Bill Worcester first caught the glassblowing bug in 1969 while pursuing his oceanography degree on O'ahu. While there, he watched Boone Morrison blowing at The Foundry in Kaka’ako & was mesmerized. Later that year, with the encouragement of his friend & mentor Hugh Jenkins, he joined he Foundry Glass Hui.

In 1971, intrigued by watching her husband Bill and Hugh blowing glass at the studio they built for the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Sally Worcester followed suit, and so began their journey into the early American Studio Glass movement.

While on a road trip, Bill discovered and fell in love with Cannon Beach, Oregon. The family settled there in 1972 & set up the first Worcester Glassworks shop (initially named The Glass Blowing Shop) and became a part of The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Cannon Beach.  In 1980, Bill built a new glass shop which he and Sally ran and operated until 1992. This shop is still in operation today as Icefire Glassworks.

Beginning around 1977 & continuing through the mid 1980's, the family traveled to Florida during the winter months to escape the cold and wet northern Oregon weather. While there, they participated in the vibrant art festival scene in locations such as Coconut Grove, Miami, and Winter Park - winning various awards & accolades each year.  

In 1985, the family began to transition back to Hawaii - splitting their time between Cannon Beach & Maui.  June through September were spent running the studio and gallery in Cannon Beach, while October through May involved playing lots of beach volleyball and finishing glass pieces on Maui.

In 1988, while attending Penland & working in the Cannon Beach shop during the summer, Mike officially decided to join the family calling and pursue glassblowing as a career - dividing his time between Maui & Cannon Beach until 1992.

In 1992, after two years of designing and building, the family (which now included Bill's sister Sally Richards) opened Hot Island Glass in Makawao. They ran and operated Hot Island Glass until 2000 when they sold the business to Bill & Sally's nephew Chris Richards and their Godson Chris Lowry - both of whom had been working in the shop since early on. Chris Richards is still running the shop today.

Meanwhile, Mike moved to Cambria, California where he and his business partner ran Sunfire Gallery from 1999-2005. This is also where Mike met his wife, Kelly Cliff. They married in 2004 and returned to Maui the following year to help run the new Worcester Glassworks studio that Bill built on their property in Kula in 2002.

Mike & Kelly relocated to Carmel California just before the pandemic with the intention of creating a part-time shop and gallery in Sand City. In the end, life had other plans for them, and in 2023 they made the decision to move back to Maui for good. Mike is now focused on running and operating the family business. Bill and Sally are still very much involved to this day - when they aren't busy tracking wolves in Yellowstone!