Cindi Smead has been interested in stained glass since she was a child growing up in Southern California. The old adobe style churches and missions with their large colorful windows inspired her more than she realized. She earned a Bachelors Degree in Graphic Design from James Madison University in 1984.

She opened Firefly Studio in 1994 and named it as a tribute to her grandmother, Pauline, who had never seen fireflies. When she visited Virginia she became fascinated by them and wanted to share, with her grandchildren in California, the experience of seeing them "magically" light up . She carried them home in a jar on the plane and they lived in the Los Angeles smog long enough to light up once for an audience of twenty!

Cindi was greatly influenced by nature and her desire to always be learning and experiencing something new.