Welcome to North Shore Glass School!

Meet the Team

Michael Hall

CO-FOUNDER & TEACHER
Michael C. Hall has been working with glass for over 20 years. After graduating from Boston College with a Art History Degree he moved to Vermont. He started as an apprentice glassblower at Simon Pearce. Three years of learning the basics of glassblowing prepared him for a move to the West Coast to learn at a handful of globally recognized studios. In addition to the NSGS Michael is owner of Curran Glassworks + Design, and Lead Glass Designer at Lightband Studio.com. His large scale installations can be found in restaurants, hotels, and office lobbies internationally. Michael lives in Swampscott with his wife and two aspiring young glassblowers.
B.A. in Art History
Matthew Cronin

CO-FOUNDER & TEACHER
Matthew Cronin is glass artist, sculptor and teacher working out of Salem, Massachusetts. He has over twenty years of experience working in the medium of glass and teaching. A native of Marblehead, Massachusetts, Matt was first exposed glass while studying visual arts at the University of Hartford in Connecticut. Upon taking his first class, he became immediately entranced and infatuated by the medium of glass. In 2002, Matt graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in painting and sculpture. For nearly twenty years, Matt has worked and taught glass art at a number of private and public studios and universities around New England, including Diablo Glass School and Salem State University. He has also taught classes for Massachusetts College of Art and Boston University. For seven years prior to opening North Shore Glass School, Matt was the studio manager and senior instructor at Diablo Glass School in Boston, MA. His work has been on display at museums, galleries and private collections throughout the country. Matt and his wife live in Marblehead with their young children.
B.A. Painting & Sculpture
Anya Ciarametaro

MOBILE DIRECTOR & TEACHER
Anya has been working with glass since 2012 after being introduced at Salem State University. (And she thought she was going to be a math teacher! Ha!) She immediately pursued a minor in 3-Dimensional Art alongside education. She went on to teach glassblowing to tweens at Camp Chateaugay in upstate New York. Anya spent 10 years in elementary school extracurricular education & administration before joining the glass school in 2022. She is a senior glass instructor and program director at the glass school, and is so amped to live out this dream. Anya lives with her husband, daughter, and what she likes to describe as a "small zoo" in Rowley, Massachusetts, and is elated to be able to teach anyone and everyone to fall in love with glass just as she did.
B.S. in Mathematics, Minors in Education and 3-Dimensional Art
Ben Trussell Holst

SHOP MANAGER & TEACHER
Ben Trussell Holst is a new glass blower / lamp worker and is currently learning, teaching, and working at North Shore Glass School in Salem, Massachusetts. Ben mainly works with borosilicate glass on the torch and recently added some sculpting capabilities to his skill set. Ben teaches adults and children fused glass and flameworking, and hopes to gain some more experience in traditional soft glass blowing as well.