Fire Island Hot Glass Studio was founded in Austin Texas in 1981 by Matthew LaBarbera and is the oldest glassblowing studio in the state. Matthew and his wife, Teresa Ueltschey, work together as a team creating each piece one at a time by hand in the best of the centuries-old glassblowing tradition. Fire Island glass is carried in fine craft galleries across the United States, has been exhibited in Hong Kong, Japan, France, Canada and Switzerland and is included in the permanent collection of Christmas ornaments at the White House.

The studio is open to visitors. Interested individuals or groups are welcome to visit the studio to watch work in progress. Groups of school children, art clubs, Boy scouts and senior citizens are frequent guests.

Matthew LaBarbera was born in 1956 on Long island, New York and moved to Texas when he was four years old. He studied organic chemistry at the University of Texas and developed an interest in glass in the mid '70's. While beginning to gain national recognition as a flat glass artist, he discovered what could be done with hot glass and that was all she wrote! Matthew invested his life savings and devoted himself completely to building the studio, learning to blow glass and running a business. He played music and volleyball on the side and met his future wife, Teresa at a gig in the spring of 1982. Matthew and Teresa were married in 1985.

Teresa Ueltschey was born in 1955 in Tulsa, Oklahoma and moved to Texas in 1968. While developing her skills and reputation as a textile artist focusing on art quilts, she worked as a vegetarian cook, child care provider, manager of and telephone operator at an answering service, a sometimes paid performance artist and a member of Kona Isle Hawaiian Dance Troupe. She is trained as a mediator and has worked as a communication skills and conflict management trainer. She still dances regularly at NIAspace in Austin. She joined Matthew at Fire Island in 1993.