Studio Operations Coordinator
Dougherty Glassworks Ltd.
Aldergrove, BC
Part-time, approximately 20 hours per week
$29 to $31 per hour, depending on experience
Primarily on-site
Dougherty Glassworks is a small, busy production glassblowing studio in Aldergrove. We make handblown glass for retail customers, galleries and wholesale accounts, public workshops, and larger custom and commercial projects.
We are looking for a highly organized, independent person to help run the operational side of the business.
This is not a traditional office environment. Our production team is making glass throughout the day, priorities can shift quickly, and the owner is often unavailable because he is working in the hot shop. The right person will be comfortable taking ownership of routine matters, keeping many moving pieces organized, and making sure customers, orders, deadlines and follow-ups do not get lost.
This is not a glassblowing position or apprenticeship. Glass experience is not required.
What You’ll Be Responsible For:
Customer Communication
- Monitor and triage the general inbox
- Respond to routine customer, product and workshop inquiries
- Coordinate pickups, appointments and order-status questions
- Apply established studio policies clearly and kindly
- Identify questions that genuinely require owner input and bring them forward concisely
Orders and Production Coordination
- Track retail, wholesale and commercial orders from receipt through completion and delivery
- Maintain clear, accurate active-order and production trackers
- Check quantities, product information, deadlines and customer requirements
- Identify missing information, conflicting details or outdated documents
- Prepare organized production information for the studio team
- Follow up on outstanding approvals, deposits, information and decisions
Wholesale and Commercial Administration
- Process and organize wholesale and commercial orders
- Maintain customer records, price lists, line sheets and product information
- Follow up with existing wholesale customers when appropriate
- Help keep established accounts active and well supported
- Surface dormant accounts, unfinished conversations and promising opportunities that need follow-up
- Coordinate routine order documents, invoices and delivery information
This is not a commission sales role and does not involve cold calling or sales quotas.
Workshops
- Handle routine workshop administration and customer communication
- Manage booking questions, participant information, pickups and scheduling issues
- Apply established workshop policies without requiring owner approval for routine matters
- Help keep workshop information and internal records current
Shipping and Logistics
- Prepare routine shipping and freight information
- Coordinate pickups and deliveries
- Maintain shipping records and customer delivery information
- Follow up on missing documents, addresses or delivery details
Shopify and E-Commerce
- Assist with Shopify order administration
- Maintain basic product and inventory information
- Help identify outdated or inconsistent product information
- Support seasonal product launches and online updates
Markets and Events
- Track application deadlines, vendor requirements and event paperwork
- Organize event-related information and deadlines
- Help prepare materials required for markets and shows
Studio Administration
- Maintain organized digital files, records and shared documents
- Track receipts and information required by the bookkeeper
- Help manage routine office, packing and studio supply needs
- Maintain internal checklists, templates and operating procedures
- Look for ways to reduce repetitive work and improve systems
A Big Part of This Role Is Making Sure Nothing Gets Lost
We are looking for someone who naturally notices things such as:
- an unanswered customer inquiry
- a wholesale order waiting for follow-up
- an invoice that has not been sent
- an order missing production information
- a market deadline approaching
- outdated product information
- an unfinished conversation sitting in the inbox
- conflicting quantities between a purchase order and production list
The goal is not simply to report problems to the owner. The coordinator is expected to resolve routine matters independently, gather the information needed for more complicated issues, and bring forward only the decisions that actually require owner involvement.
What Success Looks Like
A successful Studio Operations Coordinator will:
- keep routine customer and order communication moving without constant owner involvement
- maintain a reliable view of active orders, deadlines and outstanding tasks
- reduce interruptions to the production team
- prevent orders, customers and opportunities from being forgotten
- take ownership of follow-up
- improve the organization of wholesale, workshop and e-commerce administration
- give the owner back meaningful time for production, design, technical work and higher-level business decisions
Over time, the owner should be able to be unavailable for several hours while production is underway without routine business grinding to a halt.
Who We’re Looking For
You may be a good fit if you:
- are exceptionally organized
- enjoy keeping many moving pieces under control
- follow through without needing repeated reminders
- have strong written communication skills
- are comfortable making reasonable decisions within clear guidelines
- notice inconsistencies and details other people miss
- are comfortable saying no when a request falls outside established policy
- take ownership of problems rather than simply forwarding them
- are confident using email, spreadsheets, calendars and cloud-based tools
- are comfortable learning systems such as Shopify
- can work independently in a busy, changing environment
- understand the importance of confidentiality and responsible handling of company information
- like building simple systems that make work easier
Relevant backgrounds might include:
- small business operations
- wholesale or e-commerce
- administrative coordination
- arts administration
- gallery or design-studio administration
- manufacturing or production coordination
- events
- high-end retail
- other owner-led small businesses
Glass experience is not required.
Trust and Confidentiality
This role will eventually have access to customer information, business systems, internal documents and other confidential company information.
Strong judgment, discretion and responsible handling of company access are essential.
Company accounts and credentials must not be shared with anyone else, and work assigned to this role may not be subcontracted or delegated to another person without prior approval.
Hours and Schedule
Approximately 20 hours per week to start.
The role is primarily on-site in Aldergrove and will ideally be spread across approximately four weekdays to provide consistent coverage.
There may be some flexibility in the exact schedule for the right person.
The role may grow toward approximately 24 to 30 hours per week in the future if both business needs and performance support it.
There is also potential for the role to develop into a broader Studio Operations Manager position over time.
Compensation
$29 to $31 per hour, depending on experience.
How to Apply
Please email your resume and brief answers to the five questions below to [email protected] with the subject line:
Studio Operations Coordinator Application – [Your Name]
- Why does this particular role interest you?
- Tell us about something you were responsible for keeping organized over a long period of time. What system did you use to make sure nothing was forgotten?
- Give an example of a problem you noticed and solved without being asked.
- Tell us about a mistake or inconsistency you caught before it became a larger problem.
- Tell us about a role where you were trusted with confidential company information or access to business systems. How did you handle that responsibility?
No formal cover letter is required.
Application deadline: September 8, 2026.
Applications will be reviewed as they are received. Only candidates selected for the next stage will be contacted.
Dougherty Glassworks Ltd.
Aldergrove, British Columbia
Pay: $29.00-$31.00 per hour
Expected hours: 20.0 per week
Benefits:
Work Location: In person
