N.C. Glass Center to expand in Black Mountain with grant
Buncombe County Tourism Development Association awards $330,000 for nonprofit organization’s second location
The Valley Echo
October 31, 2022
A rendering depicts plans for the N.C. Glass Center facility in Black Mountain, which was awarded a $330,000 grant from the Buncombe County TDA. The location is expected to open in early 2024. Image courtesy of N.C. Glass Center
An Asheville-based nonprofit organization that offers public access to glass studios and galleries has announced plans to open a second location in Black Mountain, allowing the organization to accommodate a growing roster of artists and students.
The N.C. Glass Center, which has operated in the River Arts District since acquiring the Asheville Glass Center in 2016, was awarded $330,000 for the project, the Buncombe County Tourism Development Association announced in an Oct. 26 press release. The location, which will bring a hot shop, flame shop and gallery to East State Street in downtown Black Mountain, is expected to open in early 2024.
The building it will occupy, which features a river rock facade and large display windows facing the road, was constructed in 1934 and is the former home of the Rug & Jug craft store.
The N.C. Glass Center has announced plans to build a second location in the former Rug & Jug building along East State Street in Black Mountain. The Asheville-based nonprofit organization was awarded a $330,000 grant for the project by the Buncombe County TDA. Photo by Fred McCormick
“We are excited to become part of the Black Mountain business community,” N.C. Glass Center Executive Director Janice Gouldthorpe said in a release announcing the grant. “We also look forward to partnering with other local education organizations to expand opportunities for people to learn about glassmaking.”
The River Arts District site, which is running at capacity, will continue to offer classes, artist rental equipment and retail space.
The funds were awarded through a grant from the Buncombe County Tourism Product Development Fund, which is supported through the county’s occupancy tax, paid by visitors who stay overnight at local lodging establishments. The purpose of the TPDF is to provide financial assistance for major tourism projects to substantially increase patronage of lodging facilities in Buncombe County. To date, more than $50 million has been awarded to 39 community projects.
The funding received by the Glass Center will be used to help purchase and install equipment needed for the space in Black Mountain.
"We appreciate the support of the TDA for this project,” the organization stated in its release. “We are confident that we will attract tourists to our new location and become an integral part of the regional economy through offering exciting experiences and purchasing opportunities for our visitors.”
The Glass Center is dedicated to education, exploration and collaboration in all forms of glass. Their shared studios are priced to help emerging artists launch their careers, while the organization’s furnaces, torches and kilns enable established glass artists to pursue new and ambitious challenges.
The center’s gallery showcases work from undiscovered and established glass artists in Western N.C., while offering instructional programs to thousands of aspiring glass art students.
The grant for the Glass Center was included in the $15.6 million awarded to 10 projects through the TPDF in 2022. The TDA also awarded $90,000 in funding for events in festivals in the county, including $5,000 to the Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce to support the Sourwood Festival and $2,000 for the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center’s Walk Through History Series.