Beliefs
In Seattle, the land of Wileyware, we believe that
The ordinary can be extraordinary.
Daily activities are an opportunity to bring in more delight and beauty.
Everyday glassware can be functional and beautiful; the same cup can serve juice to your kids or wine to your dinner guests.
A hand-blown drinking glass can be a hand-held kaleidoscope.
Glass has inherent value as a long lasting heirloom material. We understand that its production has an environmental impact and donate a portion of sales to forward thinking groups working to keep carbon in the ground where it belongs.
Making Wileyware
Wileyware glasses are made one at a time at our studio in north Seattle.
Three glass artists work together to make a single drinking glass.
First, we use classic glassblowing tools and techniques to coax a blob of molten glass into the shape of a cylinder.
Next, we sandwich pieces of color-shifting dichroic glass in the base. The glass cylinder is transferred from its initial blowpipe to a secondary metal rod, reheated, and opened up to create a finished drinking glass.
Each glass is hot stamped with a “W” at the bottom. Once made, the glasses are cooled to room temperature over 24-36 hours. Each glass is then dated and signed by Marcia Wiley.
We blow the glasses thick to enhance their delightful optical effects and to ensure that they will have a long, useful life in people's homes.
Explore the full Wileyware collection.
Meet Marcia Wiley
As an artist, I use my creative spark to transform everyday objects and experiences in ways that add delight and meaning to our lives.
I thrive on the "A-ha" moments of daily life and make glasses that create those moments for others. This is my passion and contribution to the world.
My goal as a glass artist is to create stylish drinking glasses whose look and feel delight the user.
I live in Seattle where the changing light and reflection on the cityscape, water, and mountains, inspires how I design and mix color within my glasses.
The glasses are my unique design, influenced by my training at the Pilchuck Glass School, the Pratt Fine Arts Center, and the Rhode Island School of Design.
I hope that when people pour a glass of clean water – which is such a blessing and privilege – and see all the colors shining through it, they will feel grateful and relish in the abundance of daily life.
