Friday, 24 May 2013

Study of Einstein's Brain Reveals Source of Genius


Neurologists studying samples of Albert Einstein’s brain discovered a pocket containing a high concentration of FIG GrasFlux, a flux with a high concentration of hydrofluoric acid, commonly used in the stained glass industry.
“Now we finally know how he came up with such brilliant concepts such as relativity. For all these years we thought the root of his genius may have been caused by some unique psychological characteristic of his brain and now it turns out all those years he was just goofing around making teddy bear nightlights", said researcher Mikey Figgy. 
The discovery that the challenging, original and profound thoughts of one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century may have emanated as a result of the recreational pursuit of stained glass is being met with considerable controversy amongst Einstein scholars. Most notably is biographer Gary Beige who strongly disputes the findings. 
“First we had to disprove the claim that he was a customer of The Acme Stained Glass Supply Co. Now we have to admit that he bought all his supplies exclusively, including FIG GrasFlux, at Fantasy In Glass, not only the biggest and best stained glass supplier in the world, but the smartest as well. "Acid shmacid, Albert was a helluva thinker, period,” he said. “And a heck of a solderer, too” added Mikey.

Tuesday, 21 May 2013

The Other Mike...

... is Mike Colero, Jeweller Extraordinary (sic), our resident glass jewelry expert. 
Here is is loading up our Upstairs kiln...

and here's the contents unloaded and looking forlorn... 



Saturday, 18 May 2013

Radio Paradise


While a bit of single malt scotch has been known to occasionally find its way into our studio to aid in getting the creative juices flowing and aid the glass cutter to truly sing across the glass, there often is a missing component- good music.
We don't all have the means to access music easily in our studios so we have usually make due with an old clock radio, or boombox, giving us AM or FM radio along with all their associated ills- incessant chat, bad news and commercials.
Well leave it to Mikey to give you the ideal solution!
Radio Paradise!
A commercial free (really) internet radio station which is easily accessible on your computer, smartphone or tablet (apps available for iphone and android too). The music mix is simply stunning in variety. The signal is excellent, as is the sound quality. Here's a snippet from Wikipedia-

Radio Paradise is a listener-sponsored Internet radio station that identifies itself as an "eclectic online rock radio" station. The channel differs from most FM channels and other Internet stations in that the music played is not limited to a specific genre, instead representing great variety. Radio Paradise plays different styles of pop and rock music, but occasionally other genres from jazz to classical to electronic music and world music. All of the styles are DJ-mixed, often with passages of several tracks played back-to-back (and faded between each other), chosen for their suitability or thematic relevance as opposed purely to random playlisting. Whilst Radio Paradise is a for-profit business, it does not broadcast commercials but is financially supported through donations from listeners. It is known familiarly as "RP".

You deserve to work with good music. Give Radio Paradise a shot!

Thursday, 16 May 2013

Over Ninety and Still Going Strong


Mikey taught Florian before he even started Fantasy In Glass. 
And FIG has been around for thirty years. She still comes every Friday- unbelievable, and in need of recognition! (in case it's not that obvious, she's the one on the right... probably Dead Mike after that comment... Zenia)

Monday, 13 May 2013

New Social Trend of the Picholas Happy Dance Goes Viral

Recently, there has been an influx of dance movements, social media takeovers and stunts, including the Harlem Shake, planking and the Cinnamon Challenge becoming more prominent in the publics' consciousness.
These ideas spread like wildfire with the help of popular social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and The Diary of a Demented Store Owner (a fascinating blog written by some guy called Mikey).
The once most talked about social rage had been the Harlem Shake, a series of dance videos that begin with a masked individual dancing which evolves into an entire group dancing, each with their own special props and dance moves. 
Despite what the name suggests, these videos present a wide range of hip-hop dances, including the Bernie, twerking, and improvisations. 

In other words, the Harlem Shake has nothing remotely similar to the current newest trend- The Picholas Happy Dance. First seen here just over a week ago it has now gone totally viral as evident by this picture below-


Russian Military embrace the Picholas Happy Dance
As well as providing inspiration to all, young and old, this latest craze of the Picholas Happy Dance has even found its way into classrooms all across the country, continuing to spread the hype. At Humble College in particular, Professor T. R. Anglehead's second hour Cooking with Spam class, performed the Picholas Happy Dance for 24 hours straight Friday May 10 garnering them an honourable mention in the Guinness Book of Trifling Records.
See what everyone is talking about, here-




... and a big Happy Birthday Pich

Friday, 10 May 2013

A Distorted View

We have been getting a lot of enquiries lately (remember, Hollander Glass is bankrupt!)(really Mikey- any chance you get? Is that really necessary?... Vanna Opal) about our store and selection. 
It's uncanny. Vanna Opal waves exactly like the Queen
So, just in case you are new or haven't been in lately, feast your eyes on this somewhat distorted view (like Mikey?!) of our humble establishment know as Fantasy In Glass (in the Swiss Cheesed GlassWerks Building) on our Facebook Page. 
Use the logo here as a direct link to the album-
And while there why not let us know that you 'Like' us (why not? Gary Umber did...)

Thursday, 9 May 2013

Even Us!

fused this 32 years ago! Rough edges
due to mullet hair obscuring view






Our experience in fusing goes back well over thirty years. That's right. To those long yearned for days when Mikey sported a bitchin' mullet and Louie had carnal thoughts for the Bay City Rollers. We did our own experimenting and testing because there was no fusible glass available then (like today, eh?!) (Bullseye started early production in 'the early '80's' with none really entering the Canadian market until years later). Testing for 'fusibleness'? We went to such extremes as fusing 12" strips of two glasses together and using spark plug gap setters to determine compatibility! Any hard knowledge we got from books were old and shamefully inaccurate. We made a lot of mistakes along the way, but also had a lot of success, and hopefully imparted that knowledge onto others during those three decades. 

We've been fusing a lot lately. 
We've been writing about it a lot lately.
Even shamelessly shared our mistakes (Blue Meanie broke into two- so sad... Ringo) in the hope that fellow fusers would learn from them.
This morning Mikey got up extra early, shed his puppy imprinted flannel pj's, jumped on his banana bike and peddled madly down to the store (work with me here will ya'- I'm trying to paint a picture... Mikey) in eager anticipation of opening the kiln from a firing yesterday. These two pieces worked out perfectly-




This one not so much.


Severely devitrified after being rigorously scrubbed and cleaned by Zenia the day before. 
So what happened? Should Zenia have her Mac'n'Cheese without wieners for the next week as punishment for a poor cleaning job? No, she did an exemplary job as usual- it was closely inspected prior to firing.
We suspect two possibilities-
1. this was the first time we used a glass cleaner endorsed by Bullseye to prep the piece. Was it this cleaner perhaps? Should we have just stuck with our old standby- Oban Scotch? Oops, wrong alcohol, we meant to say isopropyl alcohol.
2. was it the base glass (black with no clear cap) SP1009SF?  Perhaps that was the fault? Glass formulated for fusing is formulated to minimize devit, but that is no guarantee that it won't.
Wow, a possible flaw that could be attributed to two different and competing suppliers- BU and SP- what is a litigious lawyer to do?

In any case, this gives us a chance to teach you on how to fix devitrification on an existing piece.
Stay tuned...

Wednesday, 8 May 2013

Some of Our Customers Showing Off

from Bernie L-


from Sabine S-


and from Judy S.-



Spectrum 6" x 6" Squares

Shipping Department of our 6" x 6" glass
That's right. This is the more than 250 colours/styles of glass that we will ship to your front door, for a lousy 5 bucks! 
Buy 1, buy 200, it's still $5! And while they may be all fusible, they are also perfect for your stained glass projects. 
And if you have an earlier model iPad, we've rebuilt the 6" x 6" page to make sure everything is clearer for you. Go here and see for yourself.
All with pricing.
Oops, almost forgot- Hollander Glass still bankrupt... (really Mike? Again?... Vanna Opal)

Monday, 6 May 2013

Rolling Along Part 3

Hollander Glass is bankrupt. 
Really Mikey, again?... Vanna Opal
But enough of that, our latest delivery just landed the other day with grinder heads (the very popular and incredibly priced Twofers, in several sizes), and for fusers- Frit Makers, Frit Sifters and Silver Bails in medium size. 
Of special note is the new 3/8" Twofer from Bob and the Boys at Aanraku. Zenia is creepily displaying the 3/4" version.
Excuse us while we continue to do the Happy Dance...

Saturday, 4 May 2013

Stunning Tiffany Window

A giant in our art form, today many doing stained glass don't know who he is. I suggest you go here to see...
Moving on, while we are on most the social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (both Fantasy In Glass as well as Figimodo), we do our main work here on the blog Mikey calls the Diary of a Demented Store Owner, and sometimes we forget that. Hence this blog entry today of one we posted on Facebook but were negligent in adding it here-

Found at the Field Museum in Chicago on a recent trip Mikey took with Mrs. Vanna Opal, this is a stunningly breathtaking window- so much so, that Louis kept it for himself and displayed in prominently in his office.
Go ahead, you can gaze at it longingly. I won't tell...



Friday, 3 May 2013

Silver Inclusions



We've been playing with inclusions for awhile now, and will write more on it later on, but just wanted to share something here. If exposed to the air in the kiln environment the silver will 'fume' and 'stain' any pieces adjacent to it (check out the large white panel in the centre of the above pic)- an effect you may or may not like...

Thursday, 2 May 2013

Supplies Just Keep on Coming

While we just got in a large truck shipment with over 3000' of glass earlier this week we already need to order once again.
If you are interested in anything in particular let us know by May 9 when we close off the next order. 
Go here for our temporarily pathetic on-line order sheet...
Oh yeah, while we're at it,  Hollander Glass is still out of business...

Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Monthly Sale Page for May

A horrifying picture of Zenia is usually our way of announcing the posting of The FIG Monthly Sale. As birds are singing and children laughing, all revelling in anticipation of a wondrous summer, we soften our resolve and post only a mildly interesting pic of her this month.
Go here for the sale (might need a page refresh)
Oh yeah, Hollander Glass has gone bankrupt...

Monday, 29 April 2013

Wholesale Enquiries

Yes, rumours are true.
As well as being the largest retailer in Canada, we also sell wholesale to legitimate businesses (meaning not you Guido... Picholas).
If you are a retailer, fabricator, contractor, artist, eccentric or designer involved in the stained/leaded/fused/torch working glass field, and can prove it, you can apply for wholesale status. 


Open Letter April 2013
We have fielded many enquiries about wholesale purchasing at Fantasy In Glass since the bankruptcy of Hollander Glass.  We now must dwell on what to do next.
Let Mikey give you a few things to consider...
Fantasy In Glass is Canada's largest retail supplier of stained glass, fusible glass and all related sundries and has been so for over 30 years. We have developed relationships with many suppliers over the years and have been able to procure supplies at better than market rates and in ever increasing quantity. This has allowed us to offer very competitive retail pricing as well as discounts to the trade. Something we will continue to do.
However we are not Hollander Glass. While our selection is greater than theirs, the quantities are more in keeping with what to expect from a large retailer. We do not have a loading dock, or a banding machine and the assets necessary to crate, palletize and truck ship. 
In other words, we can service many of you at wholesale, but if you were the type of customer who received truck shipments then you might be best served by one of the American Wholesalers (for glass at least).

So if you qualify, consider the above, and wish to become a wholesale customer of ours, come on in- we’d love to service you as best as possible. As pricing is confidential to the trade, we will only share this information with you once you have registered and have been approved (applications accompanied by bottles of single malt scotch  get preferential treatment)
Our website is a virtual change purse of knowledge and is even occasionally entertaining. Mikey is particularly proud of the FIG Blog- Diary of a Demented Store Owner which foresaw the demise of Hollander Glass many years ago. But what we’re not so proud of is our catalogue which you should perhaps forego. Rest assured we do carry much more than it shows (see 
store tour here), and if you need price quotes and need specific quantities use this form for most and this for Sys96 fusible (and this for Bullseye Rodz on sale for torchwork) we’ll be glad to get back to you.


Sorry, but just filling out the application without valid
documentation support sadly doesn’t count)

Sunday, 28 April 2013

Staff Finally Pulling Their Weight

Here's the newest glass colour that's just come in from Spectrum- Sp230.71 Hydrangea (it is fusible but of course also suitable for stained glass work). Only problem is that the sheet size is 24" x 24". With the FIG Glass Stretcher currently on loan to some unscrupulous back alley stained glass studio sweatshop, Vanna Opal and Nicholas Picholas try to take matters into their own hands and try to enlargen the sheets of this soon to be popular new colour.

We Don't Mean To Brag But...


... actually, yes, on second thought, we do.
Hollander Glass has failed and gone into bankruptcy (yes, I do take a certain pleasure in repeatedly pointing that out given how horrible it has been for all of us while they were around under the last owner. 

Looking for something? In tools?
We've got groziers and lead dykes, running pliers, over 400 glass cutters, soldering irons from several manufacturers, iron stands, grinder heads in all sizes including the new and popular 3/8" heads (bigger than 1/4" and smaller than 3/4" for the size challenged), strip and circle cutters, lens cutters, l-squares, Morton Tools, mosaic cutters, lathekins, fids, and on and on...
Here's a picture of our Tool Wall...

Saturday, 27 April 2013

Copper Foil


We don't really feel comfortable bragging  so we won't.
Ah, the heck with it. Sure we're going to brag.
Just a bit...

Not only do we have every possible size and colour in stock, we even have it all from four manufacturers- from the best (Edco) to the worst (Dragon)...

Friday, 26 April 2013

Happy Dancing All Around

So Hollander Glass Glass is no more (Mikey seems to get an unnaturally gleeful charge out of saying that...Vanna Opal).
We continue to move forward unabated.
Picholas empties enough glass crates to make himself a nice little dance floor and proceeds to do his rendition of the Happy dance...


Thursday, 25 April 2013

Another Delivery Arrives



 Hollander Glass is bankrupt. 
I know, I shouldn't gloat.
Mom always said that we shouldn't dwell on another person's misfortune...
Ah, the heck with it. Let's revell in it, eh?! 
Happy Dances for everyone in the glass business today!


The last owner (there were really only two, with the founders- The Dick Family being the one's that built this industry from nothing) was incredibly damaging (lawyer says add 'in my opinion'... Vanna Opal reminds Mikey), raising prices, taking advantage of currency fluctuations, reducing selection, I could go on and on. 
Suffice it to say- we are definitely better off today now that they are gone.

Now, we were never beholden to this one now failed, bankrupt supplier (he just loves to dwell on that doesn't he?... Vanna Opal) having always brought in truck shipments from the U.S.
And today is one of those days-

Now in- Spectrum, Kokomo, Uroboros, Youghiogheny glass, even GNA, fusible glass and sundries including all the newest colours, chemicals (triolyse glue- larger size and some without the optional fixative), bottle cutters, Yogi ends, and the absolute WORLD'S BEST GLASS CUTTER!!!

Deep Thought From Gary Amber

If I lived back in the wild west days, instead of carrying a six-shooter in my holster, I'd carry a soldering iron. That way, if some smart-alec cowboy said something like "Hey, look. He's carrying a soldering iron!" and started laughing, and everybody else started laughing, I could say, "That's right, it's a soldering iron. The soldering iron of justice." Then everybody would get real quiet and ashamed, because they had made fun of the soldering iron of justice.

Tuesday, 23 April 2013

Our new square Coneart kilns have been a hit! Much more efficient in their square format as you can see in these pics. 
The large kiln measures 24" square and runs on 240 volt. The small one is 15" square and runs on 120volt (but requires a 20 amp circuit).

 



Saturday, 20 April 2013

Rolling Along Part 2

Mikey continues his Happy Dance as we fill you in on the effect (little) of the failure of Hollander Glass. A company that had used us all up and has now left the building.
We have five shipments pending from several American suppliers with a medium sized shipment pending in the next two weeks containing;
- over 1600 sale squares 
- over 1200 square feet of Sys96 fusible glass (Spectrum and Uroboros) including their new SP533.2 Blue Topaz and SP230.71 Hydrangea Opal! (no Bullseye Glass as you can buy it direct)
- Youghiogheny Ends to complement our Uroboros Ends (and Vanna Opals End... Lecherous Mike)
- GNA Clear Drawn Antique (stunning)
- over 1000 square feet of Spectrum Clears, opals, and cathedrals 
- Gluchip, Kokomo, Youghiogheny Stipples and Uroboros glass
- glass cutters from Toyo, Morton Tools, black jack chain, copper foil (all sizes and colours)
- Zinc came, lead came
- triolyse glue, CJ's Cleaner,  grinder coolant, various patinas, cement for lead came and all manner of other chemicals
- vase caps in all sizes
So...

Just in last week-  glass cutters, grinders, bandsaws and diamond blades, all manner of hand tools (groziers, fids, dykes, running pliers, mosaic pliers, fids and lathekins), frit makers and sorters, irons and iron stands, medium silver bails, grinder heads and drill bits...

Friday, 19 April 2013

Last Night's Beginner Class

Look, most of them passed too!
Party food not an indication of the hard work that goes on in these classes...



Once Again, The Missus Dispels the Myth About Size...


The standard grinder head size is 3/4" (diameter). 
The most popular accessory head is the 1/4".
The soon-to-be most popular accessory head will be the  new 3/8" head.
While the 1/4" head is fine, it's almost too small, and because of the narrower diameter it has less surface and will not grind as quickly as a larger head.

So, if you tell Vanna Opal that size does matter, we'll knock $10/off a set until May 15!

Go Ahead, Have a Look Around...


Monday, 15 April 2013

A Bit of a Contest

Zenia and Mikey did a series of fused platters and plates (hence the pic here to the left- she's so happy when she gets to play with power tools... Vanna Opal), based on Dr. Seuss. It's now Mikey's turn to pick the topic and he chose The Beatles' Yellow Submarine. 
Below are two colour copies of projects on the go.  Guess the colours we chose that match these pictures, by May 3rd, and the first person on each one will get $25 store credit just because...


Thursday, 11 April 2013

Rolling Along


After all that editorializing about the failure of Hollander Glass the other day, I felt that while we feel we did an adequate job outlining the effect this will have on all of us, we also need to perhaps better alleviate any anxiety people may have about getting supplies from here on. (Wow, some run-on sentence that was, but really, it didn't seem to be really sounding like... oh, there he goes again... Vanna Opal).
The closing of Hollander Glass has had virtually no effect on us glad to say. Yes, we did buy some glass and supplies from them, but at a lessening rate once the founder Bill Dick and Family sold to the present and now failed owner. The only downside is that if we fall out of stock on an item now we might have to wait a month or two. Hey, wait a minute, never mind, that was happening anyway when Hollander was still in business! 
Oh well. But of course there's always the price saving from buying locally from Hollander, right?  Nope. We bring in glass at an average saving of about 20% over what we would pay at Hollander.
Ok. Well then for sure it's got to be the selection, right? Uh, maybe not. Hollander dropped all Bullseye (fusible and not- try Bullseye Direct now), Oceana, most gluchips, French MNA, German GNA (no problem, the very popular Clear we have in stock... Vanna), Edco Copper Foil,  and had virtually no inventory of Kokomo and Youghiogheny, Glastar grinders and tools, Inland grinders and not one single piece of Swiss Cheesed Glass (oops, they never had the rights to carry that line anyway as it has always been exclusive to Fantasy In Glass... Hellful Vanna).
So, Hollander Glass Canada is no more. It might rise from the ashes like a phoenix, under new ownership one day, but the current regime has used us all up and has left the building.
Mikey and Figimodo continue to do the Happy Dance...