Shayne and I met in the most modern glass-artist way possible — on Instagram.

At the time, we were both working in New England and both running “blow-your-own” style classes out of hot shops. He happened to visit my studio on his birthday, and with the help of a few friends, I surprised him by having him make his own glass cupcake. We kicked off a friendship and creative connection that’s continued ever since.

Right now, Shayne is in a really unique chapter of his life. After more than 13 years of working full-time with soft glass and Borosilicate he’s stepped away from glass as an income and has transitioned into a career as a middle school teacher.

Even so, his years in glass have laid a foundation that he carries with him, and he’s far from done exploring what glassmaking means to him.

In this episode, Shayne talks about his early years in theater and martial arts, and how he first discovered glass in college at Salem State. He shares the story of cold-calling every studio he could find until one finally agreed to teach him in exchange for work — an opportunity he stuck with for years until that studio eventually dissolved. From there, he built a home torch setup and hustled his way into selling his work, mostly through networking, persistence, and calling shops directly.

He also walks us through how rock climbing eventually led him to finding a new hot shop, where he transitioned into working for someone else. Shayne opens up about the grind of being a production spoon maker, and the very real differences between working independently at the torch for yourself versus working in a hot shop environment as an employee.

We dig into the big feelings of identity shifts that come with leaving the glass world as a full-time career and how he found his path into teaching middle school. He reflects on the importance of having passions, stability, and community outside of your work, to avoid burnout. He also talks about how stepping away from glass as his main income has actually opened the door to bigger creative ideas. Pieces to make that don’t need to sell, and concepts that he wants to explore.

Of course, he wraps it all up with some truly incredible words of wisdom, so make sure to listen until the very end.