Rich Arentzen and Tove Ohlander are the co-founders of AO Glass.
Rich and Tove built a business based on their separate approaches to learning the craft of glass work. They bring both of their perspectives together at a dynamic and culturally diverse glass factory-studio in the heart of the South End of Burlington VT. They met at the Sweden’s National School of Glass, Orrefors, in 1994 and in 1998, they started their first glass blowing studio in the Oslo area of Norway. Drawn to Burlington, they moved to Vermont in 2007 and started AO Glass.
Their two glass traditions and aesthetics - Swedish versus Italian-American - come together in a complementary way.
Both Arentzen and Ohlander are present at the 10,000 sq.ft. Pine St. factory. Together with their skilled team they provide clients with high-end glass components, glass gifts, and tableware. AO Glass maintains its Nordic connection by importing Swedish Glass from Glasma in Småland, the research center for glass raw material production that creates our eco-crystal: user friendly and dishwasher safe!
AO Glass is a protector of the craft - literally “keeping the fires burning” while providing jobs and contributing to Burlington’s creative economy as a manufacturer of handblown glass components with national clients.
Rich Arentzen grew up in Guilford CT and graduated from Bucknell University. Through inspiration from his jeweler aunt Glenda Arentzen and her partner and early studio glass pioneer Rick Harkness, he began blowing glass in 1990 in Burlington Vermont. After many years of study, and practice in traditional techniques, he now prides himself on having created one of the country’s largest glass studios and teams. “Now that the infrastructure is established, I look forward to re-focusing on creative production.”
Tove Ohlander grew up in a densely glass-cultured area of the world, Småland, Sweden, and became a part of the deep tradition of glass blowing at the Orrefors Glass School. Tove works in the glass manufacturing field as a glass product designer while managing brand development and marketing. Tove is also the founder of tove wear ~ a clothing brand with a clear women focus, based on her experience as a creative maker looking for empowering and inspiring clothes.
AO Retro: timeline, pride points & struggles
✨ 15 YEARS OF AO GLASS ✨
After founding AO Glass in 2007 it took several years for Rich and Tove to find the perfect location to expand their business. In 2011 they signed the lease for the tiny, but oh-so-charming, brick building on Pine Street. Gaffer Lucas Lonegren joined from Vermont's Northeast Kingdom and anchored the studio by supplying his own glass furnace. Tove power-washed the walls and developed products, and Rich managed the business, all while working a second job at Klinger’s Bakery. The AO couple also had 4-, 11-, and 13-year-old children at that time, so to say that they were busy is an understatement!
The first large order at AO Glass came from The Smithsonian Institute for 500 glass snowfolk. Bernie Sanders’ office facilitated the order as part of his initiative directing the Smithsonian to offer more made-in-America gifts at their legendary museum store.
After that first successful product line, AO Glass developed partnerships in the glass lighting industry, initially with Hubbardton Forge and Lindsey Adelman, followed by Allied Maker and Urban Electric. This was possible after hiring the first AO Glass Assistant, Harrison McCandless, fresh from a University of Vermont degree in of Studio Arts, as recommended by UVM Professor Lynda McIntire.
The lighting industry partnerships transformed AO Glass, growing from a small art glass studio into a premiere vendor of glass components in the lighting industry. Their unique set-up, size, and industry knowledge enabled AO to provide clients with unique sample sessions and large manufacturing capacity. This, coupled with an unmatched attentiveness to design and quality, problem-solving, and guidance throughout the entire process, makes AO Glass stand out in this field.
Purchasing something from AO Glass is more than the transaction: it establishes a direct relationship with an age-old craft made modern, imbued with hundreds of years of history and folklore.
