Glass Blower Feedback Thread

With all the new threads introducing blowers to FC, it's time we consider making a dedicated feedback thread. There are enough posts and threads about enough blowers that I think it's warranted. That way an FCer who comes in just wanting to hook up with a blower and doesn't have time to read all the dedicated threads, they could at least have a subjective rating by other FCers to begin with.

I was thinking a 1 to 5 scale, with some short notes about working with the artist. Hopefully the rating will include not only how the piece looks/functions, but also how the transaction went overall (communication, shipping practices, etc). I know it's subjective, but it was the subjective opinions of FCers that have steered me towards good vapes, so why not the same for glass?

What say ye, good FCers?

Good thread idea @syrupy , it can indeed be quite tedious trying to read through some of the threads.

I would like to give a five star review to @VaPeD&CoNfUsEd who we are lucky to have here with us. Unfortunately most blowers actually don't interact with us here on the forum but Joda is quite active here and takes care of all our custom blown vape accessories.

I have made multiple orders and now own ten different pieces of art from him. Every order went very smooth and he fulfilled my request. His pricing is very reasonable. He packages his shipments with care and provides tracking numbers. He even hooked me up with a free dabber in one of my orders. It was a super cool surprise.

I highly recommend ordering from him

I'd like to give a 4.5 star rating to Rick "Bird" Barry, 'rickbirdbarry' on IG. I've had 3 transactions with him, 2 more in the works, all were smooth and I felt the pieces were good quality value. I would say his work has a lot of heart, a lot of creativity behind it. Lines aren't always super smooth, but there's something fun about his pieces. They look hand-made, often unique. Up-and-comer, improving with each piece. Communication good, packing is fine . Has that air of a genuine person, not a rock star, so easy to deal with.

Not sure how he is with custom pieces, still working on one with him. He makes a lot of worked recyclers, mini bubblers and dropdowns. Sometimes when his stock is up he'll offer up some great deals. He just posted a fumed mini beaker with removable downstem that is sick with color. Another FCer grabbed it, but I hear it's a 'bird production model' so I may request one yet.

Sorry for the late bump, but I'd like to update the review above. The custom piece from August hasn't begun and no start date in sight. I know he's had some health problems, but he's cranked out a WHOLE lot of work since August. Not sure what's going on Bird. I was his "best customer" when I wrote the previous post. I can wait for a piece, but when communication dries up and things are left wide open .... Sorry gotta dock a star to.... 3.5.

If you find something he's already done and the price is right, I say go for it. Some don't vortex real strong but many are lookers and his fuming very good. His work is improving which is a good sign.

This has also proved to me this thread can't really work. A blower that is awesome today can dry up tomorrow. In Cory's thread I recommended Distilled Glass, who disappeared before I could even get a quote on my order. The glass game seems to move very fast. Caveat Emptor.

syrupy said:

In Cory's thread I recommended Distilled Glass, who disappeared before I could even get a quote on my order. The glass game seems to move very fast. Caveat Emptor.

Click to expand...

That's too bad about how things progressed, appreciate the update though.

One thing I do want to point out is that Mike of Distilled Glass is still going strong. Another member has a custom piece arriving next week. I think you were thinking of Doughboy Glass?

Roth said:

That's too bad about how things progressed, appreciate the update though.

One thing I do want to point out is that Mike of Distilled Glass is still going strong. Another member has a custom piece arriving next week. I think you were thinking of Doughboy Glass?

Click to expand...

Oh thanks for catching my error. Last thing we need is rumors of disappearing blowers. I've seen his scientific work so it will be cool to see his worked. He looks to be in the 'sweet spot' on his way up. More on that later...

So I heard back from Bird after some bitching on my part, and we're going ahead with my order. I can't find anyone else who does oldschool solid fuming like him. If his recent pieces are any indication, I should be pretty pleased, and will be pleaed to upgrade my review. Check out his IG, I see everything posted is for sale, and that dish/dabber may be re-igniting my GAS...

See how quickly blowers appear and re-appear? There's a sweet spot in an artist's development, where they are learning and improving quickly, but they still offer really good prices and are dying to do custom work in the near future.

I was never a fan of the saying but will some blower please TAKE MY MONEY for a custom piece?!?! haha

From my limited experience with customs, I'm not having good luck with communication. If someone has advice I'm open to it. What I find is the initial talk and order... then... silence. Then a couple months later I want to know where we are, what's my place in line or how long before starting. And sometimes the response is... what order? haha

How can I get better communication from these guys? Am I just expecting too much, and everyone just places their order and waits months and months for an email or text? Is there even a line formed for orders? If I don't sa7y "what's up?" they may have lost or forgotten the order, but when I say hey it's been a while, it seems to trigger defensiveness. Is there a handbook for custom orders, or are we all winging it? Wait, don't answer that.

Just circling back to update. It's been almost 3 months since the last post. Since then, still can't get my custom order for a worked claisen and matching stoppers. My last two interactions via message were disturbing. One is when he announced he's as good as Gordo now (price increase?), and the second where he said he doesn't have time to do my order because he's a full-time blower now and doesn't have time for Kleins.

I reminded him that my order was not a klein, but it stuck with me, imagining some kid out there trying to get a klein made, and he gets treated like bird poop.

Wishing you the best Bird, but, um, no thanks.