MINH MARTIN
Artisan Co-Founder
Minh was born in Saigon, Vietnam and spent his early years in the Philippines. Upon returning to the US, his family lived in Lancaster Country, PA, in the Mennonite community from which both his parents derived. He attended Yale University where he majored in Geophysics and where, in his final year, he discovered the art department and took sculpture classes. Upon graduation, he moved to Santa Barbara, CA, where he met The Great Bri'oni and was introduced to the art of glass. After two years of apprenticeship, he returned east and founded Romeo Glass in Waynesboro, Virginia. For the last 20 years he has worked tirelessly as a professional glass artist selling his work in galleries across the country and around the world. Minh is one of the premier wine glass makers in the USA. He lives in Charlottesville, Virginia with his wife, Anna Shapiro, and their four children.
ANNA SHAPIRO
Artisan Co-Founder
Anna is a Jersey girl turned Virginia native. She was born and raised in the countryside near historic Lambertville, NJ. In 2001, she earned a BFA in Sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design. After graduating, she founded Annaesthetic Textiles; creating beautiful hand loomed scarves, shawls, and clothing from natural fibers. For 16 years she traveled the country selling her work at various museums, galleries, and art festivals. She is also currently a free lance photographer capturing families and weddings.
In addition to artistic pursuits, Anna has been dedicated to the practice of yoga for over 20 years. In 2010, she worked towards her 200hr Yoga teacher training through Frog Lotus Studio in Costa Rica. She teaches countless classes every week and hopes to have a space for yoga at Glass Hollow.
As a mom of 3 young boys, she spends her days finding lost geckos in the living room, preparing endless snacks, and cleaning mud off the walls.
OUR STORY
Anna and I met on the craft show circuit. She was selling her beautiful knitwear and I was selling glass. We spent years traveling together to various art shows and festivals around the country. In 2009, we hiked to the top of Humpback Rocks and while gazing over the gorgeous Shenandoah Valley below, I proposed. Little did we know over a decade later we would be building our dream studio and gallery on that very land.
