At RefCheck, we're thrilled to announce our collaboration with renowned glass artist David Boucher for an exclusive drop of his inaugural collection. David, with a remarkable tenure of 15 years at Illadelph Glass, has established himself as a master craftsman, building a legacy of exceptional artistry and innovation. Now, he embarks on a new chapter, launching his own brand and unleashing his creativity in unprecedented ways.

1) What inspired David to pursue glass art?

David:
When I was 16, my parents brought me to the Corning Museum of Glass when we were on vacation in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. I had no idea where they were taking me or what I was about to see. The end result... I was "blown" away. I had no idea how any of it was created, and it gave me a type of feeling that stuck with me and piqued my interest.

There was a beginner class at the museum I took when I was there and I made a glass flower out of the furnace. Looking back on it, they really created it but I blew it into the tube, picked the colors but it was enough to get my start on this incredible journey!

I wanted to do more with making glass and asked the instructor, and believe it or not, they told me the only place to get a degree for scientific glass was at the community college right down the street from my house in South Jersey- the Scientific Glass Technology at Salem Community College. How convenient, right?!

The trip to the Corning Museum of Glass was the summer before my senior year of high school, and I had already finished all my main credits other than gym, health, and English, so after my experience at the glass museum, I was drawn to sign up for the School to Careers program to do half days at high school and the other half taking college classes and working another job on the side. During this time, I was taking glass art classes at the college, as I couldn't take scientific classes until I was a full-time student. The glass art classes focused on soda lime (soft glass) and cold working techniques, while scientific was clear standard wall pyrex, otherwise known as borosilicate.

Believe it or not, I didn't even know what glass pipes were until I graduated and got into the program and, met a few hippies, which is when a whole new world emerged for me! Before that, I was just accustomed to smoking blunts and listening to Biggie and Nas.

Fast forward to 2007, I graduated with my associate's degree in scientific glass technology and got a job in Vineland, New Jersey, at a place called Labglass making production tubes.

I would spend my time after work blowing glass at home, just trying to figure out how to make the art I saw in my head. Back then, the economy was going in all crazy directions, and Labglass had to let me go. Luckily, a friend of mine was already working at Illadelph and asked if I wanted a job making the production coils over there. The rest was history...

2) What are some of your favorite pieces that you’ve created, and why?

Dave:
The Zach P punished head coils from like…2011-2012. That was the first time I got my hands on some real art. It opened up so many doors for my career at Illadelph to allow me to be trusted to put together other awesome stuff like the Quave set from around that time. I’m honestly grateful to have been able to get my hands on all the high-end stuff throughout my career. From my own buddies from Salem Community College like Chandler Ellis and Sean Wills, to OGs like Salt and Kevin Murray. It all brought me to where I am today.

3) What are the challenging parts you face as an artist?

Dave:
I’m a perfectionist. Nothing ever feels good enough. I’m my own biggest critic. If I break something, it keeps me up at night. I go over the process in my head over and over and over again until the next day when I do it again and make it work. I’m always looking for a way to improve the process on the next one. It’s exhausting but it’s very satisfying when you pull something outta the kiln that you’re happy(enough) with.

4) What is your creative process like when approaching new work?

Dave:
I get really high and try to let the muses take control and bring me to my flow state. The worst thing is to have an idea and not be able to execute it. You gotta show up everyday and put the reps in so that when inspiration strikes you’re ready for it. I just show up every day and make it happen. I get a lot of inspiration from the book The War of Art by Steven Pressfield and also from The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. I revisit both of them about once a year as a refresher to get me back where I need to be.

5) How do you stay motivated and inspired, especially during times when you’re feeling creatively blocked?

Dave:
I have a family, a wife and three kids, I have no choice but to stay motivated. I’m very proud that I was able to hone in and get really good at something that actually interests me, so I use that as motivation to show up everyday. I spent a lot of years working on my techniques just to be able to execute some of the things I have floating around in my head. My technique still hasn’t caught up to my ideas yet, so I think there’s plenty of inspiration yet to come.

6) What can people expect from the work you will be putting out as you venture with your own brand?

Dave:
I’m going to be making a few fully worked high-end pieces per month. I want to be able to spend a lot of time on each one to ensure no detail is overlooked. I plan on making complete sets with matching handpipes and other accessories. I really love the way a finished set looks with all the matching components along with it, it’s very satisfying. I also want to work on accessories for people to upgrade their existing production setups. And if I get an idea, I’m just gonna run with it and make stuff I think is cool. I love Sherlock hand pipes, so I will definitely be doing more of those and dialing in on my shapes.

7) What’s your favorite part about the process of venturing off in your own?

Dave:
Creating an image in my head of something I want to make, and then literally creating it out of thin air. That’s always been one of my favorite things about blowing glass. Being able to get it out of my head and into my hands. I started to lose that feeling of magic a little bit towards the end of my career at Illadelph. I loved being able to assemble all the stuff I did up there, but at the end of the day the creative part was largely out of my hands. I was at the mercy of what Luca wanted the product to look like, which is understandable. It’s his company I get it. And I learned more than I can put into words in the process of doing that. But it’s time for me to start getting some of these ideas out that I had pushed back for a long time.

Presenting David Boucher's Debut Collection:

We couldn't be more proud and excited to support David's journey as he ventures into his own brand at RefCheck. It's with great pleasure we present the drop of his first 3 beakers with RefCheck:

• A collaboration with @sfwillz, featuring a 9mm 19.5" beaker set with rainbow worked crushed opal sleeve, meticulously detailed from top to bottom.

• A stunning UV Cobalt Crushed Opal piece with Mint and White Satin Encalmo lines, adorned with an encased opal on the slide.

• An Experimental Green and Jet Black Beaker Set sleeved in rainbow crushed opal, accented with a spectrum of colors and textures, crowned with an encased opal on the slide.

Be sure to check out davidboucherglass.com for accessories and gorefcheck.com/davidboucher for the high-end beaker sets. Follow Dave on Instagram @davidboucherglass for more updates!