John Blenko is the fourth generation to lead this 131-year-old company in making hand-blown glass popular throughout the world.
Courtesy Blenko Glass
Tell us about your journey from practicing medicine to leading Blenko Glass.
Blenko Glass, founded in 1893, eventually took a firm foothold in West Virginia. My first memory of Blenko was attending the opening of the Visitors Center in the late 1960s. I was a trauma anesthesiologist, which left me little time to get involved with Blenko Glass.
My hobby is photography, so when I visited the factory I enjoyed taking pictures of our workers and getting to know them as individuals. After my retirement and upon my father’s death in 2019, I was firmly connected with our employees and became the sixth president to lead Blenko Glass.
Blenko continues to have a close connection with Milton and throughout the state. We’ve partnered with small companies in West Virginia to couple our glass with food products they produce, such as ramp jelly or chocolates. One of the things my wife Cheryl and I enjoy is the simple joy of driving downtown Milton and seeing all the American flags attached to the light poles.
What is the significance of being the fourth generation to lead a 131-year-old company?
Making hand-blown glass is both a science and an art. The exact combination of raw materials as well as our coloring agents, the melt temperature and other factors must all be tightly controlled. Our hot shop workers then use their skills and talent to produce beautiful pieces of glass. No two pieces are identical, and they are as precious as a painting, sculpture or photograph. Each is a tribute to the people who made them. At one point, there were over 400 glass factories in West Virginia. Now there are only four. It is vital to continue the tradition of hand-blown glass.
Tell us about Blenko’s global footprint from Milton and what is “Blenko 384”?
Milton is a small town where our factory is in the same building since 1921. Our glass has been used in the Air Force Academy chapel, National Cathedral, Heinz Chapel at the University of Pittsburgh (where I was married), Reims Cathedral and Pro Football Hall of Fame.
We provided glass for the White House and the Country Music Awards. In 1938, General Electric asked us to design a water bottle to fit the door of their new refrigerator. Our fourth piece introduced that year, it got the stock number “384.” It has been in continuous production since and is our most popular piece. Every morning all our shops start their day by blowing water bottles!
At one time Blenko employees came from families who passed down skills from generation to generation. How is this different today?
For many years, workers at Blenko learned the time-honored skills of glass-blowing from their fathers and grandfathers. While this is still the path for some of our workers, we have recruited workers with no exposure to glass-blowing but with a strong desire to learn the craft. The West Virginia Governor’s Guaranteed Workforce Program helps with worker training costs and wages for trainers. This is a life-changing career path. Our work force is in the mid ’70s—higher than it has been in years.
What do you love about your work, and what’s next for Blenko?
I am amazed to watch our teams of workers take a “gather” of molten glass and turn it into a finished piece! I could sit and watch all day, although time won’t let me. At the end of the day, I often stand in the middle of the hot shop floor. There’s only me and the whoosh of the furnaces. It’s the most calming feeling in the world. We continue to welcome younger collectors to the Blenko family, making new designs that appeal to them. Our work force is skilled, growing and committed to making the best glass possible, and our management team is strong. Only good things are ahead for Blenko.
The story above first appeared in our January / February 2025 issue. For more like it subscribe today or log in with your active BRC+ Membership. Thank you for your support!