Remember...

While March may come in like a lamb...

It goes out like a goat.

April Sale Now Posted

As is usually the case, we introduce the Monthly Sale with an unflattering and embarrassing picture of Zenia. In a unusual moment of weakness, we decided that this month's picture while embarrassing and unflattering was one taken so long ago that who would care?

Sale here...

Intermediate Courses

Our Intermediate courses are for those who want more than the basics, but yet don't want to tackle something as complex as perhaps a lamp or compound fractions. Consider the Intermediate course as a good way to get out  and enjoy this craft stress free with many new friends and away from annoying family members. Instruction in advanced techniques such as the use of cutting jigs, acid etching and mosaics will be taught. If you have a particular project in mind but don't have the confidence to start it alone, then this course is for you. Taught on Wednesday nights by our long suffering Louie (30+ years)- Six nights (18 hours) for $89.00 or on Fridaysduring the day by Theresa (mid-level suffering at less than a decade) six days (24 hours) for $95.00 (other lengths prorated).

A new addition to these courses is our offer of free glass fusing firings in our large kilns!
Go here for dates... 

And look below at the recent work of one of our Friday students-

This Saturday- Puddles and Plates Seminar

Got nothing to do for a couple of hours this Saturday, then consider dropping in and taking this popular seminar. Puddles and Plates is innovative, highly addictive, very productive and oh, so easy.       

This seminar is spread out over two days. The first day ( at 2 hours) is devoted to learning the process and doing the initial setup of your Puddle blank. In Week Two (3 hours) you will make your puddles and prep a plate for slumping. Cost includes your choice of several molds, handouts and three firings. This class will give you a very high number of usable finished jewelry pieces as well as what Mikey affectionately calls a 'Crumb Plate'! 

Cost............................... $99.00

Week 1 -Sat. March 22, 2014 ........ 10:30 am to 12:30 pm

Week 2 - Sat. March 29, 201............ 10:30 am to 1:30 pm

Yippee!

Still no real distributor for supplies means we continue to source out supplies and accessories from all over the continent. It also means that we can bring in the latest items before anyone else.

Coming in this friday-

1) over 600 sq ft of fusible glass including the new Uroboros Sys96 Transparent Gold-Pink UR60-105-

and their UR60-103 Deep Gold-Pink Striker-

This is a colour that has been sadly lacking and in high demand since the Sys96 line came about. We cannot express enough how much we love this manufacturer! 

Now remember, just because it says it's fusible, it is still glass and therefore more than appropriate for your stained glass needs as well!

2) over 1600 sale squares from Spectrum, Kokomo, Youghiogheny and Wissmach.

3) all tools and accessories that we might have been low or out of stock on.

4) all special orders from customers- we'll be calling you with the good news hopefully beginning next week.

5) maybe a few other surprises...

Anthropology of Stained Glass Reredux

The most significant discovery in Mikey's long and illustrious stained glass career was entirely serendipitous. Last April, the renown stained glass store owner was hiking in Germany's Neander Valley when he tripped over something on a trail. Some quick digging exposed the obstacle as what seemed to be the tip of a mastodon tusk. It wasn't until a few weeks later when the entire tusk was unearthed and dated that Mikey had realized the magnitude of his find. You see, the tusk he believes, is actually a Neanderthal glass cutter. Using traditional anthropological naming vernacular, Mikey gives it the name "toyofigus" in honour of his glass emporium- Fantasy In Glass (FIG).
     
What makes this find so significant and explosive is that like the grozing pliers discovered in Slovenia last year, the 50,000-year-old toyofigus predates the presence of glass making! 

Examining the ToyoFigus glass cutter closely, we see the existence of a carefully aligned hole that starts at the top of the cutter and runs down through its entire length. 

"I think a Neanderthal master craftsman must have used a stone awl to hollow out this the  toyofigus glass cutter." says Mikey. "Therefore, without a doubt" he says, "this proves that, while primitive man made and used tools, more importantly it suggests that Neanderthals used a cutter lubricant proving they were concerned with cutter wheel longevity".
Furthermore, while digging out the tool, Mikey also had uncovered the entrance to a cave and another major find: the first example of Neanderthal cave stained glass cutlines. Fittingly, the cutlines show lamp and suncatcher designs alongside proposed formulas for actually manufacturing glass once fire is discovered. "Maybe what we have here is the birth of a new hobby and artform."

Mikey theorizes that the Neanderthals' fondness for stained glass may explain why they vanished some 30,000 years ago. "Maybe their frustration at not actually having any glass to cut scared away all the game. They would have produced an awful racket all over the place complaining and arguing over whether Kokomo artglass would continue to be as popular as it is yet to be."