Glass Artist Ona Magaro

In a time when men outnumber women in films 3 to 1 on screen, unequal pay based on gender still unfairly affects females on a day to day basis, and social media and advertising outlets are repeatedly beating women down with unrealistic and often times contradictory expectations about beauty, health, and happiness; it’s time we stand together and let out stories and experiences bring about an era of change. Let’s applaud the women who are out there defying stereotypes and pushing forward in careers and fields where they are outnumbered. From one woman’s triumph shared to another’s inspiration spurred, small changes will amount to larger ones that can eventually redefine what it means to be a working woman.

Ona Magaro’s glass creations and her life story are quite the achievements to admire. She has turned her passion into a thriving business. After years of fine-tuning her craft, her work is breathtaking and unlike any I’ve seen. Take a look at the glass sculpture Ona created for us, from start to finish. She envisions the body of a bird by utilizing the simplicity of a single color and an elongated curve, free flowing and elegant. But don’t let the airy nature of her art fool you. It’s hard work, requiring a tremendous amount of physical strength and a heaping load of creativity. Her advice to anyone hoping to follow in her footsteps is to study marketing, accounting, and writing to build a successful business around the artistic talent.

As Oscar Wilde would say, we live in a world where “life imitating art” is an everyday occurrence. May Ona’s art and experiences be something that young women can look up to and hope to emulate as they grow and discover what path they’ll pursue. When I asked Ona what she wanted to teach her children about the arts, and how she hoped her work will affect the way they interpret the world around them, her simple response is what I hope to share with you, “That anything is possible.”

Ona’s workwear: Carhartt Women’s Long-Sleeve Signature T-Shirt, Women’s Series 1889 Slim Double-Front Dungaree, & C-Grip Knuckler Glove

last photo above taken by Jessie Moore

April Wagner of Epiphany Studios

When April Wagner started blowing glass she never looked back. It was hot and we don’t mean just chic. Glass blowing has been all the rage since the Romans began pushing air through the end of a hollow tube. And the technique has evolved a whole lot under the talented hands and gaze of April, who is interested in beautiful forms, color, and line.  She is often quoted saying that she is “having a love affair with the material.”  Since she was a little girl growing up in Northern Michigan, April has always had been passionate about making things with her hands. Glass is hot, sensual, and not easy to work with. It can be clear or colorful and if one is not careful, it can really burn you. But in the end the experience of making forms out of glass is a deeply personal one. She has built a thriving studio practice with a growing list of clients around the world. In her quiet studio on the outskirts of Detroit, April has learned the art of when to control the glass and when to let it go. She has a student’s mind and everyday the material leads her on a new journey with a new and sometimes unpredictable outcome. There is just no straight line in making art or blowing glass. The process is one of discovery.

Check out what the women are wearing: Women’s Norfolk Henley, Women’s Original-Fit Canvas Crawford Dungaree / Longsleeve Signature T-Shirt, Women’s Straight-Fit Slim Jean, Women’s Clarksburg Zip-Front Sweatshirt

Michelle of Furnace Design Studio

Michelle, co-founder of Furnace Design Studio in Dearborn, Michigan, is without a doubt a Carhartt woman. She can go from spreading her love for glass art wearing her double fronts one minute in studio to the next outside on a hike in the same pair of pants. As a mom and a business owner, dual functionality makes life easier and even more enjoyable so you have more time to focus on the good stuff— like art, family, and community. Furnace Design revolves around those three aspects. Find out how you can sign up to take a class and learn about the amazing glass blowing process for yourself.

Michelle is wearing Carhartt women’s double front dungaree, canyon sandstone jacket, long sleeve logo Tee, and striped knit hat.  

Artist Katrine Hildebrandt

Katrine is a woman of many trades—ranging from interior design, retail styling, creating wooden sculptures and paper designs, to glass blowing. She invited me to her house while I was in Boston. I was so blown away by the space she and her husband, Peter, live in. I felt like I was taking a peek into a museum of their lives. Surfboards line the walls and their studio spaces flow seamlessly into the living space. Every nook and cranny is filled with something they’ve created or that’s important to them. Katrine’s interior design skills and up-cycled items create an inspiring and soulful environment. Take a look at the lamp Katrine is working on in the first few photos here. It’s made from vintage player piano paper, and each lamp has a different song streaming across it.

I also got to watch as they worked on a chandelier they are designing for a customer’s kitchen. (Check out some of their other collaborative work here.) It’s great to see a couple work so well together. In fact, they first met in a glass blowing class. I love a couple who works together and wears Carhartt together!

To see some more of Katrine’s sculptures and paper designs, explore her website here.

The Tactile Aspect of Glass

If I had to think of one word to describe Carrie’s work, it would be haunting. Not in the terrifying sense of the word. It’s the kind of work that sticks with you, like a dream glued to the back of your eyelids. Much of her work revolves around the idea of a memory. I really connect with that description. Carrie’s pieces feel like a faint whisper of something you stored in the back corner of your mind.

Carrie is a printmaker, painter, and glassworker— all in one. Bullseye Glass Company in Portland currently represents her. I got to tag along one day at Shatter Glass Group in Chicago as she put the finishing touches on a piece she’d been working on.

It’s refreshing that Carrie doesn’t take a standoffish approach to her art. She explains that she loves “the tactile aspects of glass— how it encourages people to touch it. The quality of the material is interesting because it suggests glass’s more functional history— as every day objects that are meant to be touched and held and used.”

Check out Carrie’s work here.