We recently connected with Tyler Kimball and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Tyler, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I moved away from renting studios to create my own work to building my own glassblowing studio to work out of in 2014. The studio was up and running in 2015. I moved from making $30,000 per year on my glass art when renting studios to $120,000 in the first year operating my own studio. Now my studio consistently makes over half million dollars worth of glass art per year and employs 6 studio assistants. It was nerve-racking leaping into such an expensive studio without any confidence that everything would work out. The gas and electric bills alone per month for a glassblowing studio are extraordinary. Add in skilled assistants, liability insurance, and the space it take to run a gallery and studio… it was a major gamble.
It’s worked out and now I am making work out of my studio I only ever dreamed of creating.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I began working in stained glass in 1999 as a hobbyist. In 2004, I started working a glassblowing factory in Seattle. That changed my career path and my artistic drive. I still create stained glass, but do stained glass unlike any other artist in the world. I actually blow my own glass to add into the stained glass I make. The installation going into commercial spaces gain accolades and awards regularly. My 20 year-old self would be shocked to see where I am today.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I worked for glassblowing studios to make their work for 12 years before investing in myself. I stepped up my clientele slowly over that time, renting out studio time and creating my own website over time. I even took a night class to learn how to weld so that I could start fabricating my own equipment for my studio long before I relocated to Kansas City, Missouri, where my studio is located now.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Some of the projects I create move from a concept and rendering to engineering drafts to fabrication and finally to installation. Through all that time and effort, there are many times of doubt of whether things will work out or the glass will look the way it is supposed to. It is that final moment when I see everything come together and light pouring through the glass installation that often takes years of work that makes every ounce of hard work and self-doubt worth it. It can also be seeing someone else smile when they see the work that was made or experiencing the environment change as one my creations is installed into a space.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.monarchglassstudio.com
• Instagram: @coach_kimball

Image Credits
Hattie Odell all images except the towers – that is Claire Bryant