JOHN KOBUKI

JOHN KOBUKI graduated from high school in 1982. He then went on to get a B.S. in Economics and a B.S. in Finance, graduating from college in 1986. After college he worked in the banking industry from 1987 until 1994 when he quit his job as a commercial credit analyst. In 1994, John started a graphics and t-shirt printing business that led to working in the music industry that eventually led to the glass.”I started out watching a few different lamp workers at a shop that I was helping with a catalogue and some organization. I eventually had to get my hands on the glass and try it out. I started making pendants and worked my way up to making oil lamps and bottles. I built my own shop in my garage and have been working there since 1998. Right after that I published the web site glasscharm.com mainly for selling pendants. I soon discovered there was a marble world and started making them. I began making the marbles that you commonly see, then I discovered a few things while experimenting around. This new found knowledge led to the flowers and ocean bottom type marbles. It also seemed like the colors were meant to be inside the glass, not on top of it, so I started to refine the inside out type marbles by encasing the design. Some of my friends get a good chuckle when I tell them I make marbles for a living. It’s not just a living, it’s more like a calling. I am 37 years old and single. I have a dog and a fish.”