Today we’d like to introduce you to Connie Beckers
Hi Connie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Part of my youth was spent in Appleton, MN until my family relocated to The Cities when I was 10 years old. I spent the next 55 years mostly in North Minneapolis and took my first stained class for my 40th birthday! The business developed through advanced training and experience into consignment sales, art shows, custom art glass windows, teaching and public art. For my 50th birthday, I bought myself a kiln and added glass fusing to my class roster.
In the early 2000’s, I was involved in developing an arts non-profit focused on building community through the arts and was involved in a number of other initiatives aimed at bettering our community.
In 2009, an opportunity to open a retail gift shop was presented and I jumped! The Goddess of Glass & Friends grew to around 150 local consigners along with a variety of art classes earning us the title of Best Place for an Art Class and Best Gift Shoppe through readers of the MN Women’s Press.
The building I rented was sold in August of 2019 and I was unable to find another local spot for the gift shop but was offered options to continue holding classes. Until March of 2020 when we were hit with a global pandemic so I closed the business, sold my house and moved in with my daughter in Elk River.
I consider myself semi-retired but am really doing more of the work I missed when I ran the gift shop. I have a booth in the local antique store, which is where I’ve made most of my friends in this new community. I consign my stained and fused glass with a couple of local retailers, did a few shows last year and have recently been focused on custom stained glass projects.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road has been curvy, hilly, icy and bumpy and I’ve enjoyed just about every minute of it. When I ditched all my part-time jobs and decided to become a full-time self-supporting artist, there were not handbooks to follow so I got to know other artists by attending shows, through my glass suppliers and by attending gallery shows. At one point, I founded a group called The Artist Roundtable which was later absorbed by a larger artist support organization as The Business of Art. And finances were hard most of the time. Through my community connections, I was able to find funding to give me boosts here and there. I experienced a big boom in business through my partnership with Groupon. Glass fusing was pretty new and people were enthusiastic! I started the classes in my house, The Funky Bungalow, but soon moved to a larger space where I brought in a dozen more art teachers to keep my Groupon people coming back. I credit my days as a Mary Kay Skin Care Consultant for that marketing strategy.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Stained glass has always fascinated me from childhood and I finally took a class for my 40th birthday. I had invested in tools and, as a single mother, felt I couldn’t waste that money so started selling my creations to friends and family. I have gone through many avenues of income in the last 29 years and am at an ideal place right now. I like making custom stained glass windows but clients aren’t plentiful. So I dabble in antiques with a booth at a local mall, I consign with a couple places and I’m just about to start teaching classes again.
I had a glass sale when I moved out here and met Krista from The Artery. She was in Ramsey at the time and bought my stained glass tools for her classes. She just acquired a new space in Anoka and asked me to share her glass classroom with glass fusing classes!
What sets me apart; the way I use the sheets of glass to create my windows. It’s sort of like sewing; you use the pattern and grain of the fabric to complete your picture and I use the swirls and lines in the glass to create my picture.
Sometimes when I’m working, I almost have to pinch myself. Like, how in the world did I get to make a living doing something like this?!? You see, I started out in the clerical world and thought maybe I would keel over in my cubicle one day! lol I blew the whistle on judges fixing parking tickets for themselves and friends and ended up leaving that job after almost 17 years. I had to get creative after that to earn enough money to replace that income so I became a church secretary, sold Mary Kay and worked in a coffee shop. I bought my house as an “unwed mother with an illegitimate child” (seriously!) and overcame a lot of crap to get where I am today.
So many people have backed me in so many ways and they still do. I didn’t do any of this alone but I did do it all with purpose and conviction.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
People don’t know I play piano, guitar and I was the state district champion French horn player in 1973. And I can write backwards.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goddessofglass.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goddessofglass/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegoddessofglass/
