In 1974 three self-described "hippie glassblowers" started Bullseye Glass Company, a small factory for making specialty sheet glass in Portland, Oregon. Initially focused on making colored sheets for use in stained glass, they aspired to do what had never been done before—to produce a palette of colored glasses tested as compatible for fusing in the kiln. In the early 1980s they succeeded and immediately embarked on a long-term program of research projects working directly with artists to help pioneer and expand the technical, aesthetic and conceptual development of the field now known as kiln-glass.
A Few Key Events
- 1974: Dan Schwoerer, Ray Ahlgren, and Boyce Lundstrom found the company in Portland, Oregon.
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Early 1980s: For the artist Klaus Moje, the company produces the world's first line of "Tested Compatible" glass designed specifically for fusing.
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1980s - Present: Numerous Artist Exchange projects. Artists have included Narcissus Quagliata, Rafael Carduro, Bertil Vallien, Jun Kaneko, Giles Bettison, Richard Whiteley, Dante Marioni, and many others.
- 1990: The Company formalizes its non-production activities within a separate Department of Research & Education.
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1995: Bullseye Resource Center Portland opens in Portland's Pearl District as "Bullseye Connections Resource Center."
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1999: Bullseye Gallery opens in Portland's Pearl District as "Bullseye Connections Gallery."
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2001: wg@be—the first in our continuing series of biennial, juried exhibitions for early-career artists, later named "Emerge."
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2003: BECon 2003—the first in our continuing series of international, biennial conferences on kilnforming.
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2004: Bullseye Research & Education Studios and Bullseye Resource Center relocate next to the Factory.
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2008: Bullseye Online Store opens.
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2010: Bullseye Resource Center Santa Fe opens.
- 2012: Bullseye Resource Center Bay Area opens.
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