Shannon Norris and Erin Cartee first started lampworking in late 1999 in the small town just west of Myrtle Beach,SC and for the first three years of business taught themselves the trade.This husband and wife team first got started when Shannon bought Erin the very basic lampworking equipment for a Christmas gift.She got started and soon thereafter Shannon thought it looked like a lot of fun so he joined in and tried his hand at glasswork.
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By mid 2000 Erin was getting good enough to sell a piece here and there and Shannon followed close behind learning what would soon be a full time business for them both.It was about that time that they started their first website which didn't really get a lot of traffic but this was the first step to a wonderful lifestyle.They continued working glass learning new techniques for their craft from fellow lampworkers and friends in the business, working at it part time until Erin became skilled enough to take it to a full time level. |
In late 2002 Erin and Shannon did their first art show in Hilton Head ,SC and were blown away by the results! It was at that time they realized that they might be able to make a living doing what they love.They continued to do small amounts of shows throughout 2003 and in early 2004 decided to move their family to Conover,NC,a little closer to the mountains,near Erin's family where artwork is generally more appreciated and also where they were more centrally located to travel farther on the show circuit. In 2004 they attended their first formal schooling in the art at the Corning Museum of Glass where they took a course to further their skills in the making of Venitian style stemware with upcoming glass artist Eric Goldschmidt.The class was so helpful that they decided to go back to Corning later in the year to take a course with renowned glass artist Mike Plane.In those two weeks they learned more than they could imagine involving the use of glass powders,frit and working with larger pieces not seen as often in the lampworking world. They both work as full time lampworkers and full time parents to their nine year old son Isaac.
