LA GRANDE — Go! Eastern Oregon has tallied the Readers’ Choice Award top nominees for “Best Art Gallery,” and Birddog Glass, 702 Adams Ave., has captured the votes from our readers.

Congratulations to Birddog Glass co-owners and artisans, Kevin Boylan and Maggie Yeates, who create unique glassblown products and sell them at their art gallery.

“The award is pretty cool,” Boylan said. “It validates what I’m doing and (it’s) nice to know people are noticing what we’re doing here.”

His partner, Yeates, has her own product line that she creates, very similar but her own style, Boylan said.

The next time you stop in at the award-winning art gallery, you’ll notice that Boylan and Yeates both have their own window display and inside the gallery, you’ll find colorful glass barware and lighting creations made by both of them.

Birddog Glass was founded in September 2019 and opened its doors on Nov. 12, 2019. They have just marked their fifth anniversary in business. Formerly a four-bay service station, Boylan remodeled it to create a glassblowing studio and an adjacent gallery showroom for retail sales.

During the spring, fall and winter, Boylan offers some popular workshops, and those are advertised on their Instagram and Facebook pages.

“We’re also looking forward to our Easter egg hunt on April 19, which was very popular last year,” he said.

Boylan is a 2003 graduate of Eastern Oregon University with a bachelor’s in fine arts. There, he was introduced to the art of glassblowing by Tom Dimond, professor emeritus on the EOU art faculty, and they worked together at Dimond’s studio in Cove from 2004 to 2019. After that, Boylan and Yeates started Birddog Glass.

“It’s been going great,” Boylan said. “We have a unique niche business that needs the support of the community, and we’ve got it. We have a lot of local and repeat customers.”

Come and visit their award-winning art gallery and browse through their new and creative barware and decorative glass.

Birddog Glass is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The phone number is 541-605-0279.

“We always welcome our locals to come and check us out,” Boylan said.