Short answers, pulled from the story.
Roman glass became a common household item by the mid-1st century AD after prices dropped to a single copper coin. This economic shift occurred during the early decades of the 1st century AD when new production methods reduced costs significantly.
Glassblowing emerged as the major technical innovation during the 1st century AD that allowed workers to produce thinner vessels faster than previous casting methods. Free-blowing and mould-blowing became standard practice by the middle to late 1st century AD replacing older techniques from the Augustan period.
The main source of sodium carbonate flux used throughout the Roman period was Wadi El Natrun located in dry lake beds within Egypt. Some evidence suggests a secondary source may have existed in Italy but Egyptian natron remained dominant for all primary workshops.
Raw glass production occurred in large tanks inside specialized furnaces capable of producing many tonnes per firing cycle lasting several weeks. An 8-tonne glass slab recovered from Bet She'arim illustrates the massive scale achievable by single workshops supplying multiple sites across vast distances.
Emerald green dark cobalt blue deep blue-green and Persian peacock blue dominated early productions until strong colors disappeared rapidly during the last thirty years of the 1st century AD. Pliny's Natural History states that the most highly valued glass was colorless transparent resembling rock crystal closely.