Glass Vegas 2020: Come Experience the Love
Well-known and respected as an organized, professionally run trade show, Glass Vegas promotes functional glass artists and brings together buyers and sellers of everything from simple dry pipes to rigs and bubblers to headies created by the nation’s finest artists. The success of Glass Vegas can be attributed to a lot of hard work by the Glass Vegas trade show team, including mother-daughter duo LeeAnne and Amy Short, who made the love and bonds formed in this community an important part of doing business.
The 2020 Glass Vegas Expo will be held January 28 through 30 at Bally’s Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas, with over 300 vendor booths representing between 500 to 600 independent glass artists as well as leading wholesale vendors. The show provides attending retailers with the opportunity to buy quality glass and also to experience live music and painting, live flameworking demos by an all-star roster, the Millie Meet Up, the Boro Derby, and the World Series of Glass.
After establishing the successful Glass Craft and Bead Expo 25 years ago, Lee Anne wanted to repeat her trade show success in the functional glass world by creating a trade show that would help artists solve current challenges. She says: “It was important to us from the beginning to support and promote independent artists who are taking a real hit from imported glass. Glass Vegas gives potential buyers an opportunity to see handmade functional glass first hand. We showcase the biggest names in glassblowing as well as the hottest up-and-coming artists. Retail buyers can get amazing deals while making connections with the artists face to face and growing their businesses.”
LeeAnne and Amy run Glass Vegas as a one-of-a-kind, industry only trade show for high-end functional art that feels more like a family reunion. In this conversation, they discuss the history of the show, last year’s World Series of Glass and Retailer of the Year winners, and what to expect this January 2020 at Glass Vegas.
