About Glass Roots

Curtis Dionne left home at a young age to pursue a career in craft and design, eventually learning glassblowing from masters in the Glass City of Guadalajara. In 2008, Curtis bought a homestead in rural New Brunswick, where he built a 14th-century-style wood-fired furnace and founded Glass Roots Inc.

In 2021, Curtis and his partner Charlotte MacLeod relocated their family to Saint John, New Brunswick, to start a public glass studio. Initially, Glass Roots planned to move their studio to Union Street in the summer of 2021, but the furnace’s industrial designation prevented this. Instead, they operated out of a basement workshop on Canterbury Street, fronting a parking lot and connected to an alleyway. Although not the most ideal location, it was meant to be temporary, with the landlord describing it as a "diamond in the rough."

In January 2023, Glass Roots expanded their workshop, moving equipment into an adjoining building. This new addition, which had been boarded up for decades, was transformed into a functioning studio with a viewing area where guests can sit and watch glassblowing.

In July 2024 we closed our showroom in 89 Canterbury Street and consolidated our gallery space into our expanded studio space so we could work together under one roof.

The Glass Roots gallery entrance is located at the corner of Canterbury and Duke Streets, opposite Saint John High School, just two blocks up from the entrance to the award-winning Area 506 Container Village and the cruise ship terminal.