Terra Studios

One day, a young glassblower and his wife moved from Colorado to a rural studio in Arkansas, and there they.....

...made glass bluebirds. Lots of bluebirds.  Little glass bluebirds of happiness.  And then they started to sell them, a few at a time, and, eventually, over nine million of them (here are a few hundred more).

For T day on the Blogging with A to Z Challenge, I bring you to Terra Studios, in rural Washington County, Arkansas.  Arkansas is not a normal tourist destination for many where I live in the Northeast United States. However, I lived in Arkansas for four years in the 1980's and  can tell you it is well worth a visit.

This post for my America the Beautiful series is about an art glass studio.

In 1982, while I was living there, the glassblower started to sell his Bluebirds of Happiness at the then-semi annual War Eagle Fair. Eventually, he expanded and opened his studio to the public.

Each bluebird is individually hand blown and dated.  I packed away the two bluebirds I bought in Arkansas in the 1980's - I'm not sure if I bought them at War Eagle, but by the time I left, they were being sold locally in some other places. 

Of course, nothing has prevented other people from making their own glass birds, and this has been a challenge for Terra.  So now theirs are called the Original Bluebirds of Happiness.

The original glassblower is retired, and his son runs the business now.  If you visit their 160 acre studio you will see sights like this.

And this.

And this.

But the star of the show is still the bluebirds.  Now, they've been joined by birds of other colors - pink Bird of Hope, rainbow, green (some of these are limited edition colors) and birds with candle holders, but my favorite is still the bluebird.  They come in various configurations, now, and I purchased this little guy in 2013.  I hope I can return one day.

Tomorrow - what will I pick for U?