Minds blown

Saturday morning, beneath the roasting early-May sun, head gaffer and owner of Wimberley Glassworks Tim de Jong labors with production manager Wes Sweetser in front of a red-hot furnace to produce an elegant Tiffany-style lampshade.

The pair work in tandem before a mesmerized audience, cracking what de Jong calls “historically-accurate bad jokes” about the ancient art of glass blowing. The audience, a mixture of out-of-town vacationers and locals, hold their breaths as de Jong and Sweetser hand off the glassblowing pipe between them, expertly shaping a glistening ball of molten glass into something resembling an elegantly speckled sea creature.

Tim de Jong effortlessly interacts with the crowd. This is not a big surprise. As of this month, Wimberley Glassworks will celebrate its 30th anniversary — an impressive landmark considering that most glass blowing studios average about four years in operation.

So what is it that has made Wimberley Glassworks such a successful endeavor?

Tim de Jong has a very clear idea about that. “I owe everything to the people in this area,” he said. “The people in this area have supported this studio over and over and over again. I can’t even get the words out how much I appreciate it.”

Therefore, in the effort to show his appreciation, Wimberley Glassworks will hold a Pearl of a Party on Saturday, June 11, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to celebrate three decades of introducing to guests from around the ancient art of glass blowing.

“The 30th anniversary is the Pearl, so it’s going to be Caribbean-themed,” de Jong said. “We’re going to have treasure hunts. We have a few bands lined up. We have a whole new line we’re launching. It’s basically a party to say thank you.”

Tim de Jong first became interested in glassblowing as a child when his family visited Salamander Glassworks when he was 8 years old. “I was so fascinated,” de Jong said. “I watched them all day.”

This fascination was rekindled as an adult, when he saw glassblowing classes offered at the university he would later choose to attend. But this was only after his father made him work his way home cross country for over a year.

“At the time I thought I made a deal with the devil, but it was really my Dad,” de Jong said. As the youngest of four kids, he described himself as spoiled, so sheltered by his parents, he never even watched the news.

“When I got out of high school, I told him I didn’t want to go to college,” de Jong said. “He was the first in his family to go to college, so he knew how crappy life could be without a better education.”

At the time, the de Jongs lived in New Jersey. De Jong’s father gave him $300 cash and a one-way ticket to Seattle. “He said, ‘You work your way home. If you still don’t want to go to college, we’ll talk.’ He never thought I would take him up on the challenge, but once I did, he couldn’t back down. It was hands down the best damn thing the guy ever did for me.”

De Jong spent this next year crisscrossing the country, working his way back home, spending some of his time living on the street.

“It really sucks on the street,” de Jong said. “It’s terrifying. I did incredible jobs and some really terrible jobs. I ended up in Austin. I lived under the Congress Avenue bridge for six weeks.”

Tim de Jong said that the experience taught him three vital life lessons:

“One, it taught me where absolute bottom is,” he said. “Not a lot of people in this country know where that is. I would expect that 90% of Ukraine knows where that is. Two, how far can you push until I fall? And three, if I fall, it’s no big deal. I knew how to get out.”

When de Jong finally returned home, he told his father that he wanted to attend art school.

“He was really pissed off,” de Jong laughed. But they worked out an arrangement, and de Jong did attend college, studying class at Alfred University in New York and earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in glass art from Tyler’s School of Art at Temple University in Pennsylvania.

In 1991, de Jong came to Texas on vacation and fell in love with the Texas Hill Country, where he decided to set up shop.

Since that time, the studio has grown from a one-man operation to a seven-person team, creating art glass collections, lighting designs, and art installations featured in luxury and commercial properties nationally, most notably Keurig/Dr. Pepper.

Wimberley Glassworks has also been featured in Texas Country Reporter, Southern Living Presents and the Texas Bucket List. For five years, de Jong also worked a glassblowing gig at the Texas Renaissance Festival.

“It let so many people know where I was,” de Jong said. “When I came back here, the studio took off even more. It was a very organic way of getting the word out.”

Tim de Jong lives in Wimberley with his family and with the Glassworks, which he considers an extension of that family. He attributes much of the studio’s success to his extended community and to the town of Wimberley as well.

“I grew up around a lot of people who were just like, ‘you know, I really wish I had tried this when I was younger, and I never did and I always regretted it.’ So here I was, faced with the opportunity of doing it, and I was like, ‘I would rather try and fail than never try,” de Jong said. “Sometimes, when I come to work and I drive over the hill, I look at the building and think, ‘I can’t believe I actually pulled it off. There’s so many reasons why I shouldn’t have. But I’m here for a reason. It’s beautiful. This area of the country is so beautiful. It’s so special.”

Pearl of a Party will take place at the Wimberley Glassworks Gallery and Studio, 6469 Ranch Road 12, San Marcos, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event will feature steal drums and reggae with Roland & The Roots Riddim, Caribbean cocktails, an island-inspired food truck and a live glassblowing demonstration.

For more information, check the event page at wgw.com/pages/pearlofaparty. Eventbrite ticket holders will be entered into an additional drawing.

Twitter: @celestecook74

“The people in this area have supported this studio over and over and over again.”

— Tim de Jong, Wimberley Glassworks

Pearl of a Party

Treasuring 30 years at Wimberley Glassworks

Saturday, June 11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wimberley Glassworks Gallery and Studio, 6469 Ranch Road 12, San Marcos

Event page: wgw.com/pages/pearlofaparty.

Eventbrite ticket holders will be entered into an additional drawing.