Paul Sullivan is about a third of the way to saving his Uptown Glassworks.

Sullivan went public in the Renton Reporter about three weeks ago to explain the financial problems that threaten his glass-blowing shop on Main Avenue.

Faced with a personal debt and a recession that has also hurt other downtown Renton businesses, Sullivan has said he will close Uptown on Christmas Day unless he finds an investor – or investors – willing to buy the shop.

He has one.

Kevin Kohler is able to see Uptown Glassworks from the Alliance 2020 building where he works as a software developer for Response Technology.

Kohler had read the story in the Renton Reporter about Uptown’s plight. He also just received an unexpected inheritance from his father’s estate. And, at age 47, he’s thinking about what he might do with his career in the next few years.

“I am looking at doing something else,” he said.

Initially, he considered making the entire roughly $120,000 investment in Uptown, then he took a step back. That amount wasn’t realistic, he said.

So, like Sullivan, he’s waiting for other investors to step up.

Kohler has been in Renton for about 10 years. He wants to stay. “I don’t want to have to go elsewhere for another job,” he said.

He called his computer skills “old” and would be “hard-pressed” to find another job” in computers.

So, what would he bring to Glassworks, besides money?

He’s interested in handling the business side and he even wouldn’t rule out blowing glass at some point, although that’s not a big desire.

Sullivan has indicated he would want to remain as an employee of Uptown, given the experience he has in the business. Uptown continues to post strong sales, he said, but his personal situation is a drag on the company’s finances.

Since the Renton Reporter article appeared on Oct. 23, Sullivan said he has received numerous expressions of concern from his customers.

He’s hoping to keep the investor group small. He has contacted other glass blowers and other shops to determine their interest in investing in Uptown.

“It’s hopeful,” he said.