STL Design Week: Full Schedule

3:00pm CDT

Delmar Maker District: Growing a Handmade Movement

Tuesday October 8, 2024 3:00pm - 4:30pm CDT

The best ideas often are formed from the simplest concepts.

When Doug Auer and Jim McKelvey were dreaming of the Delmar Maker District, it was quite simply about creating a community of makers. As co-founders of Third Degree Glass in 2002, they already had been successful at engaging the local community with their craft of glass blowing and creating excitement around creation at its core. They
imagined what it would be like to grow that concept to include other makers in the same area, along with revitalizing a fairly unvisited stretch of Delmar Boulevard. The next step? They acted on their ideas. Doug will explain their mindset, their mishaps, and now their obvious success at creating a new arts and culture destination in St. Louis. Stay tuned until the end: The winner of the Third Degree cocktail label design contest will be revealed after the presentation!

Doug Auer began blowing glass in 1996 as a student of Vernon Brejcha at the University of Kansas. A year later, he transferred to Southern Illinois University-Carbondale to pursue his BFA, studying glass blowing and technique under instructors Bill Boysen and Che Rhodes. In the fall of 2001, Doug teamed with Jim McKelvey to co-found and establish Third Degree Glass Factory, with the goal of providing a place to share their passion for glassmaking with the public. Simultaneously, Doug was hired by Washington University to teach both beginning and intermediate glass blowing from the studios at Third Degree. He instructed students until 2004, when he made the transition to focus solely on building Third Degree into a world-class business.

In 2017, he and Jim McKelvey joined forces on a new concept, which was transforming the stretch of Delmar Boulevard from Union to Kingshighway into the Delmar Maker District to support and promote makers of all kinds. With Third Degree Glass serving as the foundation, they opened MADE, a reincarnation of the former TechShop in the Cortex, as the second anchor. Doug has since been the driving force in growing the district and is responsible for bringing MADE for Kids by The Magic House, Craft Alliance, and eight new restaurants to the area.

Though his time is dedicated primarily to the daily operations of Third Degree, he still can be found practicing his original passion in the hot shop. His glass work most easily can be identified by its modernization of the classic teardrop shape.

www.thirddegreeglass.com
@thirddegreeglass

Tuesday October 8, 2024 3:00pm - 4:30pm CDT
THIRD DEGREE GLASS 5200 Delmar Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Company THIRD DEGREE GLASS

6:00pm CDT

FEEL THE HEAT

Tuesday October 8, 2024 6:00pm - 9:00pm CDT

THIRD DEGREE GLASS

Get blown away by one of the hottest art forms out there—pun intended. Head into our hot shop for a live
glass blowing demo by a Third Degree artist. The process will be narrated so you can learn the intricacies
behind the process, and audience questions are welcome.

www.thirddegreeglass.com
@thirddegreeglass

Tuesday October 8, 2024 6:00pm - 9:00pm CDT
THIRD DEGREE GLASS 5200 Delmar Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108

SCULPTURE

Company THIRD DEGREE GLASS

7:00pm CDT

Sip, Shop, Socialize

Tuesday October 8, 2024 7:00pm - 9:00pm CDT

THIRD DEGREE GLASS

Make a toast to incredible design with a cocktail bottled specifically for Design Week with our contest
winner’s label. As you grab a few drinks at the Third Degree bar, you can network with other attendees,
speak with our artists in attendance, and make yourself familiar with this expanding area for makers of all
kinds. View our current exhibition by in-house glass artist Jeremy Lampe, and shop the gallery. Support
even more local makers by shopping the district at Craft Alliance and The Lobby by Union Studio!

www.thirddegreeglass.com
@thirddegreeglass
@craftalliance
@thelobbystl

Tuesday October 8, 2024 7:00pm - 9:00pm CDT
THIRD DEGREE GLASS 5200 Delmar Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108

FOR EVERYONE

Company THIRD DEGREE GLASS

STL Design Week

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