Dan Kuppe bends tubes at his Treasure Island workshop. He’s been bending neon tubes for 40 years, 30 in the Bay Area.  Kuppe knows there were times when glass blowers and benders were in much higher demand, when there were whole teams working together in places like Las Vegas and New York in the ’40s. He was an instructor at The American School of Neon in Minneapolis and guest (not instructor) at Masonlite’s British School of Neon in the 1980’s.  More recently he has joined the staff at The Crucible in Oakland to pass along his trade, to maintain the creative spark, and to work alongside fresh minds. He is especially proud of his work for Expo 88’s New Zealand pavilion with his NeoNeon mates in Auckland.  The pavilion won the Expo’s public favorite award, or something like that!
Photo: sfgate.com