About Us

 

Gallery Hours:

Friday & Saturday: 10 AM - 4 PM

Sunday to Thursday: Closed

*entrance is on the South side of the building. Parking is available at either the North side of the building (then take the short walk down the alley) or at Canadian Tire. 


Glassblowing:  Our regular glassblowing sessions are in the Spring and Fall/Winter. 

Our furnaces are currently off, but we plan to resume sometime in February. Our artists typically blow glass from when we open in the morning at 10am until 2 or 3 o’clock. If you’re planning a trip in specifically to watch us working, we recommend phoning our gallery at 250-341-5479 to confirm our schedule. 

For more information on what goes on behind the scenes when we light the furnace, check out this article on our News & Events page. 

Address:

4884 Athalmer Hwy
Invermere, BC  V0A 1K3

Shipping Policy: 
We currently automatically ship to Canada and the United States only.  International shipping beyond Canada and the US can be made by special arrangement, but is usually subject to much higher costs. We offer free shipping on orders over $200 CAD across Canada, or $200 USD to the United States.  Flat rate shipping of $25 CAD for orders under $200 CAD in Canada and $25 USD for orders under $200 USD in the US will be applied during checkout. Very large items, such as our largest bowls, ship at a flat rate of $50, original paintings at a flat rate of $35, and items that take extra care in packing, such as our fish sculptures, ship at a flat rate of $100. You will be provided with a tracking number once the item is shipped.  We typically try to have the item packed and shipped by the next business day. 

History:

Bavin Glassworks was established in 1988 by Pat Bavin.  As the story goes, Pat was in Seattle, Washington picking up some stained glass for a project he was working on.  At the time he wasn't a full time glass artist, but a retail business owner in the Columbia Valley.  Stained glass was a passion that he played with in his free time.

He happened across a hotshop mid-morning while walking downtown in the city.  He was instantly intrigued with the process, and was eventually kicked out at the end of the day as the hotshop needed to close down for the night.

This chance encounter with molten glass would shape the future for Pat as he set out to become a glassblower.  He studied at the relatively newly established Pilchuck Glass School in the early eighties.  He also studied in Alberta at Red Deer College and ACA (now AUArts).  Through his studies he was always interested in starting up his own studio and hotshop.  It was no easy feat however, as he had three businesses to run and no guarantees that becoming a full time glass artist would be a successful venture.  Nevertheless, Bavin Glassworks opened in the Spring of 1988, in a small garage in downtown Windermere.

Soon after Bavin Glassworks opened, Pat's son Ryan showed an interest in learning about glassblowing and so started an apprenticeship with his father.  Ryan was 15 when he started learning about glass.  He would be in the hotshop on weekends and after school until graduating high school in 1991.  After graduation, Ryan spent more time at the hotshop and continued to learn.

Ryan started going to the Pilchuck Glass School in the mid-1990's and went back several times over a period of eight years.

In 2000, the Bavin's felt that they were outgrowing their garage in Windermere and decided to look for a bigger facility to operate in.  In May, 2001, the Bavins moved to where they are currently located on the way into Invermere, on Athalmer Highway.

In October 2018, the Bavin Family closed their door as Pat Bavin retired from running a retail storefront in order to pursue life as a full time Artist and Forest Therapy practitioner. In the following months Ryan worked to reimagine and renovate his studio at the back of the shop. The front end that used to contain the gallery was cut off, shrinking the space to about half; simplifying things and making it possible for Ryan to continue blowing glass. The space was reworked to include a small gallery where people can come to enjoy handcrafted art, meet the artists, and if you’re lucky - watch them blow glass! The doors to Bavin Studios opened in May 2019!