David Lindsay is retiring after 44 years as a glassblower and 22 years as co-owner of Lindsay Art Glass with his wife and business partner, Ann Lindsay.

BENICIA- After 44 years as a glassblower and over 22 years as co-owner of Lindsay Art Glass, David Lindsay is retiring. David and his wife and business partner, Ann Lindsay, opened Lindsay Art Glass in 1998, and will close the business this fall.

Starting as an apprentice at Nourot Glass Studio in 1976, David quickly advanced from apprentice to assistant glass blower to gaffer. He became proficient in all aspects of the glass production process during the six years as an employee of Nourot Glass Studio. David became a partner with Micheal Nourot and Ann Corcoran, and he was a partner in Nourot Glass Studio from January 1, 1982 to December 31, 1997.

Lindsay Art Glass was one of five glassblowing studios in Benicia. Lindsay, Nourot, Opal, Smyers and Zellique were all active blowing studios in Benicia in the early 2000’s. Joe and Debbie Morel (Zellique Art Glass) retired and sold their gallery first. Then, Johnnie and Darlene Camp (Opal) relocated their business to Cosmopolis, Washington. Several years later, Micheal Nourot passed away, and Ann Corcoran (Nourot Glass) along with Stephen and Judy Smyers (Smyers Glass) were able to sell their building on East H Street which allowed them to retire. Lindsay Art Glass became the only glassblowing studio left in Benicia.

David Lindsay at work blowing glass.

Over the last 22 years, Lindsay Art Glass continued the glassblowing tradition in Benicia and enhanced it with Blow Your Own experiences and glassblowing demonstrations whenever the business was open and glassblowing was happening, including most Saturdays.

Lindsay Art Glass is an American Craft Gallery in addition to a glassblowing studio. Ann Lindsay is immensely proud of the gallery’s evolution from carrying only David’s work to carrying the work of over 80 artists. Always striving to enhance the gallery with work that complimented but did not compete with David’s glass, Ann worked hard to discover new artists and display their work creatively. She worked tirelessly behind the scenes on marketing, human resources, bookkeeping/accounting, inventory management and business management to enable David to pursue his art.

Lindsay Art Glass has been an active member of the Benicia community. Believing that any downtown event enhances business for all, Ann made sure that Lindsay Art Glass participated in Benicia’s downtown events such as Peddler’s Fair, Wine Walks, Art Walks, Beer Crawls and more. In addition, Lindsay Art Glass gave back to the community by providing an average of 28 donations per year to local charitable organizations.

Any business becomes successful due to the commitment and performance of its employees. Over the years, Lindsay Art Glass was blessed with some wonderful staff. Angela Fortain has been with us since 1999. She was David’s assistant for several years before becoming Ann’s sales/inventory manager, and she has been an especially important member of the Lindsay Art Glass family. Betty Wauldron Thomas was with us for 10 years, and Dale Kilbourne was a member of our staff for 9 years. Judy Davena has been a member of our staff since 2012, and Delsie Austinson joined us in 2018.

More than one year ago, Ann and David started marketing the business for sale. Wanting to retire, they worked to keep the 50-year Benicia glassblowing tradition going. With a buyer ready to take over and a second one extremely interested in doing so, COVID-19 hit. The uncertainty of the times caused both buyers to change their minds. While they continue to market the business for sale and hope to find a buyer to continue glassblowing in Benicia, Lindsay Art Glass will be closing no later than October 31, 2020.

In the meantime, David’s work along with the work of other American Craft Artists is for sale in the Lindsay Art Glass Gallery. Since glassblowing is no longer happening and orders are not being placed with the artists that we represent, the inventory that we have is quickly diminishing. All gallery fixtures, displays and equipment are also for sale. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Finally, Ann and David want to express their thankfulness to all of you! They wish to extend their gratitude for the support that they received from the City of Benicia, Arts Benicia, Benicia Main Street, and Benicia Chamber of Commerce.

Lindsay Art Glass is located at 109 East F Street in lovely Benicia, California.  For more information, contact us at 707-748-1336 or by email at:

retail@lindsayartglass.com.  

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