Check Out Marcie Gallagher’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcie Gallagher.

Hi Marcie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been artistic and creative but didn’t find my passion for creating until I found glass art. I remember seeing huge stained glass windows in buildings, small suncatchers and Tiffany style lamps in various places while growing up and always loved the way the glass changed and manipulated the light that shown through it. I knew someday I was going to learn how to make glass art but for so long it stayed a “someday”. Two years ago for my birthday in June, I decided that I was tired of it just being “someday” and booked a beginner class for myself, my husband, my daughter and her fiancé at a small local studio. From the moment I picked up the glass and tools that day I was hooked. I found some used tools and a small supply of glass on Facebook Marketplace and started teaching myself the rest of the skills I needed through books and every video I could find. I also found a huge and wildly supportive glass art community on Instagram. Shortly after I stated creating pieces that I felt comfortable enough with sharing, I started getting offers to buy my pieces and people wanting me to make custom pieces for them. One of my favorite first custom orders was for a duck club in Wisconsin and my pieces were used a trophies! Soon after that I decided that I could focus my passion for glass art into something amazing for my future and Snappy Glass Art, LLC. was created in December of 2022.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Two of the biggest struggles I faced were running a small business while working 40 hours a week, and learning how to utilize technology and social media to advertise and sell my art. Fortunately, I have a wonderfully supportive business partner who also happens to be my biggest fan and husband of just over 10 years, Dan. Since most of my evenings and weekends are spent in our small basement glass studio, we work together to keep the business and house running smoothly after we finish working our day jobs. Using technology to market and sell art took a little longer to figure out and I’m still learning every day. I used tutorials and did research online to set up my Etsy shop. I tried using my own website and set that up successfully, but Etsy provides more exposure so that was ultimately more lucrative. I really like the fact that they make it easy and take care of sales tax. Their shipping options are easy to use and track and they have a lot of useful tools to help make a shop a successful. To me, the fees they charge are worth it.
Social media was challenging, but I was able to get a lot of info by seeing what tools other people use and doing research online about the different platform algorithms. I don’t have a ton of followers, but I feel like I’m growing at a comfortable pace. Having an online presence almost seems like a full time job on its own and it takes a lot of time to edit videos and create posts. I really enjoy creating process videos to share how my art is made though.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Right now I work full time as an HR Specialist and my husband is a supervisor at the same Agency for the federal government, and we run the business during evenings and weekends. We eventually want to make glass art full time. We recently invested in a kiln and started fusing glass also. We would like to learn how to repair and restore antique leaded stained glass windows. I would also love to have a small studio where I could teach and share my love of glass art with others. When I make glass art, my goal is to make the pieces as strong as possible so they will stand the test of time. Ive had a couple of customers reach out and report that their pieces unfortunately fell, but were not damaged at all! That was a great feeling!
Custom orders are some of my favorite pieces to make because the reaction from the customer when they see their finished piece in person fills me with joy and stays with me forever.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Right now our work is small scale mostly consisting of small panels, sun catchers, plant stakes, and wind spinners. My dream however, is to make large, leaded stained glass windows that incorporate fused glass designs in them. Keep an eye out around town because you will see my work in houses and office buildings someday soon!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/snappyglassartbymarcie?igsh=MW12cmVweHNncG1pNg==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088860348177&mibextid=ZbWKwL
• Other: https://snappyglassart.etsy.com