The inception
The stained glass studio is opening its doors in the autumn/winter of 2021. It has been a while in the planning, with clearing a space at home to turn into a workshop without disturbing the rest of the household.
I have worked hard and long to hone my skills, starting with projects for friends and family, but mainly spending a full year working on my hallway door, all 10 panes of it. This was my first project and I must admit that I was more of a little surprised at how nice the door turned out when finished.
This led onto other projects and more experiments until I got pushed by my friends to start pimping my skills out and try to earn a small income from them.
The Process
- It has to start somewhere, and for me, the first step is to get the ideas from my head onto a sketchpad.
- Once the drawing is done, it needs to be made stained glass compatible (removing hinge points, making sure there are no “impossible” shapes to cut.
- Cut a pattern and make a second drawing to sit the glass on.
- Cut the glass (this may involve some swearing and at times some blood, not for the faint-hearted)
- Wash the pieces
- Assemble the piece (copper foil and solder or lead came)
- Wash the flux of the panes.
- If I use lead came, I then have to add cement to the piece and dry it.
- if I use the copper foil method, apply the patina then clean and use car polish to buff and protect the solder! (Plenty of elbow grease needed)
Commissions
I just love to create stained glass items, from mirrors to window panels and suncatchers, lanterns, you name it, nothing has scared me yet… I can work from a photo, and bring the subject to glass.
So if you want something unusual for your home, that will truly reflect your personality, or a gift with a difference for a special person. Please get in touch and we can discuss your requirements.
See you soon hopefully.
I have been creating stained glass panes for the Borrby lanterns from IKEA and all panes will fit these lanterns, only the 2 side panes are the same size, with the door being smaller and the pane facing the door of another size all together.
