drawings will be described in more detail below. They'll both take place at 9pm.
STUDIO
We'll open at our usual time, 10am. Because we're expecting a large turn-out, we will NOT be offering daily rentals in the studio, but we will be offering a special rate of $10 per hour, and you can rent for as many hours as you'd like. Rentals will be first-come, first served, but we will maintain a waiting list if you arrive later in the day and all the stations are full when you arrive. We plan to "seat" the last renters at 9pm, but we'll stay as late as you want to: if you rent four hours starting then, we'll stay 'til 1am!
As always, your rental fee includes the use of a Carlisle Mini-CC (or CC, for a slight additional fee) and access to an appropriately programmed, digitally-controlled kiln for annealing your work. A limited number of tool kits are available for rental, but if you have you own tools, you should bring them.
In addition, for every hour of bench time you rent on Saturday, you'll receive one ticket for a special drawing to be held at 9pm. There are lots of great prizes in this special pool, including a color sampler from
Creation is Messy and a gorgeous floral sculpture donated by our resident artist,
Anderson Coats.
CLASSES
We have a great line-up of classes scheduled over the next couple of months, taught by
Lisa St. Martin,
Clare Nykolyszyn,
Chad "Cosmo" Trent, and
Anderson Coats. Everyone who registers for a class during the grand opening will be entered into a special drawing, which will be held at 9pm. There are several prizes in this special pool, including the
special anonymous donation that we've hinted about. It's a REALLY awesome prize, and you'll receive one entry into this drawing for each Accents Glassworks class that you register for. Check our
website beforehand for more info about the classes to make your decision easier!
Because of the special nature of this drawing, be advised that payment in full is necessary for class registration. Also, if you win a prize in this drawing and then cancel your class enrollment, the value of your prize will be deducted from your refund. (If you roll your enrollment to a different class, this will not happen -- only if you ask for a refund. Trust us, once you see the big prize in this drawing, you'll understand why we think people might be tempted to register for a class they don't plan to take!)
DEMONSTRATIONS
Many of our talented local glass artists have volunteered to conduct demonstrations during the day:
1 PM -
Clare Nykolyszyn
2 PM -
Anderson Coats
3 PM -
Frank Dougherty
4 PM -
Clare Nykolyszyn
5 PM -
John Winter
6 PM -
Rose Bettis
7 PM -
Anne Cleo Dunsmore
8 PM -
Lisa St. Martin
This schedule is subject to change, and other artists may be added. Anderson will be demonstrating throughout the day.
Also, did I mention that there'll be refreshments? I mean, if you're still on the fence . . .
We really hope to see lots of you on Saturday! And hey, if you're planning to come, why not give us a shout here, so we know to expect you?
-Lori