Around the Block Designs started as a fascination with a fused glass bowl in a store in Carmel, California, turned into a hobby, and now has become a joint creative outlet for Mark and Cindy. Cindy's passion for quilting and Mark's fascination with fused glass led to combining each medium to create one-of-a-kind fused glass items. Individual pieces are cut by hand from larger sheets of glass and then assembled onto a base layer of glass and fired in a kiln to 1465˚ until the pieces fuse together to make a single flat piece of glass. To make the curved plates, the fused piece of glass is laid on top of a mold and then fired once again until the glass slumps into the mold. Just like quilts made from fabric, no two pieces are exactly the same.

Around the Block Designs makes a variety of items, including Glassy Quilts™, dichroic jewelry, trivets, dinnerware, candle holders, coasters, and picture frames. And new items are always "around the block."