In 2025 she became "The Traveling Glass Lady,” bringing fun fused glass workshops to communities throughout Mid-Missouri. I’m Michele Spry, owner and glass artist! I began exploring glass in 2018, and instantly fell in love with it! I love the process, the color options, and the many endless possibilities that one can make with glass. My husband and I own 5 local Small Businesses and I constantly
push myself to try new things and like most endeavors in my life, my hobby quickly turned into a business. I had recently completed my second children’s book and the protagonist of that book, a World War II veteran, had passed away leaving me heartbroken with my desire to write extinguished. In need of another creative pursuit to fill the void, I began taking glass classes with Cindy Mutrux. Left to my own aspirations and with a gentle nudge from a Cindy, I founded Midway Mercantile Co. The shop initially started as an Etsy store, specialized in fused-glass pendants made from cut and stacked, COE 90 glass sheets, and while pendants will always hold a dear spot in my heart, I quickly realized that it was too limiting. In true Michele Spry fashion, I don’t like to be limited! I noticed that jewelry is more of a personal thing and while I do still make some jewelry I have moved over into the home-good items and giftable items such as my Succulent/Cactus Gardens, Fused Floral Textured Framed Pieces and my most recent, Textured Seascapes! I always want my work to stand out and be different from everyone else. While there are many fused glass artists out there, and many of us do similar things, I am a little more OCD with my creations and have a method to how I create something. I love to support other small businesses and I look all over the world to find unique glass pieces to put in my products. I work really hard to build lasting relationships with businesses and customers allowing me the opportunity to do something else I have wanted to do, teach some of my Fused Glass projects to groups. My studio, located in the basement of our home, is a tranquil spot for me as there are no windows, however, I have great lighting, you can hear the clicking of my kilns as they go through different programs and a small radio that plays country music. It’s easy to get lost in my projects, lose track of time and before I know it, sometimes hours have passed. My artistic influences are Marguerite Beneke who is an amazing Fused Glass Enamel Painter located in South Africa. Her work is absolutely amazing and she is an excellent teacher. I fell in love with her ocean scenes as well as her abstract pieces. Tabitha Burrill who is known as the “Murrini Queen” in the Glass World is simply amazing in so many ways. She makes glass murrini that many Glass Artists use in their work across the world. Just the way she puts glass pieces together and her teaching style through her YouTube videos is very inspiring to us all. She is located in Croatia with her amazing team of talented women who make this murrini for us to create our own unique art. I am drawn to individuals who just make their medium seem so effortless. Dolly Parton famously said, “When I’m inspired, I get excited because I can’t wait to see what I’ll come up with next.”
So, what inspires me? Each and every one of you inspire me. When you take a leap of faith to create a Small Business like this you aren’t sure how well it will be received. The outpouring support of so many people since my start has truly inspired me to become better as a person and to push myself as a glass artist. Thank you!
