BOOM FELAZI
& BOOM RX By: Ben G. Rowin
I met up with the guys from BOOM over at the CHAMPS Trade Show and was blown away by some of their stuff, especially the BOOM RX line! The boys at BOOM sent us a bunch of pipes to review, which included their RX line, and I have to say this is high quality, American-made glass! I just had to take some space to tell you, the NUG readers, about BOOM! The artist known as Boom Felazi first started his glass endeavors in the spring of 1998. Drawing from a general background in different arts ranging from ceramics and sculpture to drawing and music, glass was the next medium for Boom. With no formal training other than a couple of peeks at a popular Bandhu book, he picked his first setup from Hacker Glass in Buena Park, CA. After 6 months of trial and error, his good childhood friend, who was trained in lampworking out of Santa Cruz, stopped by and exposed Boom to a couple of standard techniques. “That was the start of it all,” Boom explained. “Focusing on glass as my career happened within the next 2 years.” Working in a home studio and providing glass to only a handful of fortunate shops in the Southern California area was the foundation for Boom Felazi. A large local company that produces some pretty popular brands picked up Boom’s production for distribution in 2001 and eventually brought him on for design and prototype from 2006 to 2010. With the opportunity, Boom was able to focus on developing his lathe working skills. Years into it, feeling stifled and ready for more, Boom recognized that leaving the company was the next natural step. Having taken only one formal class with the Living Glass Works studio in April of ‘08, Boom takes pride in being mainly self-taught in his explorations 84 | NUGMAG.COM
of glass. “I think it’s time. I’m ready to expose myself and my art now,” he stated. “I plan on taking more classes and workin’ on collabin’ with others this year.” Teaming up with KD Glass in July of last year, they’ve created a spacious pro shop with the intention of providing a clean and inviting workspace for collaborations in the Southern California area. The new Boom Felazi line of tubes is in its first year of design and production, and it is proving to be a new contender in this increasingly competitive marketplace. “I’m really happy with the new line. I think it will allow the company to grow and give me opportunities to work on more intense applications,” said Boom. “My focus artistically will be to combine hand and lathe techniques that will hopefully inspire.”