The Studio
Visitors to our studio and shop are welcome to view the glassblowing free of charge during working hours.
Our shop at Jerpoint is closed due to Covid-19. We are currently fulfilling online orders.
Working hours:
Monday to Thursday: 9am to 4pm
Friday: 9am to 1pm
The Master Blower Experience
For a more in depth and hands on experience private and group sessions are available for booking.
For further information please contact us.
Meet the Team
While visiting the studio at Jerpoint you will meet family member, Rory Leadbetter, Master Glassmaker James Long who has worked with the family for nearly 40 years and Kathleen Leadbetter, a glass artist in her own right, affectionately known as “The Boss.” Inside the studio wall you will enter a live action experience of glass making in the 2000-year-old tradition and be brought into the heart of a family whose compelling story forms part of each design.
Witness the Craft
Working with a material over 1100ºC the glassblower’s day ranges from the balancing act of shaping a paperweight to the intricate dance that forms a wine glass, involving 5 separate gathers of hot molten glass. Yet the simple hand tools of the glass blower have hardly changed since their origins 2000 years ago when glassblowing was introduced.
Watch the short video below and learn more in this section about glassblowing and the magical dance that sees flowing red hot liquid become the beautiful finished piece. Video courtesy of Ireland's Ancient East. At Jerpoint we have free weekday glassblowing demos.