Every First Thursday, we open our Pearl District doors to the makers who share our values and this month, we're spotlighting one of our longtime favorites: glass artist Lynn Read of Vitreluxe.
How Vitreluxe began
Lynn's introduction to glass wasn't planned. As an undergrad, he visited his school's career development office looking for opportunities, and stumbled into an internship with glass artist Anthony Corradetti. "That week changed the course of my life," he says. He was captivated immediately – by the material, the process, and the possibilities it offered – and has been working in glass ever since.
The name Vitreluxe reflects that first spark. It combines "vitreous" — glassy, glossy — with "deluxe," a nod to the refinement and modernist sensibility Lynn brings to every piece: elevated materials, thoughtful design, a pursuit of quality.
A practice built on many influences
Lynn's early mentors, Sam Stang and Robyn Mix, opened his eyes to the possibilities of working with glass. From there, his influences widened, sculptors like Tony Cragg and Rebecca Horn, and Martin Puryear's narrative approach to form. As he dug deeper into the history of glassmaking itself, he found kinship with masters like Alfredo Barbini, Yoichi Ohira, and Timo Sarpaneva, whose restraint and mastery of material shaped his own instinct for objects that are both sculptural and functional.
Process as conversation
Ask Lynn to describe his process, and he'll tell you it's best understood in person — but the short version starts with an idea, sometimes technical, sometimes just an image that appears and asks to be trusted. From there: sketches, prototypes, and the practical work of figuring out how the piece will actually be made.
Once the making begins, Lynn describes it as a conversation between the original idea and the glass itself — the material often suggesting its own adjustments along the way. After the hot work comes annealing, cold working, and finishing: a long series of small decisions that balance the original vision against what the glass revealed in the process.
What is Lynn known for? A distinct sense of color, and a commitment to clean, technical work. As he puts it, plainly: "I refuse to make kitsch. Life is too short for that."
Where the inspiration comes from
Lynn's forms draw from the natural world — basalt, granite, foliage, and the quiet strength and structure found in those materials. His color sense comes from somewhere more atmospheric: sunsets, the blue hour, the unexpected variety of color hiding inside shadow.
He rarely reaches for primary colors, preferring to balance intensity with something more muted or unexpected — a habit that's also led him into printmaking, where he can push color relationships even further than glass allows.
Every piece, Lynn says, is part of a larger conversation. Rather than designing in isolation, he wants each collection to feel connected and intentional, with every object belonging to the larger body of work.
Why Vitreluxe and The Joinery
Lynn describes The Joinery as a good neighbor — a business that's built a warm, welcoming maker community while staying genuinely accessible. He points to our B Corp status and commitment to local sourcing as things that resonate with his own practice. Glassmaking and solid wood furniture, he notes, share a lot of common ground: both rooted in material, process, and the value of skilled hands.
What to expect this First Thursday
Lynn is bringing new work to the showroom — fresh prints inspired by folded paper, along with new colors in glass he's been developing. It's a great chance to see where his practice is headed next.
Stop by the Pearl District showroom this First Thursday to meet Lynn and see the new work firsthand.
