Continuing on with my The Guild @ 980 series, today, we’re taking a closer look at Buffalo Glass Company, owned by Jason Dederich.
Jason first started glassblowing when he went to RIT in 1999. He went for engineering and decided that he wanted to do a double major.
“The glass program was small and desperate,” said Jason [laughing]. “I never expected to be doing this… I decided that I needed to concentrate on one major, and ended up choosing glass. When I was young, my parents would take me on trips to Florida, and I would see glass blowing in the malls. I was always fascinated by it.”
Jason, who was born in LA, but grew up in Buffalo, is just as passionate about this city as he glassblowing. He says that Buffalo has given his opportunities that he might not have had elsewhere.
“Buffalo has a low cost of living, which is why there are a number of glassblowers that have moved here from the West Coast,” said Jason. “There’s a real glass scene here now.”
Along with glass, Jason is also into farming. He bought a property in Riverside where he is cultivating an urban farm, including vermiculture and (coming soon) vertical farming. He’s basically creating an ideal lifestyle for himself that includes all of the things that he feels are important to living a healthy, prosperous, and creative lifestyle.
“I went to St. Joe’s – third generation,” Jason told me. “I came from a business family. My art teacher told me that I shouldn’t choose art as a profession. I was told to get into a good (more lucrative) profession, but I wanted to be on the creative end. I’m doing pretty well for myself now, between teaching classes at Carnegie Art Center, and selling glass on Etsy and at places like ShopCraft on Elmwood. I make money and work for myself. In the summer I’m a landscaper and sell produce at my farm, called Riverside Farms (soon to be a DBA).”
While Jason’s bread and butter is using the stationary torch (self-taught) to make smaller glass objects, his goal in life is to get back to doing what he learned at RIT – making the big stuff.
“Im doing this, to do that,” Jason explained. “I like the showmanship… doing shows for the public. I want to open a soft glass blowing studio someday, with public demonstrations. I’m hoping that one day I get an opportunity to do that in Buffalo, in some capacity. I’m also starting to concentrate more on home decor, like chandeliers, drawer pulls and knobs.”
I asked Jason if there is a glass blowing association in Buffalo. He told me that there isn’t one, but that there should be one.
“At the same time,” he commented. “Glassblowers typically have fiery personalities and don’t really get along with one another [laughing]. I want to help put Buffalo on the map for glassblowing – that’s my thing in life. I was trying to get away from this city when I was younger. There’s so much going on here these days. There’s no place that I would rather be than in Buffalo.”
Buffalo Glass Company | The Guild @ 980 at ReUse Action | 980 Northampton Street Buffalo NY 14211 | Instagram
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