Curtis Dionne left home at a young age to pursue a career in craft and design, eventually learning glassblowing from masters in the Glass City of Guadalajara. In 2008, Curtis bought a homestead in rural New Brunswick, where he built a 14th-century-style wood-fired furnace and founded Glass Roots Inc.

In 2021, Curtis and his partner Charlotte MacLeod relocated their family to Saint John, New Brunswick, to start a public glass studio. Initially, Glass Roots planned to move their studio to Union Street in the summer of 2021, but the furnace’s industrial designation prevented this. Instead, they operated out of a basement workshop on Canterbury Street, fronting a parking lot and connected to an alleyway. Although not the most ideal location, it was meant to be temporary, with the landlord describing it as a "diamond in the rough."