PORT GAMBLE — It’s late fall but John Hurd and David Jensen don’t seem to notice. They’d wear their tell-tale short sleeves to work whether there was snow on the ground or sleet flying from the sky.

“You can’t work here and not like heat,” Ahmis Loving said with a laugh. “Look at Dave. It’s November and he’s wearing sandals.”

With 2000 degree furnaces blowing hot air in his face as he rolls scalding glass, the sandals seem like a pretty good idea. Hurd and Jensen are among the few artists who create their own glass and blow it into a unique variety of lamp-like shapes.

How did they get into it?

“I was lucky actually,” Hurd explained, noting that he pretty much answered an ad placed by former owner Joe Clearman and the two just “hit it off.” Hurd then called his life-long friend Jensen and he, too, was hired at the studio.

That was eight years ago.

The two have since blossomed in the trade which requires not only patience and knowledge but steady hands and artistic flair.

“I come from a family of artists but Dave and I have no formal training — except for what Joe taught us,” Hurd said, adding that Clearman was a master in the glass blowing world with over 30 years experience. “These hand-made glass products are the products of his hard work.”

Loving, Jensen’s significant other, and the woman behind the numbers at the business, also credited Clearman for the success of the glass lamp sales. Clearman, she pointed out, started blowing glass when the wide- spread industry was still had dew on it. He actually created his own equipment and furnaces which are still used by Jensen-Hurd Art Glass today.

When Clearman decided to clear out earlier this year, he approached Jensen and Loving with a very unique proposition. The couple had been looking to buy a house in the area and wound up with an established business to boot.

“We were really excited about the opportunity,” Loving said. “It’s the kind of opportunity you just can’t pass on.”

Clearman had already established the business, selling the one-of-a-kind lamps locally and nationwide. “It’s really a niche market,” Loving pointed out, noting that the studio is constantly creating new designs while keeping Clearman’s established principals.

But even though they have spent the last eight years perfecting their methods, Jensen said he and Hurd still must be very patient with each piece.

“Everything has its own challenge. It’s difficult but rewarding,” he remarked.

Jensen-Hurd Art Glass is evolving, nonetheless, Jensen said, adding that new glass colors are just the beginning of some of the changes at the studio.

The group is also designing new armistices for the lamps, using different types of laser-cut steel and brass to enhance their beauty.

So, do the guys get nervous with 2000 degree gobs of glass on the end of a blowpipe?

Not really, according to Jensen.

Loving had a different take on the matter, having tried once to create a lamp of her own.

“It’s just an amazing process,” she said. “I really gained a lot of respect for the work these guys do.”

Although her own piece didn’t turn out as well as she had hoped, Loving isn’t going to let that deter her from working with glass in the future.

“All in good time,” she said with a smile.

Jensen-Hurd Art Glass will be hosting an open house at the business at 28723 View Drive in Port Gamble on Saturday, Dec. 8 from 3-9 p.m.

Lamps can be purchased locally through Jensen-Hurd Art Glass or at Raven Blues in Poulsbo.