Welcome to the shop, The Glass Bakery.

A shiny new week calls for an intro to a shiny new vendor from Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, The Glass Bakery.

Owner and maker, Cara, began her professional career by obtaining a Ph.D. in meteorology and climatology, but after a while, she yearned for a change. At the same point in her life, she was watching her dog, Hudson, growing older and requiring more care, so she decided to pursue a new career path that allowed her to be at home with him. She started playing around with glass, making anything she could — like dishes, jewelry, and pictures — and began selling at farmers’ markets.

When Hudson ultimately passed, Cara, in her grief, found herself seeking a deeper connection to wildlife and nature and turned to birdwatching in her backyard. It struck her one day that she could try to create glass birds.

Years later now, glass birds are her specialty, making each one from scratch in her studio, drawing, cutting, and shaping by hand. Finely powdered coloured glass is layered between clear glass, and the whole bundle is kiln-fired to fuse the pieces together. No paints, glazes, or molds used.

While she's known for crafting birds, her true passion is dogs and she regularly supports local and national Canadian dog charities such as ElderDog Canada and Misfit Manor Dog Rescue.

She hopes her whimsical glass birds capture a sense of innocence and playfulness and evoke memories of a special place, moment, or loved-one. She attributes her own dear Hudson as continued inspiration, and thanks him for redirecting her to this blissful work of bringing joy to nature lovers across all generations.

Find her beautiful work at LQ, in-store and online.