Diary of a Demented Store Owner

Thursday 31 March 2011

Remember...


Contrary to public perception, March actually comes in like a lamb, and out like a goat...

Wednesday 30 March 2011

Monthly Sale for April Now Up



An unflattering picture of Zenia is the traditional way we announce that the next Fantasy In Glass Monthly Sale has been posted. Normally it's not really that difficult to get such a picture of Zenia, given Mikey's cunning and stealth (never mind the odd bribe), but she apparently has become wiser in her progressing years and has been relatively successful in thwarting Mikey's latest attempts. 
We must point out the substandardness of this month's unflattering picture does not meet our usual high standard of unflatteringness and for that we apologize. 
Regardless, we must brag about this month's sale which is probably the greatest we've ever had. As a teaser, we've put every single cathedral sale square (over 8000 pcs) on sale at...

Tuesday 29 March 2011

The World's Best Glass Cutter Returns!

For well over thirty years we’ve always acknowledged that the best glass cutter ever made was the Toyo Supercutter. And they make their cutter in several handle styles. All you have to do is go into any professional studio, just about anywhere in the world and you will see the Toyo brass bodied Supercutter everywhere. It is the cutter I’ve used for three decades, every day, to build everything from lamps to church windows, to teaching, to demonstrating, to cutting up inventory and servicing customers.
Until now.
About nine months ago I was given an oil-fed cutter that was new to me- the Mitsuboshi Acrylic bodied Supercutter. Just another pretender to the throne I thought. We’ve seen so many cutters come and go over the years all of them having never succeeded in beating the Toyo.
Until now.
This is the best cutter that I have ever come across!
Oh I know, people will laugh. Some will even shame and ridicule me. “How can Mikey claim that?’ they will say. “Blasphemy! Heretic! Preacher of falseness!’
But I speak the truth!
Regularly....... $49.99
Until now.
On Sale throughout the month of April for only $33.33! 

Saturday 19 March 2011

Mikey's Shabby Attempt to Educate His Clientele

It's been way too long since I last spoke about the music we play in the store, aside from the Tom Waits weekend we had a few weeks ago.
Fantasy In Glass is not just a store. It is our home for eight hours a day. And we like to play music. 
Just not bad music.
We're aware that there is way too much interesting and simulating music out there today, yet the delivery system to get that to many of our customers is lacking. Terrestrial radio is no longer effective. Satellite radio has limited reach. We're all too old for college radio or to understand Bit Torrent or iTunes. So what's left?
Mikey.
Our last great discovery was Little Axe (they just put out a new album too- Bought for a Dollar, Sold for a Dime- a tremendous album, only not highlighted here because we need to expose someone else).

Today we bring you Tony Joe White.
Yes, that Tony Joe White. Of Polk Salad Annie fame.
When he was learning the guitar as a teenager, Tony Joe White would sit on the back porch of his cotton-farming parents'  Louisiana shotgun shack, playing Lightning Hopkins. It's this simplicity that TJW has tried to stick to through a lengthy stop and start career and one that shines through brightly in this, one of his best ever- The Shine.
No polished, over-produced product here- this one brings him back to the swamp.
And that voice...

Tuesday 15 March 2011

Fremont Glass Company

Fremont Glass is the only full-antique sheet glass manufacturer in North America (sorry Blenko). While they're a small outfit, with a tiny production, their glass is perhaps the most spectacular being produced today. So much so that sometimes you can wait years for some of their colours. 
Mikey has a few sheets for you to check out the next time you're in.
Here's a good video on how their glass is made (just pick it up at the 40 second mark as I don't know what the heck the beginning is about)-

Saturday 12 March 2011

CBS Dichroic Glass

Regular readers of this blog are more than aware (apparently ad nauseum) that Fantasy In Glass is the only CBS Dichroic Glass distributor in Canada, and also the largest source of dichroic glass and embellishments in both 90 and 96 coe. We neglected to tell you that Howard and the kind staff at CBS also sent us gratis some fantastic colour bars which are tremendously helpful as a reference to help identify this glass cold, when fired, capped and when crinklized.

Wednesday 9 March 2011

One of Our Student's Recent Work

Got nothing else to say as I'm speechless...

Oh, The Humanity

Funny how great it is with the Canadian dollar going up so much in such a short time, eh? 
That's got to mean prices for American sourced goods are now going to be  lower, right?
And now, for sure, we have to be entitled to getting rebates from our OOCSGS because when the dollar was around .98 U.S., they felt it only fair to charge almost 5% more. That means today with our dollar worth $1.0314, we should be getting a rebate around 7-8%, right? 
Keep holding your breath. 
Instead of waiting for some sense of fairness from our suppliers here, we've decided to once again ramp up our buying from the U.S. A truckload with three skids of supplies is due next week, and we've already factored in a reduction of prices on like items of about 11%! 
We've even decided to bring in sixty of the best glass cutters you've ever experienced- yes, even better than the venerable Toyo!  And at a regular price of only $38.99, or more than ten bucks less than the Toyo!
Let's face it, while we're entitled to make a reasonable profit to exist (Mikey needs to be able to afford his weiners for his Kraft Dinner), if our costs are lowered due to a stronger dollar, then the savings should be passed through to you the customer who we love and cherish.
That is all...

Sunday 6 March 2011

Another Torch Class Success


While we are a stained glass supplier, we also consider ourselves the leaders in fusing- supplies and instruction, and have been for over twenty years. A recent addition (in the past five years) is our lampworking studio, which along with the teaching and selling of supplies is becoming increasingly popular. Here's a shot of a class just held this past weekend in our dedicated torch studio.

Thursday 3 March 2011

Cleaning Up Some Loose Ends

There are times where Mikey is simply dumbstruck by the enthusiasm and passion exhibited by some of the people that pass through Fantasy In Glass.
Here are a few that had that effect-





Wednesday 2 March 2011

Even Mikey's At A Loss For Words



You would be forgiven if you mistook this as a painting.
It is not.
It is a stained glass window.
Somewhere in Italy.
We know not where as the photo was taken by Zenia, a student whose educational training is in the careful documenting of osteological data.
Go figure...