Life & Work with Ana Corona

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ana Corona.

Hi Ana, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Made in Glass was created by my husband Ismael Ayala and I two years ago in 2019 after a few years of thinking about the project. Since then, it has been a journey that came from an idea passing thru a difficult time during 2020, and now this year our project has been taking the right direction.

We are originally from Mexico and Nashville has been our home for the past 15 years, we fell in love with the city, its neighborhoods, its places, its people but when our son was born (seven years ago) definitely, Nashville felt more like home. We have watched the rapid growth of the city in the last couple of years and how this growth has impacted tourism in the city.

While we are aware of this change, we wanted to share a little bit of Tennessee to the visitors through our craft, not only a souvenir but a special piece of drinkware where they could remember that special visit every time they enjoyed their favorite drink so, we decided to bring the skills we learned in the past and get down to work. We wanted at some point to share the same vibes we felt the first time we saw Nashville and we want to evoke that feeling in every mug and glass we create.

At Made in Glass we use the sandblasting technique to portray Tennessee-inspired designs into ceramic and glass drinkware so, you will have a carved design onto the piece that lasts forever making it the perfect addition to the bar and kitchen of every home.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has been definitely not a smooth road and actually, I think not every dream is. We have found some struggles along the way, 2020 was the most challenging time for us since we started our project in 2019 and just when everything looked in the right direction the pandemic made its appearance and we experience closings on places where we sell most of our art like festivals, coffees and gift shops so, we had to take a pause that year. It is sad when you are starting and have so many plans and in a blink of an eye, everything changes.

Another bump in the road is that we have been to learn how to make business in this country step by step. We did not have formal training in marketing so we have learned along the way from people who have guided us thru this journey. We have taken training from every place, conference, locals, business, crafters, and still learning.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
At Made in Glass we are proud to offer high-quality drinkware with a handmade art process using the sandblast technique to portray Tennessee inspired designs into ceramic and glass drinkware so, you will have a carved design onto the piece that last forever making it the perfect addition to the bar and kitchen of every home.

Sandblast is an art process that does not have to be compared with etching, in sandblasting we use a blaster machine that carves the glass/ceramic making a deep carving design in every piece. This gives glasses a frosted look and exposes the original stoneware on mugs.

Our art process goes from creating the logo in specialized software to creating stencils that we adhere to every piece that subsequently goes to the blaster. Our drinkware collection includes whiskey glass, tequila shots, coffee mugs, campfire mugs and we can create a unique design for events, gifts, and business.

Any big plans?
We are always looking to expand our business and bring the experience of shopping our products to coffee and gifts shops as well as restaurants

In the long term, we want to establish a brand in designed drinkware as well as open new markets for our products.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.madeinglasstn.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/madeinglass
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/madeinglass