Diary of a Demented Store Owner

Monday 14 May 2012

Figimodo's Experience at Uroboros In the First Person




A few weeks ago Mikey sent me on an adventure to Portland, Oregon (oh yeah… Zenia was there too). As we were waiting at the gate, getting all excited I was thinking about everything Portland has to offer- and most excitedly thinking about Uroboros glass!  With my normal size passport in hand for a miniature sized me, I boarded the plane. After a smooth flight, and a trip on the Max (the light rail system… Zenia) we made it to North Kerby Avenue. But Uroboros wasn’t there. Apparently North Kerby Avenue exists in multiple places and we were in the wrong spot. After a quick call to Kat (Person Extraordinaire) where she rescued us in her green VW Beetle and drove us to the factory.
Once at the factory, we met Eric (the Top Guy) and the rest of the staff. Touring the production side, Kat showed us where and how they mix their colours and how they make all of their glass. As we were given the tour we saw the staff at work making clear iridescent sheet glass. Unfortunately, since we were there in the afternoon we missed all of the super exciting stuff- the staff creating multi colour mixes, blowing fractures, crushing frit and pulling stringers and rods- but we took Kat's word for it that they do it all there!
After our tour, she walked us to the racks of glass so we could pull an order to ship home! We went directly to the System 96 Uncats 
and V-series aisle. (Uncats are Uroboros’ uncategorized sheet glass- meaning they are all one of a kind ‘mistakes’ and the V-series sheets are variants on a colour number that just do not meet up to the high quality standards that Uroboros has set over the years). Both of these categories of glass are strictly tested to ensure they have a COE of 96 and are ready for us fusers. So, by the time I had barely had the chance to absorb anything, Zenia was pulling glass like a maniac. She looked like a kid in a candy store meeting Mickey Mouse while petting a monkey all hopped up on caffeine and pixie stix- it was nuts. But did she pick some glass! There is a multitude of collage glasses on streaky bases, with different coloured bits coming in, some bright solid opals, and some beautiful streaky multicolour mixes! 
After the pulling frenzy, Zenia looked like she was going to crash, so Kat took us out to a nice dinner at a local pub called Pause to get her energy back up. The blue cheese and bacon burger with a Portland made beer was the perfect end to a great day!
Once back in the city, Zenia finished putting the order together to make sure we get everything we need. In a few weeks time we are expecting 3 skids of glass to come in the door!

1 comment:

Doris said...

Just in time for my next visit. Figimodo you are my hero!!