epiphany studios

You don’t expect to find one of Michigan’s most impressive glassblowing operations tucked into a garden setting in Pontiac, but that’s exactly what epiphany studios is — the working hot shop and gallery of master glassblower April Wagner, running since 1993 and, at 4,000 square feet, the largest glass studio in the state. It’s woman-owned, warmly all-are-welcome, and genuinely one of a kind: you can shop the gallery of vases, sculptures, ornaments, and gifts (all molten-made on site), and a few times a year Wagner opens up hands-on workshops where absolute beginners — kids six and up included — get to gather glowing glass on a pipe and make something to take home. Watching molten glass shaped at 2,000 degrees is mesmerizing in a way a screen never manages, which makes this a standout for a different kind of date, a girls’ outing, or the out-of-towner who’s seen enough breweries. One catch worth planning around: hours are limited and often by appointment. On our list as the rare art experience in Pontiac you can actually put your hands on.