About Us

Christopher Crimaldi

Once a hobby, Chris took his passion for glassblowing and transformed it into a full-time, full access studio. As the founder and an artist at the Glass Asylum, he is deeply committed to the studio’s vision to be the premiere teaching facility, artist’s studio and gallery in Northeast Ohio. Chris is particularly interested in creating translucent glass fixtures for retail and industrial settings. His work is on display at several of Cleveland’s upscale restaurants. A self-taught artist, he encourages everyone to explore the fascinating art of glassblowing by enrolling in one of the many 1-hour workshops offered at the studio throughout the year. Chris is a native of Cleveland who spent five years serving in the United States Marine Corp. He is a licensed electrician with Crimaldi and Son, an electrical company he manages with his father, Gary Crimaldi.

Dean Wehrenberg

Dean was born and raised in Brecksville, Ohio. He first witnessed glass-blowing in Downtown Cleveland the summer before shipping off to the Columbus College of Art & Design. Freshly inspired, he dabbled in the field his Freshman year, and the rest is history. He completed his BFA degree in 2013 and moved back home to the West Side of Cleveland.

We discovered Dean while our studio was still under construction. He helped us build the hot shop you see him working in today. His skills have only improved since he has had time to create more of his own artwork in this facility. Dean finds his inspiration within the interactions of nature and society. He is also influenced by street art, calligraphy and typography.

Lindy Cunnington

Lindy is a Chagrin Falls native studying at the Cleveland Institute of Art (2023). Lindy has been intrigued by glassblowing ever since she was young. She has always been captivated by the unique properties of glass and the endless ways the material could be utilized. After taking a few classes learning the basics of glass blowing, she was hooked.

Lindy is pursuing a degree in Industrial Design; she seeks to combine these two passions. Her goal is to create a harmony between beauty and functionality. Lindy found that glass was the perfect medium to merge these two qualities. Her main interest is to design and create functional vessels and custom lighting.

Bridget Lujan

Glass Artist Bridget Lujan hails from Colorado Springs, Colorado and moved to Burton, Ohio when she was a teenager.

Bridget’s art journey began at Hiram college where she was awarded the War Orphan Scholarship, Art Scholarship, and an Academic Merit Scholarship. She continued her love for the arts at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio where her studio concentrations included Ceramics, Drawing, Glass, Jewelry/Metals/Enameling, Painting, Print Media and Photography, Sculpture and Expanded Media, and Textiles. Bridget was awarded a degree of Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art in 2022 from KSU.

Charlie Gmitro

Charlie Gmitro was born in Richmond, Virginia and then moved to North Royalton, Ohio when he was a young child. He just recently graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelors in Fine Arts with a concentration in glass. He was drawn to the medium of glass for physical nature as well as its opportunity to work as a team with others. A lot of his personal artwork focuses on visual textures that he is interested in as well as making physical objects as a means to explore the self and identity. In his free time, Charlie likes to cook, paint, listen to heavy metal, and play video games.