We had the good fortune of connecting with Carey Gustafson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carey, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
It was a natural progression from my childhood! My very favorite things growing up was arts & crafts, drawing and portrait-making, and coming up with sales opportunities as early as 10 years old! For anyone that’s known me from back in the Nineteen Hundreds, my career choices and path would be no surprise at all. 

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Being a working artist in metro Detroit, over the last 20 years has been quite a ride! The “Indy Craft boom” came just years before the recession and the mid-2000s which gave us makers and Artist) lots of new opportunities to be inspired and showcase our work and start generating a customer base and a brand. That was alongside being able to sell online as a small business except payments online or then on your phone to promote on social media. This all happened around the same time and changed a lot of peoples lives, including mine! I went from full-time working for other people to being able to handle a few different types of jobs to make ends meet, and proudly in 2013, was able to go full-time with Glass Action! and I’ve been able to support myself and my family with purpose and flexibility! Starting in the early 90s, working with stain Lask, and professionally on the clock, being trained and working on large skill projects, and commissions for other people, it was an anomaly, trying to explain what I did for a living! Fell out into it as a freelance artist out of high school, and the stained glass journey hooked me for life! Throughout my crafty years, different types of handiwork has come into fashion, and now stained glass has arrived! TikTok and YouTube videos, showing people the process and honestly making it look easier than it is. I’m happy to be able to host new students in my own studio, having those techniques jump off the screen And onto a table in front of them. March 2022 I launched my make a thing stained glass menu projects where guests can pick a project and select a date and time that works for them and I offer these small group classes working with tools learning how to cut in glass working on a grinder and even using a soldering iron! The projects are quoted, based on materials and assistance, but every project is available for a beginner! Over the pandemic, I completed converting my two car garage into a warm and snuggly winter month and open air summer month workspace and have been so happy to share my passion of Glass work with hundreds of guests!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
It’s fun to travel in your own backyard and play host to newcomers but be perfectly frank, over the last 10 years million things have opened at such a rapid pace now, I’m constantly planning vacation days in my own backyard! Some of my favorite haunts are the DIA, the Masonic Temple, the majestic theater complex, the Riverwalk, cruising up and down Woodward Avenue and Midtown District. I also love Hamtramck, Ferndale and thrifting all over south east MI!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
100% credit to the fellow women that I co-founded Handmade Detroit with, our crafting community and production team of Detroit Urban Craft Fair.

Website: www.etsy.com/shop/GlassAction

Instagram: glass_action

Facebook: www.facebook.com/GLASSACTION

Image Credits
Carey Gustafson

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutMichigan is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.