After many years of admiring and collecting kaleidoscopes, in 2017, I had the opportunity to take a week long class at John C. Campbell Folk School in the creation of kaleidoscopes. After a week working with Marc Tickle, I was totally committed to learning as much as I could about designing and making kaleidoscopes. I have been a wood carver for most of my life and wanted to use this skill, along with working in stained glass, to build unique works. Since then I have designed and made many original pieces. In June of 2019, I attended the Brewster Society International Kaleidoscope Convention in Scottsdale, AZ, to exhibit my scopes and unveil one of my hand carved. I exhibited again in 2022 at the Convention in St. Louis and the Foundry Art Center exhibit in St. Charles, MO.
I currently exhibit my kaleidoscopes at Reflections Gallery in Chattanooga, TN, and with the Association for Visual Arts in Chattanooga. In the past, Hunter Museum of Art has displayed pieces.

Charles Karadimos began working with stained glass in 1975 and made the transition exclusively to building glass kaleidoscopes in 1980. In the early days of the kaleidoscope renaissance, his main focus was concerned with creating crisp, vibrant, interior images and exploring and developing mirror systems with crystal clear optics that would produce rich, ever-changing patterns. And he has worked very hard towards mastering the development of the perfect kaleidoscope image. For without the image, it just isn't a kaleidoscope. Charles has designed and built thousands of kaleidoscopes, making each part of every scope by hand. There are no machined parts. Every piece -- down to the smallest shard of glass in the object chamber -- is hand worked and individually selected. All of his scopes feature a multidimensional slumped glass exterior, very nice to hold or display. Every piece is an original, signed, and numbered work of art. Charles' work is exhibited in many galleries, museums and private collections throughout the world. His work is featured in many books and publications and he is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Brewster Award for Creative Ingenuity. From November 2003 until January 2013 he served as one of the Directors of the Brewster Kaleidoscope Society, the international organization of kaleidoscope enthusiasts.

Peggy and Steve began their journey in glass in the late 1970's, executing traditional stained glass designs both leaded and the Tiffany technique, and began fusing glass in the early 1980's. A meeting with kaleidoscope artist Steven Gray changed their trajectory into making kaleidoscopes and they began creating fine handcrafted kaleidoscopes in 1986. They have become known for their classic 2-mirror imagery, and the highest quality optical reflections defined by the incredible display of miniature glass sculptures found in the object chambers. Each kaleidoscope is a collaboration of both of them, Steve's fusing skills result in clean, crisp definition of design often requiring multiple firing and annealing, and his optics using front-surface mirror create images of the highest standard. Peggy's flame-sculpted glass pieces floating in the oil-filled object chambers are among the most beautiful to be viewed through a kaleidoscope. Their work has been included in many exhibits: Strathmore Hall Art Center in Rockville, Maryland; the National Quilt Museum Kaleidoscope Exhibit in Paducah, Kentucky; Milwaukee Art Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, Arizona; American Folk Art Museum in New York, NY, & Akron Art Museum, Akron, Ohio as part of the Paula Nadelstern Kaleidoscope Quilt Exhibit; a permanent kaleidoscope exhibit at the Teruko Tsuji Memorial Art Museum in Sendei, Japan; the Kaleidoscope Museum of Kyoto; many of their pieces are in the Cozy Baker Collection; and they have exhibited at Fine Arts and Crafts Shows including the prestigious Smithsonian Craft Show. They have been recognized with numerous awards given at Brewster Kaleidoscope events and glass competitions.

I have been designing and creating Kaleidoscopes for over 35 years. My work is in private collections as well as museums and galleries all over the world.

I am a relatively new kaleidoscope maker, currently focusing on teleidoscopes and the magic that they bring. I look forward to improving my techniques and creating an increasingly perfect reflection in my work of what I see in my head and feel in my heart.

We began making kaleidoscopes in 1994. Our first product was a kaleidoscope kit that we marketed to Junior Achievement Companies to be used as a product the kids manufactured and then sold. We were both JA advisors and though the kit was a great project for the kids, it didn’t provide us with much of a challenge or creative outlet. We began making different kinds of scopes; creating different body styles and discovering different ways to create the images. We learned how to put together boards to create inlay to use in some of our scope bodies. As we learned more about kaleidoscopes, we became involved in the Brewster Kaleidoscope Society, a group of kaleidoscope artists, collectors, and shop owners. This gave us the opportunity to meet many of the people in the kaleidoscope community where we formed connections that both helped us to grow as artists, and to sell our scopes in shops around the country.

Laura Wilde is a San Francisco, California area artist who has been making kaleidoscopes for approximately 20 years. She attended Santa Clara University where she obtained a degree in Fine Arts. Her background includes positions in the print industry and various hand-production arts and crafts.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Wesla earned a BFA in Graphic Design from Cooper Union in NYC. She has a background as a graphic designer and illustrator.

Since 2009, Wesla has been making objects of delight from reclaimed musical instrument parts to help people celebrate their personal connections to music. She donates a percentage of each sale to the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation to support music education.

Looking for a new way to work with reclaimed musical materials, she became interested in creating kaleidoscopes in 2018. She was hooked from the start. Creating kaleidoscopes falls right at the overlapping center of the Venn diagram of things that fascinate and inspire Wesla: Art, Music, Science, Rhythm, Spirit, Play, Magic, Joy.

I have been making kaleidoscopes since 1992. I use stained glass as one of the major materials for making my kaleidoscopes. I own my private kaleidoscope making school in Tokyo. I have formed a group called " ART KALEIDOSCOPE JAPAN" to promote awareness of Art Kaleidoscopes to the public