HE local glass blowing industry is experiencing contrasting fortunes in response to the decline in tourism.

Bermuda Glassblowing Ltd. has seen its sales plunge by 70 percent while the Island's newest company, Dockyard Glassworks, is flourishing since it opened in July.

Bermuda Glassblowing Ltd. owner Gayle Cooke said sales at the Bailey's Bay company have dropped from $1 million in 1997 to $300,000 a year today, while she has been forced to cut the number of glass blowers at the firm from 20 to three in just three years.

Ms Cooke said the closure of Marriott's Castle Harbour Resort and the pending closure of the Palmetto Bay meant that she now depended on Grotto Bay Hotel and a few loyal customers such as the Bermuda Bridge Club.

In order to remain competitive, she has changed her product lines and produces small miniatures which she sells for $1 a basket which are quite popular and selling well.

Ms Cooke said she had relied on hotel guests to buy her hand- blown glassware which is 100 percent Bermudian made.

Another victim of the slump is her five-year apprenticeship programme at the Bermuda Glassblowing Studio which trained people to learn the highly skilled art of glassblowing. She has now closed the scheme which trained most of the Island's glass blowers.

Ms Cooke, a qualified glass artist, founded Bermuda's first glassblowing company in 1986 and credits her ex-husband Tom Cooke, manager of Mid Atlantic Drywall Construction, for his unfailing support in the early years of the business.

Working with Gayle are team members Mariangela Teixeira and Bruce Weyland.

"We are product oriented,'' exclaimed Ms Gayle who survived the 1991 recession and hoped sales on the company's website will boost sales since it was launched in December.

Wendy Avery, manager of Dockyard Glassblowing, said the company "is doing quite well'' since it opened in July and said "my staff are key to the success of this business''.

Mrs. Avery explained that "there is no company rule or law'' to running the business which she co-founded with her partner, Tony Johns.

She explained that the company is organised as an "artist's cooperative in which work is produced on a collaborative basis''.

The company appears unaffected by the tourism slump and Mrs. Avery attributed healthy sales figures to flamework and glassblowing demonstrations which invited tourists to buy glass products which are 85 percent Bermudian made.

Dockyard Glassworks does not use advertising to market its products, but has been able to use the Internet to successfully market its wares.

Mrs. Avery has worked for many years with hers sister, Gayle, and managed a dry-wall construction firm running the office and hiring staff.

The concept of service is a high priority for Mrs. Avery who personally delivers packages to hotels and cruise ships in her van.

The company employs seven staff members, including Arthur Trott, who has ten years experience in glassblowing, and flameworkers Axel Bubenzer and Peter Zimmerman.

Creative spirit: Wendy Avery, manager of Dockyard Glassworks Hot work: Flameworker Mariangela Teixeira is a picture of concentration