Fire and ice under one roof in Benton Harbor

When discussions started more than a year ago about opening a gelateria next door to the glass and metal school in Benton Harbor’s historic Hinkley building no one knew they were riding a trend.

David Eggers started it with the Pirate Store in San Francisco, a shop that in a small way helps support a nonprofit tutoring, writing, and publishing organization. The concept’s grown to eight cities, including one in Ann Arbor known as the Liberty Street Robot & Repair.

Now Benton Harbor has Water Street GelatoWorks alongside the Glassworks where students learn about glass working. Both the school and glassworks are under one roof so visitors can watch the glassmaking process from the school’s catwalk while enjoying an Italian ice.

GelatoWorks features renowned gelato from Palazzolo’s.

Co-founder Kathy Catania says students in the school’s Fired Up! program help scoop gelato. The shop that opened May 21 serves Palazzolo’s Artisan Gelato and Sorbetto, retro candy and soda. Their work also is on sale in the gelateria. The intent is to find ways for young people to obtain job skills and the school to become less grant dependent.

“People are coming in for gelato and finding there’s a glass school here,” Catania says.

Water Street Glassworks opened in January 2004. In September 2009, the school opened the new Blossom Fehlberg Metal Studio behind the Hinkley and expanded its curriculum to include metalworking. Classes now include blacksmithing, welding, plasma cutting and other metal working.

More than 1,000 students have created art work through the mediums of glass and metal in classes at Water Street Glassworks and the Fehlberg Metal Studio.

Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Kathy Catania, Water Street Glassworks