The AIA Show was in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago and it was great to see how much decorative glass was exhibited. From the very artistic, hand-made pieces to those products that are more readily fabricated, there was literally something for all tastes.Other the years I’ve done my share of interviews; until recently those were primarily with folks from the flat glass aspect of the business. More recently, I’ve had the opportunity to interview architects from some of the world’s biggest firms, as well as some well known glass artists, including Jon Kuhn (Click here to read that article).

But it’s funny how some things tend to work out. One of the first articles that I wrote while working for USGlass was titled Going Against the Grain and was about how architects and designers were working with glass in new and innovative ways (this was written back in 2000).

I had interviewed glass artist Gordon Huether who said, “As more and more people become aware of it [glass design] they, too, will use it and more possibilities will be available.”

If you can look back on what was happening with decorative glass nine years ago and compare it to all that’s happening now, you can really see how the market has evolved.

During the AIA Show I had the opportunity to interview Gordon again, this time for our video newscast  (See interviews with other decorative companies here). I like how Gordon described the emergence of so many new technologies as “the perfect storm” for artists working in glass.

How exciting to think about decorative possibilities have evolved. I look forward to what the next 10 years have in store.