Helios Move Update From Kristine

Updated 9/12/25

By Kristine Shafer, Owner of Helios Fused Glass Studio

We couldn’t wait any longer to see y’all, and we will be officially open starting at noon on Saturday, September 13th, and will be open regular business hours going forward.

Even though we still have a few more exciting items to put the finishing touches on, we do have our retail, open studio, kilns, and limited coldworking up and running. See the FAQs below for details.

FAQ: What You Need to Know

New Address
705 Wallingford Bend Dr., Ste. 107
Austin, TX 78753

Business Hours
Monday       Closed
Tuesday        12 - 5pm
Wednesday  12 - 7pm
Thursday       12 - 5pm
Friday           12 - 5pm
Saturday       12 - 5pm
Sunday.       12 - 5pm

Kilns
All kilns are up and running and we’re ready for your firings!

Open Studio
Main Open studio is ready for you to come create.

Retail
Our retail shop is open and stocked with glass & glass supplies.

Coldworking
We currently have limited coldworking availabilty with

  • One tile saw

  • One grinder

Other coldworking equipment will be coming online in the coming weeks.

This community has showed up, supported us, and cheered us on through all the ups and downs, every step of the move, and we’re so grateful for your patience and support. Now it’s time to get back to what we love most: making, firing, and sharing glass with you.

With Thanks and Gratitude!

Kristine and the Helios Team

Updated 9/4/25

By Kristine Shafer, Owner of Helios Fused Glass Studio

Opening Update + September Classes 

If you’ve ever worked with the City of Austin on construction or opening a business, you know the drill, it’s often a lot of “hurry up and wait.” That’s exactly where we find ourselves right now. We’re currently waiting on our final inspection before we can officially open our doors. 

Because of this, our planned opening on Saturday, September 6th is postponed, with a new date TBD. We know it will be soon, but we don’t have an exact date just yet. We’ll also be rescheduling the Pattern Bar and Glass Boiling classes and will share the new dates as soon as they’re confirmed. 

The good news is all other classes scheduled this month are not affected and will continue as planned. 

We can’t say enough how much we appreciate this amazing community’s patience, support, and excitement during this transition. Thank you for sticking with us—we can’t wait to celebrate our opening with you once we get the official green light. 

With gratitude, 
The Helios Team 


Updated 7/28/25

By Kristine Shafer, Owner of Helios Fused Glass Studio

Hi Friends of Helios, 

We have some big news to share! After months (years) of planning, dreaming, and anxiously waiting out delays, we finally have an official move date for Helios Fused Glass Studio! 

✨ Helios is moving to our new, expanded location ✨ 
✨✨August 16! ✨✨ 

Helios Fused Glass Studio 705 Wallingford Bend Dr #107 Austin, TX, 78752 

 

Dates to mark on your calendar:

August 15th | Friday - Final Day at Our Current Location 

We’ll be spending the following 2 weeks carefully moving kilns, glass, and every last frit jar to our new home.  

Important Dates Pre-Move:

  1. Aug. 10 - The cut-off date for getting pieces fired is Sunday, Aug 10. Any projects needing to be fired after Aug 10 will have to wait until we reopen at the new studio. 

  2. Aug. 11 - The Anytime Fusing Class Series will be paused starting Aug 11. It will be available for booking again starting Sept 2. 

  3. Aug. 15 - If you still have projects or materials stored at the studio, please take them home before August 15th. Anything left after this date will be donated to class materials or thrown out.  

August 9th | Saturday, 12–3pm - Farewell Potluck 

At the current Helios address: 13581 Pond Springs Rd. # 107 Austin, TX 78729 

Let’s send off our current studio with good food, laughter, and community. Bring your favorite dish and join us for one last hurrah in the space that started it all. 

If you have any photos from over the years (2007 to today!), send them to info@heliosglass.com and we’ll add them to the photo slideshow for everyone to enjoy during the potuck! 

 

August 30th | Saturday - Reopening at Our New Location 

New Helios address: 705 Wallingford Bend Dr. # 107 Austin, TX 78752 

We’ll be ready to welcome you into our new building with more room for creativity than ever before! More details about the new space will be coming shortly!

A Grand Opening Party is in the works! 

We expect a date in late Oct or Nov for the Grand Opening Party. We’ll have a better idea once we’ve gotten into the new space about what the exact date will be. 

We can’t wait to celebrate this next chapter with you. Thank you for all your support over the years. Whether you’ve taken a class, joined in open studio, collaborated on a project, or just cheered us on from afar, you’ve been a part of the Helios story. 

More details about the new space (and sneak peeks!) are coming soon. For now, we hope to see you at the Farewell Potluck on August 9th, and again when we open our doors at the new studio on August 30th. 

With gratitude and excitement, 

Kristine Shafer & the Helios Team - Sarah Bolm, Stacey Bolnick, Becky Shelby, Malina Cipleu, Taylor Vaughan, Shelly Lance, & Phoenix Vaughan 


Updated 6/12/25

By Kristine Shafer, owner & supreme chaos wrangler of Helios Fused Glass Studio

We’re still at Pond Springs Rd…

…and STILL waiting on the City of Austin’s permitting department. There’s a back and forth of requests from different permitting depts (there’s 4!) including:

- inspections and reports, which were completed and submitted

-changing formats or code tables, which seems to depend on which staffing person is at which desk on which day

-correcting errors - we missed a box, they didn’t see the attached report and counted it missing. My grey hairs are sprouting new grey hairs!

Each change triggers a couple/few weeks turnaround.

On the bright side….the landlords at both locations are being incredibly supportive and accommodating! With the extra time, we keep coming up with new and improved things for the new studio while also cleaning up and organizing the current studio.

So, What’s the Current Plan?

  • We are fully OPEN and STOCKED in our current studio location. (13581 Pond Springs Rd., Ste 107)

  • We’ve moving everything from storage to the new location and putting together new tables and chairs. We’re doing the small stuff to fill the anxiety-ladened days & weeks.

  • We hope to be open at the new location late summer. (705 Wallingford Bend, ATX 78752)

There are More Master classes coming up, where will they be?

Bob Leatherbarrow’s class will be at the current location. (13581 Pond Springs Rd., Ste 107)

I’m so grateful for the love and support from this community! Y’all are seriously the reason I keep at this…also the glass ;)

Kristine


Updated 3/28/25

By Kristine Shafer, Owner Helios Fused Glass Studio

Still waiting…

Our updated permits still have not been approved or otherwise. The City of Austin is requiring an approved Change of Use Certificate before they get back to us on the permits. This is extending their 2 week window to respond one way or another on approval or requested additional action.

What’s the New Plan?

  • We will remain OPEN in our current studio location until at least mid-April, for now. (13581 Pond Springs Rd., Ste 107)

  • The move to the new location will either be mid-April or end of March. (705 Wallingford Bend, ATX 78752)

There are Master classes coming up, will this new move plan affect them?

Catherine Dunstan’s class will be at the current location. (13581 Pond Springs Rd., Ste 107)

Richard Parrish’s class will either be at current Helios or new Helios. I won’t know until we get closer, probably April 15.

Same for Tali Grishpan’s class. I will know probably April 15.

Lots of hugs to this incredibly supportive community!

Kristine


Updated 2/12/25

By Kristine Shafer, Owner Helios Fused Glass Studio

Our Original Moving Date is Moving

Yes, you read that double wording right. The moving date (originally set for the week of March 1-14th) is moving again thanks to the capricious construction gods that rule Austin. But the reality is moving into a 1950's building will create time eating curveballs that only emerge as you pull back sheetrock and ceiling tiles. Oh, and waiting for inspectors. Though, ours is lovely and I wish all construction projects the ease of working with easy going people. 

Newly updated plans are being crafted, new permits filed, and schedules are shifting. 


What’s the New Plan?

We will remain OPEN in our current studio location (13581 Pond Springs Rd., Ste 107) until mid-March, for now.

The move to the new location (705 Wallingford Bend, ATX 78752) will either be the last 2 weeks of March or the 2nd and 3rd weeks of April. 

There’s a Master class in April, will this new move plan affect that?

I'm carefully watching those dates for Catherine Dunstan's class! It will either be held at the current Helios or the new building. But will be happening! 

Warmest hugs to this incredibly supporting community!

Kristine