Tucked in the corner of the back yard and nestled against an outcrop of rock, an old wooden house in Yellowknifes old town shelters a small office and work shop of Northern Lights Glassware. This unique business and workshop was founded by Matthew Grogono in 1994 and has evolved over the years into a well laid out and systematic operation offering handcrafted one of a kind glassware pieces from drinking glasses to flower vases, candle holders and other assorted glassware items.

Matthews main desire in launching the company was to reduce the amount of wasted glass hitting the landfill. Each recycled bottle is handcrafted into a full functional glassware product by Matthew himself but stands out as a uniquely styled northern art piece too During Matthews journey to perfect the his glass cutting and etching techniques he uses today, he had to develop most of his craft tools in his workshop, as there were no commercially available tools. Some of his home-engineered tools have been fabricated out of old recycled items such as old clothes washer and dryer.

Matthew refined his craft process down to a few step operations. All of the artwork design has been be developed by the northern artist, adapted and applied using high tech material as part of his process

Matthew attended a National glass Conference this past year and was the only one present offering a recycled glass and design process operation. This overall unique process gained him national attention in the glass industry and set him out apart as a leading innovator in the field.