The Collective

A monthly interview with a new featured maker

One month, one maker. We hand them the table, ask the questions nobody asks, and put their work on the shelf next to the fume.

The Collective is the part of Treso Glass that isn't Treso Glass. Every month a different artist takes the hot seat — a real conversation about how they came up, what they're chasing, and what they'd tell you before you buy handmade — plus a short run of their pieces you can actually take home.

No sponsored fluff, no press-release voice. Just makers talking about the work while it cools. Want the next slot, or know a maker who should have it? Pitch an artist.

Next up

Who's up next for September 2026?

The seat's open. Nominate yourself or a maker whose work should be on the shelf next to the fume — one month, one artist, real conversation.

Ask a Question

Loading the current feature…

Featured this month

Grab a seat at the table.
Get to know Dan Longden

Wig-wag glass piece by Dan Longden, featured Collective guest artist

Dan Longden in the hot seat, lit by torch flame

In the hot seatWig-wag, chip stack, incalmo — linework with a chip on its shoulder.

Dan Longden is a Central Massachusetts flameworker known for colorful, obsessively controlled linework rooted in classic functional glass traditions. He came up the long way — marbles, then tubes, then years of chasing patterns that only read right when the twist is perfect — and the result is work that looks machine-clean until you get close enough to see the hand in it.

For this feature he's sharing a short run of pieces built alongside the Treso Glass bench: his lines, Treso's fume. Wig-wag bodies wrapped in silver and gold smoke, finished the way both of them argue a piece should be finished — heavy, honest, and made to be used.

Based in: Central Massachusetts
Known for: Wig-wag & chip stack
Years on the torch: 15+
Feature run: Limited — one month

Instagram Shop his work Profile

Ten minutes with

Dan, on tape

Give us the elevator pitch — who are you when the torch is off?

Central Mass kid who never grew out of staring at fire. Off the torch I'm usually chasing my dog around, digging through record bins, or arguing about which era of pipe making was actually the best. (It's the 2000s. Fight me.)

First piece you ever made. Be honest.

A marble that looked like a chewed piece of gum. I kept it. It sits on the shelf above the bench as a reminder that everybody starts ugly.

Your linework is unmistakable. Where did wig-wag get its hooks in you?

Wig-wag is math you can feel. You twist, you rake, you commit — and the pattern either sings or it lies to you. Once you land one clean, nothing else scratches that itch.

What happens when a piece goes sideways at 2am?

Depends how far in I am. Two hours? It goes in the cullet bucket and I go to bed. Ten hours? I fight it. Sometimes the fight is the piece.

Working with Treso — what does he bring that you don't?

Fume. He treats silver and gold like a weather system. I build the bones, he brings the smoke. Neither of us could make our collab pieces alone, and that's the whole point.

Hottest take in glass right now?

Clean isn't the same as good. A lot of technically perfect glass is boring as hell. I'd rather see a wobble that means something.

One thing you want people to know before they buy handmade?

You're not buying a product, you're buying somebody's hours. Handle it like it. Then actually use it — glass is meant to be lived with, not shelved.

Bench soundtrack?

Hardcore before midnight, jazz after. The glass can tell the difference.

The work

Dan's shelf

Pieces from the collab run. Tap any shot to open it full screen.