Glass, Metal and More at the Industrial Arts Center

The Industrial Arts Center is one of our finalists for our readers choice Best Customer Service poll. To help all of you get to know the local business and it's owners, we've put together a bit of information for you!

Name of Business: Industrial Arts Center

Name of owners: "The Industrial Arts Center is a community 3-D arts teaching facility. Operations have been spearheaded for three years by Lynn DiVenuti, President, and Amy Oatley, Executive Director. Jackie Ballard is the founder and master glass blower. We have a great staff of skilled instructors, all working artists, who teach 3-D glass and metal arts."

In business since: "It was two years from conception until the doors opened in August 2008. We celebrated our grand opening at GeckoFest 2008."

How long have you lived in the area? "Many of our staff and volunteers have lived and/or worked in Gulfport for 20 years or longer."

What do you love about living and working in our town? "It's great to have such a diverse, friendly and supportive town as our home base. Whenever we're open, there's always a friendly face stopping by to watch our classes and demonstrations."

What do you wish everyone who came into your shop knew about you? "We are a teaching facility, not a retail store, so our hours of operation are based on classes, special events, and studio rentals for our members. Most of our staffers are volunteers. Youngest glass blower: age 5. Oldest glass blower: age 80. Furthest travel to blow glass for a kids educational documentary: Sweden."

Tell us a quick story about a time you provided awesome customer service:

"Every student is an opportunity for us to pay it forward, sharing the lifetime of skills our instructors have to offer. We're proud that we have given thousands of kids and adults an opportunity to learn about glass blowing and other 3-D arts.

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Hope you enjoyed our Q & A! Learn more about the Industrial Arts Center in our feature story "Industrial Arts Center's Growth Spurt."

Remember to rate and review the local business on their Patch Business Listing: Industrial Arts Center