“My name is Kyle Troop aka Mr. Kyle, founder and owner of glass-blowing company, Glass Flo Arts in Maryland. I’m originally from Poolesville, MD and I’m currently a Germantown, Maryland resident.”

My Dad always told me, “Do what you love and the money will come." I remember when I was 17 or 18 years old, my late friend Pauly Stoll were talking about glass design and he said, “we should fuckin’ do that!” It took me until I was 30 years old to understand what my Dad was telling me and to take Pauly’s advice,  realizing that I wanted to pursue a career in the glass world. I may not make a lot of money, but I take great pleasure in what I do every day.  In fact, I reinvest everything I make, and sometimes more, to nurture my business, like building out my art studio, purchasing new tools, ordering new hype colors, and keeping a stable inventory of raw materials. 

Since I was a child, I’ve always had a fascination with glass and glass design. From marbles to pendants and everything in between. I was first introduced to glass pieces as a child and grew a fond appreciation for the art of glass-designed items. After being introduced to cannabis as a young adult, I took an interest in smoking as well as the smoking pieces themselves, like glass bongs and glass pipes. I thought these were first made in molds, however I later learned that there was more of an art form in the creation of these pieces. It wasn’t until I met glass artist Ronnie "CRONDO619" Chavez in 2007 that I really took an interest in creating glass pieces for myself.

I first met Ronnie after ordering a glass piece as a buddy’s wedding gift. He offered to design a custom piece for my friend and the final product was amazing. I was so impressed by Ronnie’s design and realized that I wanted to learn to glass-blow myself. I ordered pieces directly from Ronnie until in 2011 when I decided I wanted to take a crack at learning his craft. I asked Ronnie for advice and he offered to take me in to his home in Washington state for a week and learn how to glass blow. So I saved some money and booked my flight in October 2011 to spend a couple of weeks in Pullman, Washington with Ronnie Chavez.  

I took Ronnie’s week-long introductory course and it changed my life. I came back from Washington with a newfound purpose and immediately began building a glass-blowing studio. By January 2012, I was ready to pursue my new career in glass-blowing art. I’ve been a glass-blower artist for 8 years now.

“Learning to be a glassblowing artist with no prior experience was a huge challenge…opening my own studio required constantly re-educating myself and learning new things on my own.”

Learning to be a glassblowing artist with no prior experience was a huge challenge. Having Ronnie as a coach was great and I initially learned a lot from him, but opening my own studio required constantly re-educating myself and learning new things on my own. I remember creating my first pieces and they weren’t really successful - I couldn’t even give them away to folks. However, I was persistent and kept working and practicing every day. In the average week I would spend about 60-80 hours a week on just glassblowing!  

My big brother who helped me build the studio came to watch me work about 3 months in or so and said, "Well, if you suck this bad in 6 months maybe consider doing something else." So I read more books, kept practicing, and I would say about 5 months in I was able to make the first piece I was incredibly proud to share. 

Once I became proficient in creating the glass pieces, I learned how to actually sell my work. It was a grueling learning process and it remains a challenge for me today. I have to organize inventory, present my pieces, display them to the market. On most days I just want to make more inventory, but I have to convince myself I can only sell so many pipes with them sitting on my shelf, so better donkey up and present your work out there to the world. 

“Doing what you love is a great reward for hard work. To have someone buy my art and use it perhaps everyday as a part of their medicine or recreationally is maybe one of the coolest feelings in the world.”

Doing what you love is a great reward for hard work. To have someone buy my art and use it perhaps everyday as a part of their medicine or recreationally is maybe one of the coolest feelings in the world. In addition to the art, working in this field has afforded me the chance to meet dozens of new people whom I now consider friends, and many more acquaintances. 

I knew that I’d truly learned my craft when I displayed my work at a festival a couple of years ago and was complimented on my designed pieces. The customer was impressed and asked if I made these all myself out of my home and I proudly responded to him, “I do”!  That customer became a close friend of mine, Chris “Captain Crunch Glass” Jordan. To me that meant someone who appreciated glass actually was impressed with my work.  The many custom projects that get positive feedback is humbling and continues to give me the motivation I need to keep on creating more glass art.

I’m also very proud of how far my studio has come. We now have 3 bench spaces with torches ready, we make our own oxygen, I am now teaching beginner courses. Would have never thought I'd have come this far 8 years ago.

“I just can’t compete with low-cost labor from imported pieces, so I have to ensure my designs stay current and stand out from the ever-growing crowd.” 

One challenge in my works is staying up with market trends and consumer preferences. It is challenging to stay current with changing trends and talents. There are a lot of amazing artists in the game now so lots of choices for all types of consumers, collectors, and art enthusiasts.  Additionally, it’s hard just running a company in this space when business owners would rather get a dozen pipes for $10 so they can mark-them up by over 100% for $25.  I just can’t compete with low-cost labor from imported pieces, so I have to ensure my designs stay current and stand out from the ever-growing crowd. That also includes educating consumers why they should want to buy from me or a local artist rather than a head shop that deals mostly with imported pieces that was designed and made with no soul or a piece made in a studio that doesn’t follow any safety protocols like no proper ventilation, design standards, or pieces with drilled holes that may have micro glass residue particles that can often be pretty dangerous to an end-user.  So I have to constantly stay on top of the market and explain how I can be the better option for your glass-piece needs. For instance, if you buy a piece from me, it's guaranteed for life, which means I’ll repair it for free.  Does your local head shop offer that?

Working in the cannabis industry and in glass design can be hard, but I have an amazing network of friends and family. My wonderful wife is always being supportive and constantly rooting me on and reminding me that I don’t suck at glassblowing. Ronnie is another mentor. He not only taught be how to make glass and marble pipes, but he also he showed me a world of glass beyond anything I’d ever seen, from multi-thousand dollar pieces to the prep work that it takes to make them. My Dad and my stepmother, Mariko provided me with critical support when I launched my company, letting me turn their basement into a mini bong factory and beyond. I’m also grateful for the support and advice from my good friends Chris “Captain Crunch Glass" Jordan and  Brandan O’Berry, my shop-mate for the past few years.

About Glass Flo Art:

Kyle Troop is the founder and owner of Glass Flo Art where he blows custom glass for everyone to enjoy!  You'll be impressed by the high quality of his work.  Each piece is made with great care and a strong attention to detail.  All of Kyle’s work is unique.  Many pieces have the same style but are rarely exactly alike.  He thrives on custom work, so please allow what you see to inspire a new piece of your own!  Almost every color is available, so the possibilities are endless!  Kyle loves challenges, so please contact him your ideas - and make sure to look out for the smiley face signature on his work!