gillinder glass factory & museum

Dear TnKarla,Thank you for taking the time to write such a nice review! We are happy to hear that we are one of your stops when you visit your family. We hope you can take the tour the next time you are in town--we would love to have you!Sincerely,Allyson Gillinder, Director-Retail Operations

We are happy to hear that you enjoyed your visit to our glass factory and we thank you for taking the time to write such a nice review. It appears that you were at one of our special glass blowing events which occur 7 or 8 Saturdays a year featuring our guest glass artists; usually Charlie, the 6th generation current owner and operator of Gillinder Glass also joins the guest artists making his famous ornaments, flowers, and sun catchers—a real treat to watch! Our regular production tours are Monday-Friday at scheduled times when you can watch our industrial and commercial glass made by gathering and pressing glass into molds (as opposed to blown). You can check the dates and times of the week day tours as well as the special glass blowing events on the calendar on our website. We hope you will return during the week to see how airport runway lights and other lenses and domes are made one at a time by our team of glass workers.

Thank you for your great review! We're glad you enjoyed your tour of our factory last week. Once in a while it does work out that a tour starts a few minutes late; however, our policy is that tours do begin on time in order for our customers to have the best experience possible. We hope you will come back and see us again soon! Sincerely, Allyson Gillinder, Director-Retail Operations.

Thank you for taking the time to write such a nice review of your experience at our glass factory. Our next Special Event will take place on Saturday Dec. 13 when the guest artists return (then they take a hiatus until Feb. 7--watch our website for complete dates). We hope you will visit during the week to watch our production of pressed glass into molds---a different process than what you saw, but still very interesting! Sincerely, Allyson Gillinder, Director-Retail Operations.

Thank you for taking the time to write a review about your recent visit to Gillinder Glass. It is always fun when our guest glass artists are in the house! As you noticed, our historic building is 100 years old but as we point out on our tour, our equipment is state of the art (computer controlled furnaces, CNC technology to make our molds). Our weekday production of lenses, (airport runway, LED, pool, spa, military, etc.) is also worth a trip to watch---see it made in Port Jervis, one piece at a time by humans—not mass produced by machines! And of course, our gift shop offers unique gifts (including pressed, blown, fused, and stained glass--as well as jewelry and other media) made by us, our guest artists, local artists, and other American & Canadian artists---all handmade, and reasonably priced as you pointed out!Sincerely, Allyson Gillinder, Director-Retail Operations

Thank you for taking the time to write such a nice review of Gillinder Glass! We are pleased to know that you enjoyed your factory tour and visit with our guest artists on Saturday. We have been making glass since 1861, but don’t be fooled by our historic factory----our state of the art equipment includes computer-controlled furnaces! We hope you will return during the week to see our production teams making airport runway lenses, pool lenses, theater lenses, military lenses, using a technique called “pressed glass into molds ---every bit as interesting as glassblowing. Sincerely, Allyson Gillinder-Director, Retail Operations

Dear Maureen C,Thank you for sharing your experience at Gillinder Glass and for taking the time to write such a nice review on Trip Advisor! It was a pleasure to have your group tour our factory and we are so pleased to hear that the retired teachers enjoyed their visit. I will share your kind words with the staff.Sincerely,Allyson Gillinder, Director-Retail Operations

Thank you for visiting Gillinder Glass and taking the time to write a review. We are happy to hear that you and your family enjoyed your tour! Our tour guides, who are very knowledgeable about glass as well as our production, wear many hats, as you mentioned! Our historic building may be 100 years old (the business itself is 153 years old, having moved from Philadelphia to Port Jervis in 1912), but don’t be fooled---the technology is state of the art, not last week’s. Our new furnaces are all computer controlled, as is the annealing lehr (oven) where the hot glass is sent to cool down slowly in different temperature zones so it doesn’t break. We have 3 degreed engineers and a physicist on board who are on top of the latest glass technology and trends in the lighting industry. Our gift store, which houses the museum where you entered into the factory, is filled with handmade blown, pressed, and fused glass, either by our production team, our guest artists who use our facilities on occasion, or other local, American or Canadian artists. Please come back and see us again when you are visiting your friends! Sincerely, Allyson Gillinder, Director-Retail Operations.

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. I am sorry that your tour was not what you expected. Gillinder Glass is a working glass factory. The equipment it takes to make glass is noisy, and in the summer it is hot as the furnaces run around 2500 degrees--I am sure you saw the many furnaces that we have, perhaps not all being worked the day you were here, but others filled with glass melting for another day’s production since it takes 2-3 days to melt a pot of glass. Perhaps you have been to other facilities that put on a "show" for people; we are unique in that we are an actual working glass factory of industrial and commercial glass which has opened up our doors to the public. We recently visited another glass company that offers “factory tours” where you do not even enter the factory; you watch the men working from outside the factory (in the elements) looking INTO the factory through an open wall in the building---and no tour guide, cranky or otherwise, is involved. Your suggestion about the tour guide using a microphone is a good one, however, we have tried microphones but unfortunately they do not do the trick. We try to explain as much as we can along the stops on the tour route before we stop in the "noisy" part of the factory where the workers are making the glass, but of course there are always questions—all welcome--- to be answered and more information to be shared as you are watching the process. We take pride in our gift shop which carries handmade giftware (by us, our guest artists, as well as other American and Canadian artists) with prices starting at just $1.95 with dozens of items under $25.00---as well as "pricier" items--- all hand made, many one of a kind. It's a shame that your children seemed bored on the tour; lots of school groups, scouts, 4H groups, other children as well as adults tour our facility. If you do not enjoy history --besides the fact that our company is 153 years old, glass manufacturing was the first industry in America--or watching the manufacturing of handmade goods right here in the USA, or hot noisy factories, then you may be correct in saying that this tour is not for everybody. We are proud of who we are and we enjoy sharing it with our customers, most of whom appreciate what we do as stated in other reviews right here on Trip Advisor. Sincerely, Allyson Gillinder, Director-Retail Operations.

Dear Jacqueline S,Thank you for sharing your fond childhood memories of Gillinder Glass! We love hearing stories like yours and appreciate the time you took to let everybody know! Enjoy that special peacock vase! Please stop in and see us again on your next visit--It would be fun to talk to you about your grandfather who worked at the glass factory in the 50's!!! Sincerely, Allyson Gillinder, Director-Retail Operations

Thank you, Ellesor826 for visiting Gillinder Glass Store and taking the time to write a review of your experience! In addition to commercial and industrial pressed glass for airports, military, landscape, theatrical & architectural applications, our 153 year old company continues to make a line of giftware sold exclusively in our gift store--sun catchers, coasters, 2-piece flower pots, Buddhas, Doggies, paperweights, boxes, slippers, friendship ornaments, candy dishes, Horseheads, Kids' Koins & more...Our guest artists' one-of-a-kind hand-blown pieces compliment the line beautifully, and it is very entertaining to watch them create their art pieces which you can see on our factory tours!.

Thank you, Harold M for visiting us and taking the time to write a review about Gillinder Glass. I will pass along your kind words about the staff to them. While we no longer blow glass in production (it’s pressed glass into molds), we have guest artists who visit 8 times a year. The blown glass items along the entire 40 foot length of windowsill space in the store, as well as a 5 foot long table dedicated to guest artists' pieces, glass inside and on top of a large cabinet, as well as other pieces throughout the store were blown by our guest artists. We also carry a large selection of blown glass by other very talented American & Canadian artists in addition to our very own vintage Gillinder Glass blown ware. Please stop in again when you are in town! Allyson Gillinder, Director-Retail Operations.

Thank you for visiting Gillinder Glass and taking the tour of our glass factory! We are so pleased that you enjoyed learning about glassmaking and our 153 year old history (101 years of it right in Port Jervis, NY!). We also appreciate your taking the time to write such a nice review of your visit! Please come back and see us again! Allyson Gillinder, Director-Retail Operations

Thank you, Georgia2Maine, for visiting Gillinder Glass Store and taking the time to write such a wonderful review about your experience; we appreciate your kind words! Charlie, 6th generation Gillinder whose great, great, great grandfather founded the company in 1861, is the sole owner and proprietor of Gillinder Glass, and is proud to carry on the traditions of his forefathers! Please stop in and see us again when you are in the area and take the guided factory tour!Allyson GillinderDirector-Retail Operations

Thank you, Jennifer W. for visitng Gillinder Glass and taking the time to write a review of your visit. We are happy to hear that you and your family enjoyed your 45 minutes tour of our factory as well as our 153 year old history, and our production of pressed glass into molds! We hope you will return to see our guest glass blowers--their next visit will be October 18. Allyson GillinderDirector-Retail Operations