Blog / fused glass

In addition to there being different types of glass which we talked about in Know Your Glass (part 1) there are also different glass manufacturers.

The manufacturers that we stock glass from at Stained Glass Express are: 

Artisan--This glass is an import of high-quality that is perfect for art glass projects.  The line has a wide range of colors, textures and patterns that help with a wide variety of applications.  

Bullseye—Is based on Portland, Oregon. I toured they plant, and it is very impressive. They manufacture “colored glass for art and architecture with worldwide distribution and a strong commitment to research, education and promoting glass art”. They really are leaders in contemporary kiln-glass. Their colors are rich and beautiful. 

Kokomo—Kokomo is oldest glass manufacturer. They have been in Kokomo, Indiana for 125 years. They are known worldwide for they hand mixed sheet glass art and colored glass. Even though Tiffany manufactured his own glass he also bought a lot of glass and jewels from Kokomo. Much of Kokomo’s glass was influenced by Mr. Tiffany. One of our favorites.

 GNA—GNA stands for German New Antique. Unfortunately, the color glass is being eliminated and only the clear will remain. We still have some that is our clearance bin and some mirrored that is in the mirror section. However, when it is gone, it is gone. We will continue to carry the clear. It is very beautiful. Fine lines run through it and nothing cuts better!

Oceanside—We stock more Oceanside than anything else. Most of their glass is fusible COE 96.  It cuts great and they just keep coming out with more and more fun and beautiful products. They give great retailer support. 

 Van Gogh—This glass is fun and different. It is usually glue chip glass, painted with auto paint in Asheville NC. At times they have some other clear textures as a base. It is unique and beautiful. It is great for Mosaics. Not so great in the light.

Wissmach—This is another very old glass manufacturer. They have been manufacturing art glass since 1904. I have toured this plant also. They let us hand pick some glass which they then drop shipped through our distributor. It was a very fun experience. We have a large stock of Wissmach and it is often the pick to match old repairs and church windows. They have also developed a fusible 96 COE glass. 

Youghiogheny—It is just beautiful glass. Each piece is a work of art. It was founded in 1976 and is now “world-renowned for uncompromising quality”. It is another one that we look forward to on glass unloading day. It is always a treat! They have a wide range of art glass and fusible 96 COE glass.  They also sell their ends which have become very popular.  After Uroboros closed, they took on the line and each year produce more of it.  They do a great job with it and it wonderful to have the availability.  

DICHROIC GLASS

MOST INFO FROM HOWARD SANDBERG OF COATINGS BY SANDBERG

Dichroic glass is one of the most beautiful things SGE carries and it has been one of the most challenging. It was kind of nice to see on CBS page “the history of dichroic glass” that Howard says, “When you look at the history of an artist using Dichroic coated glass, it appears that the artist has been under the major handicap of not having any information on what he or she was working with. These artists were exposed to a piece of glass that had interesting color effects but came from a very complex and scientific industry not easily understood. These ‘high-tech’ coatings were capable of reflecting a narrow band of light (or one color) and at the same time, transmitting the remaining part of light.” So at least it was not just us facing challenges. I could go on about how the development of this metal film was done by our military and aerospace industries. The text would make your head hurt! It was 30 years (mid 70s) ago when CBS started production for art applications. When SGE first brought in some dichroic glass it was a big deal. We made a special display rack for it. We were displaying 1 piece that was about 2x4 inches of each one. We outgrew that fast! Then we would get questions about what it was going to do. We had some idea but not much. To complicate things, we didn’t even always know what we were getting. A customer would buy a piece that was rainbow or mixed and one part of the glass would behave one way and another part another way. Then our suppliers started to drill down and offer a standard stock and good descriptions. We changed our sku system and our descriptions to help our customers know what they were buying and to help us have them organized in a way that the customer could find what they wanted, and we would have a way to see gaps in our inventory and keep our stock consistent. About five years into stocking this glass we bought a shrink wrap machine. We bring in the glass, cut it, shrink wrap it and label it. No more ruined pieces from scratches and no more fighting to get the glue from the label off the glass. The only manufacturer we currently have is CBS.  Coatings by Sandburg.  Occasionally we see some Duncan (which has little designs like dragonflies on it) but not often. We stock both 90 and 96.  We also stock some 104 and 33 Coe for flame workers and glass blowers.  We also have dichroic frit flakes.  

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How beautiful is this VASE!? (I FEEL LIKE I COULD JUST POST THE PICTURE AND IT WOULD BE ENOUGH!)

This vase was made c. 1910. It is Aventurine Lava Blown Glass by Tiffany Studios. This is currently on display in the new exhibition at the Morse Museum called “Iridescence—A Celebration”. This vase was among Tiffany’s treasured A-Coll (Artist Collection) pieces exhibited at Laurelton Hall. It is a striking vase and was made by draping lava like aventurine glass over iridescent gold glass. The name aventurine references the quartz-like glass with sparkling particles developed in Murano, Italy around 1910 when this was made. You can use aventurine glass for your treasures also. Available from Bullseye and Oceanside in flat glass and frit. Usually available in black, blue or green. It has been a little tough to get lately but we have some. Click here to order.