How Fusion Glass Can Fuse Your Team
What’s Instructional, Collaborative and Fun For Your Team?
Corporate Event Planners have their work cut out for them when brain-storming fun, new team-building events for their employees. 
Not all employees want to walk over hot coals, climb up a rope or whip through the air on a zip line. And with the slimming-down of event budgets, forays to far-away locations have become less viable these days.
And at the other end of the spectrum, an event during which people sit around at tables and play games has grown stale for many.
Fusion Glass
I recently spent an evening along with a small group of women making fused glass pendants at Idea Field/ FusionGlass Company, a La Mesa, California shop owned by Debbie Solan. She’s an entrepreneur hailing from Ireland with a sunny disposition and a lovely brogue.
Ten women gathered and enjoyed a glass of wine or two, a platter of cheese and crackers and Debbie’s famous brownies. By the evening’s end, we had all created beautiful pieces of jewelry and art while working side by side, conversing and enjoying each other’s company. Even a 90-year-old woman graced us with her presence. And she was able to create her pieces while seated in her wheelchair.
Debbie later fired up everybody’s glass pieces in her kiln.
When I returned to the shop to pick up my pendants I was gratified to see how well they came out. I spoke to Debbie at length about the potential to share this type of team-building experience with corporate clients.
She said “Yes! I go mobile with my fusion-glass supplies and take them to different sorts of small events. Last week, at a bridal shower, all the ladies worked together on one large beautiful fused glass plate for the bride. It turned out spectacularly.”
I told her that I had received many compliments whenever I wore my pendant. “Each piece is so special,” she nodded. “Each is one of a kind, and expresses the artistry of each person.”
Working Together to Create Art
The idea of a group of people all working together to create one amazing piece of art struck me as a great way for a corporate team to come together and have fun while creating something beautiful.
Here in San Diego, the person you would call to make that happen is Debbie at Fusion Glass in La Mesa.
Fusion Glass Around the Nation
A quick surf of the Internet informed me that there are other fusion glass shops around the country that also offer services like that. One in Chicago, called Ignite Glass Studios, offers glass-blowing classes onsite, as well.
Up the coast from San Diego, in Oceanside, Cherrie LaPorte caters to corporate event clients. Under her tutelage, her students have created awe-inspiring pieces including a surfboard for Kashi, the people who make organic cereals. Cherrie describes the process as a way to “guide the group through a fun, structured and highly collaborative art activity. The colorful and versatile medium of fused glass inspires the group to create something beyond their expectations and as each participant is guided in their design they’re taught new techniques to bring out the best of their creativity.”
Up the coast a bit further, in Portland, Oregon, there is Live Laugh Love Art where you can learn how to blow glass, weld metal, paint pottery and ceramic, and fuse glass.
On the other end of the country I found The Amazing Art Studio in Maryland.
So it seems that I am not the first to come up with the idea of creating collaborative art as a team-building exercise. That’s a good thing because that means these entrepreneurial businesses are ready to cater to you. And if you want “the mountain to come to Mohammad,” you can locate a studio on wheels that will travel to you.
So “let your fingers do the walking” and find a studio near you that will be able to fulfill your desires for a fun-filled learning experience for your team.
