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Mr. Wonka
09-13-2007, 07:07 PM
8th Annual Art Glass Invitational (AGI): Monday, August 18th, through Saturday, August 23rd, 2008


After much consideration from all of your input, Elaine and I are re-mortgaging the house (again) to make the following improvements:

1- The biggest improvement will be an additional building with a concrete floor to add to our collection of structures. It will be 18’ wide x 30’ long, and have a 10’ x 18’ covered porch. This new building will include 16 – 18 indoor stations, and 6 -8 permanent outdoor work stations, giving us a grand total of 60+ work spaces throughout 5 buildings… just about everybody will have their own torch station! One more thing- the benches in this building will be shorter in height, and risers will be available if you need to raise the height of your torch.

2- We are purchasing an industrial ice machine that produces 250 pounds of ice every 24 hours. There will also be refrigerated water spigots to refill your drinks (this will work out much better than water coolers in each building)

3- All of the meals will be included in the price, with a team of cooks serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, including an expanded vegetarian menu. Free food will be available from morning until the wee hours of the night / morning.

4- The sound system in The Lewis building will be upgraded to a 100 watt system with 4 speakers, and several pedestal fans will be installed for cooling.

5- Track lighting will be installed over the main demo bench so the front lights can be turned off for better viewing of slide presentations and video projection.

6- Kilns: We will be purchasing 4 or 5 more kilns, so there will be ample space for annealing your work.

7- Port-o-johns: We have decided not to go for the air conditioned units, but all of the better units are already reserved for next year (flushing toilets and hand washing stations), and we will put a layer of straw / hay in front of them to keep the mud down in case it rains.

8- Rubbish removal: Next year we will have more garbage cans (with lids), and increase the trash removal to twice a day.

9- We will provide (2) 10’ x 20’canopies for outdoor shelter (in addition to the covered porch).

10- Beer tent: In the past we have had a policy of “no alcohol on the premises”. Elaine and I appreciate the respect we’ve been given in the past by our guests not getting too drunk to be a hazard to themselves or others, and this year we have decided to provide a 10’ x 10’ tent on the property to serve beer. We’ll probably put the “Kentucky Crew” in charge of that area since they seem to handle that situation every year anyway : )

11- Misc: A larger camp fire area, lights throughout the back yard, improved vending area for Joe and Kristian, a private telephone / computer room on the upper floor, expanded selection of glass working videos, and a few other things.




If you are interested in attending, you may want to start planning for this right away… I’m sure it will fill up fast, as we plan on limiting the tickets to 65 again this year. The smaller crowd worked out very well and we would prefer to keep it smaller rather than make it larger.

With all of the added expenses we will have to raise the ticket price to $600.00. It actually should be a bit more than that, but we are trying to keep it as affordable as possible for everyone.

We’re already working on the demonstrations for next year, and I’ll post information as it becomes available… it will cover a very broad spectrum of various aspects of glass working, from old school to new techniques, and everything in between.


Please give us a call at (724) 791-2100, or drop us an e-mail: info@glass123.com if you would like to be part of this unique event next year.

Much love,

Tom and Elaine Doner

Mac Maestro
09-13-2007, 07:34 PM
Wow. No getting around it.




You're the man.

(and Elaine is pretty damn cool too :) )

somberbear
09-13-2007, 07:34 PM
sign me up already wonka im there. that is if you guys want me back this next year.

peace
rob

UmaJulz
09-13-2007, 07:42 PM
Wow Tom! That's my kind of plan!

Build it and we will come- even if only half of that happens, it'll be the bomb.

I'll be there with bells on!

UmaJulz
09-13-2007, 07:44 PM
Oh, and, I'll get a new banner made for you asap!

jcherrellglass
09-13-2007, 07:58 PM
HOLY MEGA EXTRA SUPER AWESOME! It's almost not fair to get us this excited so far in advance, Tom. How am I gonna get any sleep between now and then??





Wow!!!

Mr. Wonka
09-13-2007, 08:57 PM
Thanks for the responses folks. All of this stuff WILL happen... I wouldn't make any empty promises.

We should be receiving a check next week for the new mortgage, and things will start happening right away. As Elaine put it, "We're going for broke, and hope we don't go broke" LOL!

We're both looking forward to many more years of AGI, and we have some immediate as well as long term plans for our facility (see "The future of Wonka World" Thread)

Hey- keep your eyes open for the next editions of The Flow and GlassLine Magazines... there will be some really cool articles coming out from Deborah Carlson ad Bandhu, with plenty of photos :)

Much love,
Tom and Elaine

cheng076
09-13-2007, 11:01 PM
After attending the 2007 AGI my impression was that it was by no stretch of the imagination what I had expected. It was all that and more. I felt previledged to be there. I learned so much I haven't had time to put much of it to use. I will be there next year.

All the new things going in and planned are remarkable and sound great.

One thing I thought somewhat strange was that the facility was not more utilized for these type events. Perhaps I misunderstood when you and I talked about it but such a venue needs to be utilized. Perhaps a second or third AGI per year, restricting participants to once per year. Just a thought! I know the cost in time and effort to put one of these things together.

I, for one, cannot express thanks enough for your efforts. Put me down for next year; I'll send the fee asap.

P. J. Hicks

Orrza
09-14-2007, 02:38 AM
Wow Tom... that sounds amazing!
I would never even think it needed any improvement but now I see how great the next year could be...
I will make an effort since I HAVE to make it next year too... I already miss the guys and girls and I have to say my head is full of ideas of "what to make" after seeing so much this time.

Thank you again for this event!
Orr.

J B
09-14-2007, 04:47 AM
Woo,Woo short peeps building . ( I won't fill like I'm riding a motorcycle w/ Ape Hangers ) OK, now for the short people jokes -- lets here them ?

Everything sounds "great" !!!

Yep, put two ( 2 ) more down for next year.

You two are the GREATEST ! ! !

PEACE Joe & Donna

themoch
09-14-2007, 06:57 AM
Dear Tom & Elaine,

You guys have truly made an awesome facility and event. Every time i think it cannot get better, you pull out even more stops.

$600 is a very fair price for the experience AND food. I can't wait till next year!

Greymatter Glass
09-14-2007, 08:07 AM
Save me a ticket, I'll get you cash in a few weeks :)

-Doug

gypsea
09-14-2007, 12:01 PM
if you build it....they will come......!

Islandglass Man
09-14-2007, 12:50 PM
Hey Tom reserve an out station for Bear:bouncy:

TorchedGlass
09-15-2007, 12:07 PM
Sign me up again too. This year was one of the best weeks of my life. I am already ready for next year.

steven p selchow
09-15-2007, 08:53 PM
Save bear a parking spot by the tree..he he...Can't wait to see your new car.

steve

Cosmo
09-17-2007, 10:43 AM
Come Hell or high water, I'll be there in 08. The last two years it seemed like everything that could go wrong went wrong and prevented me from coming. But I've already got the dates off and the cash sitting here, so nothing is going to stop me from being there next year....

newmexicomagma
09-25-2007, 10:26 AM
im there next year. this time im going to try to invest in expando clothing so i can bring everything in my pocket. thanks again tom and elaine, especially for letting me use your phone so much to track down my luggage. i hope u still have tickets available. i think i have 2 friends that are coming next year. but it was a amazing trip and i will be there next year. oh and the beer tent is a wonderful addition.

Greymatter Glass
01-19-2008, 02:34 PM
check is in the mail.

w00t.

And Tom, I think I'll bring the RV, and just get a better mattress for it, so save me a spot!

-Doug

Greymatter Glass
01-28-2008, 01:46 PM
I got my receipt.... can't wait for the actual care package :)

I'll just start playing the CD from last year right now....

Big Jay
01-28-2008, 01:48 PM
How are you looking on tickets? Maestro said this is a must do even for a beginner like myself. I might go rob a convience store if tickets are already running low.

themoch
01-28-2008, 02:25 PM
i have my CD here at work... and loaded into my iPod... does that make me super lame?

we actually play some of the Wonka music when things get slow here in the old cube-farm

magualosa
06-22-2008, 09:32 AM
Wow!
Is a great event!
I'm so glad to be there!

quartz guy
06-23-2008, 09:39 PM
is there room for a couple of quartz guys ?

JANKYglass
06-23-2008, 10:03 PM
quartz is for sissies

Greymatter Glass
06-23-2008, 10:17 PM
Only if you bring enough for quartz for everyone.

I need more 5mm-10mm punties.