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New Zealand's scientific glassblowing industry at risk of disappearing for good, fears one Dunedin-based glass blowing business owner.
Scientific glassblowing is a specialised skill involving the creation and repair of laboratory glassware like round bottled flasks, or glassware for engineering purposes.
The issues for the industry are multifaceted - with an ageing workforce, the closure of university glassblowing workshops and educational pathways drying up.
When our next guest Dave Maliken emigrated from US around six years ago, and even as recently as 2022, he says there were fourteen glassblowers in NZ. Now, he says there are just four left.