Our Story
Say it With Glass began one afternoon when Sam’s husband whacked a mosquito in their kitchen leaving in its wake, a giant broken circle. Just kidding! Well…sort of? This event was the beginning of Sam’s tinkering in glass and let’s just say that this “window of opportunity” was gearing up to not only to become something truly beautiful, but the potential for a whole a glassy movement!
As Sam began taking classes, and doing her own research, she realized that there was a whole big beautiful glass art world out there…but the connection she was seeking and her approach to art-making left her wanting. So she set out to share her love of the art form (and passion for teaching) with the community in her own way.
Really truly, Say it With Glass began as a mobile beginner class called the “Sip and Solder”, which thanks to the hospitality of other locally owned small businesses, began popping up in locations all over the Triangle. From coffee shops, to breweries, and even gyms…she brought the glassy goods to the people. And well…long story short, the people loved it!
As her student base grew, so did the vision to make glass art more accessible to more folks and in the fall 2024 we opened our studio space in the heart of Carrboro, North Carolina. At Say it With Glass, you won’t just find quality glass art, engaging classes, and stained glass supplies, but also the incredible community of creatives (of all ages) we support.
Whoever you are, we are excited that you’ve found us! We are growing and changing every day (aren’t we all) and we are excited to take you all on this adventure. It is our hope to be a hub for creatives of all types to learn, feel welcome, and hopefully make an impact with our art, and of course…create some beautiful art along the way.
Sam Nguyen
Owner, Glass Artist
Sam is an educator, life-long artist and tinkerer focused on connecting with her community through art. She believes that art should be accessible, and much of her work in starting Say it With Glass is grounded in the desire to create access points for folks to explore glass art in a variety of ways. Stories and connection drive a lot of her work, whether it be restoring a beloved piece of family history or crafting something uniquely special in glass for clients.
As a member of the American Glass Guild, she is particularly invested in helping to preserve local glass history and techniques, while also incorporating modern elements in her own practice.
In addition to her studio life, she is also the mom of two amazingly creative boys, and partner in crime (she’s the trouble maker) to the most supportive of husbands, and nurturer of various critters. (bees, and chickens, and OMG is that a lizard in the house!?)
I struggled to make art initially. At least, not art that I was proud of. Like many artists, I’ve explored a variety of different mediums, and well…glass work was transformative for me. As a “baby artist” I struggled to fill notebooks…I agonized over getting it “just right” and quite honestly, struggled with managing the millions of ideas I had and how to translate them. In later adulthood, I was diagnosed with ADHD, and realized that the artistic battle I had been battling with (still do) was because I was working against the grain my brain wanted to go. I have an incredible brain…but I had actual visual-spatial learning differences that required physical manipulation and extra time to process. I needed time to tinker, wonder, and tinker some more. I needed to PLAY with my art. The more I did it, the better I felt. It felt good to share the real struggle with other people, and it felt good to “play” together as we figured it out. Eventually, something beautiful always came out of it.
Which brings me to why glass is so great! As you can imagine, it can be a fickle beast at times. Breakage is just going to happen every once in a while. But in working with glass, I had to recognize the beauty in making mistakes and not leaving them behind, but finding ways to grow something spectacular from them. Oddly enough, I get a little excited when something doesn’t work quite right these days. It’s an invitation to grow, think, and problem solve and I have never been disappointed with the outcome at the end of the journey.
About Her Art
Donna Prichard
Glass Artist, Instructor and Studio Support Team
Donna began her journey at SIWG as a member artist, but now also supports studio operations, and teaching. She brings with her not only a wealth of business and customer support experiences in the arts, but as an instructor a patient kind approach to help you grow your skills.
Donna quickly took to the third dimension with her art, and specializes in orchid installations in a variety of designs, shapes, and colors. You can learn more about her work as an artist in her own right on her webpage.
About Their Art
Anna Slayton
Instructor, Studio Support Team
Anna has been with our studio for about a year helping to teach our fusing classes, support folks in shopping for glassy goods, and if you’ve ever marveled at how neat and pretty our shop looks…Anna is behind the scenes polishing, and organizing it all!
Anna has experience in a variety of glass art, including flamework and has a strong connection to glass art through a variety of relatives who also engaged in the artform. She loves a good thrifted “glow-up” and can be found tinkering on a variety of her own projects in between helping you have the best experience with us whether it’s on the gallery floor or in the back workshop.