Boxing Sales

Others might do a Boxing Day Sale.
Some others might even do a Boxing Week Sale.
Fantasy In Glass does a Boxing Month Sale!
Go here for our Boxing Month Sales, good until January 31, 2011, or while supplies last!

Happy Christmas To All

From all the staff at Fantasy In Glass we wish you all a safe and joyous Christmas and Happy New Year.
Aww shucks...

Davide Salvadore At Uroboros

Here's a pretty cool video we tripped across from Uroboros.
Italian glass master Davide Salvadore creates a series of murrini to use in his blown glass creations during a residency at the highly renowned Portland Oregon facility. Salvadore lives and works on the island of Murano near Venice, where his family has been in the glass making business since 1650. His sons, Mattia and Marco accompany him on his American tour.

Uroboros Glass video

 The whole process of making sheet glass for stained glass (or fusing) is a mysterious one as there really isn't that much information out there.
Until now.
Do yourself a favour- even if you have a short attention span, just take in the first 10 seconds of this video and tell me you aren't amazed!

    

Yes, We Are In Canada

Tina took this shot of the store front today at 1pm.

What Is This Remarkable Thing We Call Glass?

 So, what is it this mysterious substance we call glass? Is it a solid? Is it a liquid? Do four out of five dentists recommend it? (Which makes you wonder who visits that one out of five dentist, and what does he recommend?...Ed) Let's join hands and explore the subject together.
 
    Okay, let's assume it's a liquid for a minute. It has to be, right? We've all heard the stories about pulling glass out of old windows and how the pieces were all thicker at the bottom proving that the glass was slowly flowing downward. Heck, the way the glass was flowing pretty soon all our churches will have their sanctuaries full of puddles of flowing stained glass windows. You'll have to step over the Good Shepherd and his sheep to get to your pew! With all those uncovered windows with all their cancer causing light streaming through them congregations will be forced to take communion wearing Vuarnet sunglasses and wearing sunscreen. Actually it's a sham. Old glass is typically mouth blown and therefore varies sometimes quite significantly in thickness, disproving the notion that glass might be a liquid.

    Well if it's not a liquid then it stands to reason that it's a solid, right?  Webster's Dictionary defines a solid as "a substance of definite shape and volume; not liquid or gas." There you go, problem solved. But, hey, wait a minute. Isn't something a solid only when its molecules are motionless and lined up in flawless geometric fashion, like your grandma's furniture doilies. We call this "crystalline" (the solid, not grandma's doilies, unless she seldom washed them). A liquid on the other hand is quite the opposite. Its molecules are constantly in motion and entirely random in structure. Well, what do we do now? It seems then that according to the scientist, glass is neither a solid or liquid because its molecules are motionless (like a solid) but random in configuration (like a liquid)- so we'll call it a liquid? 

    Actually a better word is vitreous.

    If you look around, there's lots of stuff that's sometimes a liquid and sometimes a solid. Take that stuff wrapped in foil at the back of your fridge for example. Or water. Or iron. At any given moment, their state depends on their temperature. Water's molecular structure is random until the temperature moves down to zero Celsius (how come they don't use centigrade?) when its molecules start to crystallize- namely, line up in perfect lattice-like order and stop moving. Below zero and bingo, now it's a solid. And the amazing thing is that zero degrees is like a light switch. Above it's a liquid, below, it's a solid. But vitreous substances (like glass in case you've been sleeping until this very moment) do not have a freezing or melting point. As temperature decreases the free flowing molecules in molten glass simply slow down to the point where they just won't move anymore. But they stay random with no crystallization occurring. 
Got it? 
    So, glass then is neither a liquid nor a solid, but it's sleazy and exhibits definite characteristics of both. You might say we now have Four States of Matter instead of three- liquid, solid, gas and glass.

Coneart B3K117 Kilns

The largest kiln you can buy that will still run on normal, 'just plug me in' household current is the CSA Approved Canadian made Coneart B3K117 kiln. The model we sell comes complete- meaning you get a stand, kiln shelf, posts kilnwash  along with a Bartlett 3-button computer controller, a fusing reference package on disc and paper and Mikey's expertise in fusing and his help in pre-programming the kiln all at one price.
So much stuff, how can one human being cope?
On December 14, we are putting three (3) of these kilns on sale at $888.88 (cash/debit)!
That is all...

More 90 coe Dichro

Almost Forgot!

We revived our CBS distributorship about a month ago. We'd realized that our mistaken belief that dichroic glass popularity had passed was actually based on the fact that Bullseye 90 glass was dropping off while Sys96 was increasing. 

So, we saw the need for a good source of Spectrum compatible dichroic glass.

And why have Bullseye sales in fusible glass crashed so dramatically that the OnStar operator keeps calling to ask if we've been in an accident?

Probably because we were the only full-line dealer promoting Bullseye for years, with little support from our full-line distributor (and Bullseye), that we just couldn't continue trying to do it alone.

We're now diverting our resources into System 96, carrying more than twice as much glass in quantity and selection over the past six months, including many colours unique to us given our cross-border purchases from other suppliers as well as Uroboros direct.

While we will continue to increase our Sys96 line for fusing, we will also carry a selection of Bullseye glass for those who wish to continue with this manufacturer. 

To service our 90 customers we've brought in some more CBS dichroic as seen here...

Go here to see our catalogue page on CBS on our website.

Christmas Store Hours

A Plug For Our Own Classes- Fusing this Saturday

Some room still available this Saturday-
   This is a full one-day six hour course that has been set up to cover everything from the basics to more advanced techniques of fusing regardless of your knowledge level (you can read Mikey’s Fusing 101 Paper here).
      Not only will you get a cool syllabus and learn from the master herself, you will actually get to play with sharp glass and stringers and noodles and all manner of things and make as much stuff as you possibly can within that day and to have it all expertly fired by Mikey.
      Now pay attention 'cuzz pricing is complicated (I'll type slowly). Cost for the 6 hour day is $160.00, *but this includes a store credit of $40.00 so you can choose your own materials. And do we have the materials! We carry virtually everything available from both Bullseye (coe 90) and System 96 (Spectrum/Uroboros). We will provide instruction and kiln space. Class size is very limited, so book early. Bring a lunch.

Sitting at Home

Last  night, drinking my Shirley Temple (hold the cherry) Tom Waits popped up on the turntable (vinyl rules!)- Big In Japan- a great song, and one that reminded me that not only is stained glass something that brings us all joy, but so can the workings of a great artist like Mr. Waits.
As such, I have mandated Saturday December 4 Tom Waits Music Day. Don't like him, maybe try the malls, 'cuzz that's all we're going to play.