Let's head to the mountains where the 2000-year-old tradition of glass blowing has found a home and where artist John Geci has created not only a studio, but an entire experience for all to enjoy.

[gentle music] - The town of Burnsville wasn't founded until 1830, and so people had to make their own things, and they had to be self-sufficient.

The thing about this area now is there are more glassblowers here than anywhere in the country other than Seattle.

You know, it's sort of in the blood of the locals.

That gets added onto by the transplants from Penland.

- [Reporter] Transplants like John Geci.

- Well, I grew up in Litchfield, Connecticut, a small town in the Berkshire Hills.

- [Reporter] After college up north, John headed south to attend Penland School of Craft, and soon began earning a living from glassblowing in 2003.

Three years later, he purchased acreage outside Burnsville in the community of Bakersville where he built his studio and gallery J Geci Glass.

- So my work is mostly decorative.

All the glass in here is mine.

- [Reporter] In the decades since it opened, J Geci Glass has grown in popularity and can now be found in galleries from North Carolina to Florida, Arizona, and Oregon.

- I have a couple dozen galleries throughout the country, and even with those other galleries in the summer months, this is my best gallery, sometimes better than all my other galleries combined.

- [Reporter] Popular items are round flat bottles he calls lecca-lecca.

- Lecca is Italian for lollipop, and I just see them as like little bursts of color.

And so I try to keep a wide rainbow of them and get to play around with slightly different shapes and, you know, just kind of have fun with them.

- [Reporter] John also incorporates cane, or small tubular pieces of glass, in some of his designs.

- [John] That is something that is an Italian technique developed around the 16th century, and it was something that was fiercely guarded for as long as they could, and it's slowly leaked out through Europe, and now it's a fairly common technique.

- [Reporter] But his signature creation is a bowl within a bowl he calls Eclipse.

- [John] I used to do more traditional bowls, but I really like having this double walled pole look where it just has a lot of presence, but still functional, but also very decorative.

- [Reporter] The art of glass blowing is mesmerizing.

Here, customers can watch firsthand.

- [John] Most weekdays on 9:00 to 5:00 I'm blowing glass, and people are welcome to just drop in.

- [Reporter] And spend a night or two.

He also has a vacation rental just up from the studio for those wanting to immerse themselves in the artistic vibe that resonates throughout this area.

- [John] It's got a wraparound deck and a view of the Black Mountains, which are the highest mountains east of the Mississippi.

- [Reporter] It's a place you can literally eat, sleep, and drink the environment of glass blowing, something John looks forward to each and every day.

- [John] Usually, it's pretty exciting to get up and get into the shop and see what's gonna be made that day.

[smooth music] - J Geci Glass is at 3224 Snow Creek Road in Bakersville.

The gallery is open daily from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

For more information, give them a call at [828] 467-4956 or go online to jgeciglass.com.