Adam Taylor, a glass bender at Neon Works in Oakland, bends a glass tube into a design that will later light up as a colorful neon sign on March 10, 2022. (Morgan Ellis / Xpress Magazine)

Adam Taylor holds a glass tube over a flame to make it pliable for sculpting into a neon sign on March 10, 2022. (Morgan Ellis / Xpress Magazine)

Adam Taylor marks a glass tube to know where to mold it next on March 10, 2022. Taylor describes glass bending as hands-on and meticulous at every step of the process. (Morgan Ellis / Xpress Magazine)

Adam Taylor, a glass bender at Neon Works in Oakland, conducts repairs at the shop on March 10, 2022. He blows into the glass tube to stop it from breaking or flattening as he shape it. (Morgan Ellis / Xpress Magazine)

A work table with an unfinished sign at Neon Works in Oakland on March 10, 2022. (Morgan Ellis / Xpress Magazine)

A detail image of a neon sign located at Neon Works in Oakland on March 10, 2022. The different colors in neon signs are visible depending on which noble gas runs through the glass tubes that make up the design. (Morgan Ellis / Xpress Magazine)

The interior of the Neon Works shop in Oakland on March 10, 2022. The shop offers services dealing with neon, such as glass bending, installation, removal, renovation and more. (Morgan Ellis / Xpress Magazine)