WGK Glass

"Glass is my life. I love glass. A glassblower for more than twenty-five years, I have always had the goal of combining art and functionality to reach a wide spectrum of customers worldwide. The exceptional craftsmanship and the wonderful details in my work make the pieces of this collection some of the most desired art pieces in the glass world. "

Because Thomas Von Koch loves glass so much, it makes it much easier for him to come up with ideas for new products. Sometimes when he is in his quiet area at home, all he does is think of new ideas to present to the world.

Von Koch can pick up a small, elongated glass tube or thin glass rod and make it into just about anything he chooses: a fine wine goblet, a flower vase, or a colorful, exotic bird on a long, clear glass stem that can be stuck into the ground to fly over an outdoor flower bed. His protective eye wear allows him to better see into the glistening orange-yellow flame when he lowers the middle of a small tube into it, holding each end with glove-less fingers, twirling the glass. He sits slightly hunched, a lean figure over a workbench inside the cluttered studio, turning his dreams and ideas into creations.

Swiss-born Von Koch grew up in the German town of Wertheim, a historic glassmaking center, and has gradually become a one-glass impresario. As a student he always wanted to work as a sculptor, something three-dimensional. But since there was a long waiting list for arts school, he started his apprenticeship at Brand Scientific Glass Factory in Wertheim Germany as a glassblower making scientific instruments. In 1984, he and a friend started selling their work at their own art glass company. After years of working together, they decided to go their separate ways. Von Koch then started WGK Glass Art and relocated to the U.S. in 2001.