Joe was originally trained as a ceramicist and has always enjoyed the visceral nature of working with “hands on” materials. When he discovered glass he knew a switch was in order. This transition enabled an immediate fascination with the craft that lead to an apprenticeship with his instructor, Jackson Schwartz, who had returned from the Canberra School of Art in Australia. During the two years there were numerous conversations, dinners, and experiments with handmade glass in mind. This “research” informed a philosophy which was coupled with an entrepreneurial spirit to found Hennepin Made.