Our Mission is to gather people to explore the creative potential of glass.

Here are some staff favorites! All businesses listed are within a 10 minute drive of our studio.

• Café Racer - Latin American food and coffee

• Himalayan Restaurant - Nepali, Indian, and Tibetan cuisine

• Midori’s Floating World Café - sushi, nigiri, and ramen

• Coastal Seafoods Café - menu featuring fresh seafood from their marketplace

• Hard Times Café - punk-rock café serving vegan/vegetarian fare and coffee

• Hi-Lo Diner - diner fare with a flair along with treats, cocktails, coffee, and great ambiance

• Gatherings Café - serves light meals and coffee that are Indigenous and prepared in healthy ways

• Code Blu Coffee - small coffee house and roastery

• Rebecca’s Bakery & Café - Italian pastries and coffee

• Okome House - traditional Japanese styles of Onigiri, Donburi, Udon, and more

• Surly Brewing Co - Brewery with lots of food options and easy online scheduling for groups. Full menu downstairs, pizza bar upstairs.

• Pizza Luce - Pizza, hoagies, wings and craft beer

As an organization, Foci MCGA does not accept small projects or repairs but there are those in our community who may! All information regarding glass repairs or custom commissions can be found here: www.mnglassart.org/glass-commissions.

Unfortunately we do not allow visitors to add foreign materials such as ashes to their glass projects for several factors. There is a high risk of the object breaking if it is not properly treated, and our instructors are not trained on this specific process. Additionally, we do not want to assume that everyone is comfortable handling cremated remains.

Fortunately, we do have a number of professionals that work in our studio who specialize in making memorial cremation paperweights - contact information can be found here: www.mnglassart.org/glass-commissions.

Unfortunately unless there is an event, Open House, or demonstration taking place we do not let visitors watch the artists blowing glass. Artists are paying for private rental time, and may not consent to being watched or photographed while they work. We do try to hold Open Houses and events seasonally to allow people to check out glassblowing for free!

Please tell us more about what you are interested in donating with the form below! If you’re looking to donate glass, we will need more information to determine its compatibility with our current studio glass types to ensure high quality for our renters.

Foe-sigh!

The name Foci is the plural of focus. This relates to the multiple areas of focus a glass artist must have such as heat, gravity, and form. Our organization also focuses on numerous different areas of glassmaking techniques!

Foci MCGA will consider donations when a requesting organization or business aligns with our goals of:

1. Supporting community creativity and wellbeing

2. Supporting access to new opportunities for under resourced youth and adults

3. Supporting thriving artists and the creation of new artwork

And supports a wider range of people visiting Foci MCGA.

Capped at a maximum of 7 donations per year.

Yes, it is safe!

While students do not come into contact with any harmful materials during their glassblowing classes, they will experience some heat emitting from the equipment. There is a water fountain available and cooler areas of the studio to take breaks in if needed. Our studio also has plenty of protective gear on hand.

Always check in with your instructor at the start of class to touch base about concerns and questions so they are aware and can provide assistance and pointers.