History of The Olio
- From 2014 to 2020, The Olio served as a community focused furnace glassblowing studio in the West End of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
- The Studio and Retail Gallery featured a Youth Apprentice Program for 14-24 year-olds experiencing barriers to employment.
- Staff and Youth Apprentices facilitated thousands of classes, workshops, field trips, team-builders, and community events to the Winston-Salem and surrounding areas, with the nearest hot furnace facility over 65 miles away.
- Offering handblown glassware for sale in the retail gallery and fusing workshop, as well as countless commissions and orders, The Olio was unique in that it featured a recycled waste glass and flux system, and diverted millions of bottles from the landfill in our community over the years. More about The Olio as a Social Enterprise and the recycling glass system can be found here.
- Professional development, entrepreneurship, sustainability, and learning through the arts are core to organization and the Youth Apprentice Program.
- Due to Covid-19, The Olio closed the glassmaking facility in 2020.
- Today, The Olio offers consultation and program development focused on Social Entrepreneurship. The organization is also an educational partner to Artful Unlimited, facilitating apprenticeships, and working to support our next generation of creative entrepreneurs.
“The world is before you, and you need not take it or leave it as it was when you came in.”
~ James Baldwin