On January 12th the Docents visited Dale Chihuly’s warehouse studio on Pacific Avenue in Tacoma, called TS-1 (Tacoma Studio 1). This was his first warehouse which he purchased in the 1960s, before anyone thought of venturing into the South Pacific Avenue area.

We met Terry Rishel who is in charge of TS-1. Terry is also Dale’s chief photographer and travels with him to all parts of the world. All the Chihuly books have been photographed in various corners of TS-1 building. Terry also photographs, documents, and inventories all the Chihuly glass. TS-1 also houses Dale Chihuly’s archives, for example, his first piece of glass – a candy dish – made in 1965.

Terry is also a “picker” – someone who finds old things. And Dale Chihuly love old things. He has more than sixty collections; the major one is his Native American blanket collection.