DSOTM

Forty three years ago this month Pink Floyd went into Abbey Road Studio and began work on their masterpiece Dark Side of the Moon. 
Not too long ago Mikey thought the same and also went into the studio with the same intention. 
To create his own masterpiece.
He made his own interpretation of Pink Floyd's classic entitling it 'Warped Side of the Moon'. 
While Pink Floyd went on to increase their body of work possibly even surpasing the genius of DSOTM, Mikey took another nap...

Mikey Decides to Rethink His Disguise Fixed

Public Service Denouncement

Announcing our Studio 

Summer De-Cluttering Drive

To all students/customers/distant relatives (and that includes you Judy)

In an attempt at avoiding projects being damaged over the summer and to lessen the number of abandoned projects taking up valuable space, we're doing our annual summer de-cluttering ( as Vanna would say ).

To avoid abandoned projects taking up valuable space If you have work here from a past class come on in and pick it up. If you are a current student, don’t worry- we will be brow beating you during your next class. 

Our minions will be in the studio July 5  to cart away unclaimed/unlabelled work.

Mikey Decides to Rethink His Disguise

Reactive Stuff

An area in fusing that has been getting much more attention lately is the use and experimentation with reactive glasses. This is when certain glasses are fused next to each other, they can produce a chemical reaction (sort of like Mikey and his mother-in-law... Vanna Opal) in the areas where they melt together. This is caused when elements, or ions, in the two glasses actually mix with one another, changing the chemistry where they meet. The result of this chemical change shows as a thin line of color between the two glasses. Often dramatic.

A colour reaction doesn't occur between all glasses and can vary according to colour. To help guide you in exploring this, Mikey being ever helpful has put copies of Spectrum/Uroboros' Reactive Charts on our web page here.

We also will be announcing soon the addition of a new seminar devoted to the experimentation and use of reactive glass.

Oh yeah, wanna see some of our fusing experiments and stuff, go here.

I Think We Know What We Are Doing Occasionally

We've been around for over 30 years and while the market has changed significantly, and our focus has shifted to other aspects of stained glass and fusing, we sometimes forget that we did do some nice work (and hopefully still do). 

And along with that work comes the knowledge and expertise gained from our experience that we always look forward to sharing with all of you who darken our doorstep (bank managers excluded... Mikey).

If you click on the above image it will hopefully whisk you away to   a PDF file of a book published of our stained glass work at St. Basil's Basilica in Edmonton, one of many churches we did back in the heyday.

A Post Full of Tragedy and Mayhem

Notice the often proudly displayed Cat in the Hat plate as done so adequately well by Mikey along with the somewhat ably talented assistance of the Stringer Queen Zenia. 
And if you look closely you will notice that there are two distinctly different whites. 
Now sadly, this is something that will no longer be possible as Spectrum has discontinued one of the two whites- their airy SP209F- a favourite of ours as it is a translucent white and not so harsh looking as their dense SP200F. 
So could we replicate this plate again down the road?
Nope.
And maybe.
You see, while it will be out of stock most everywhere else, Mikey has secured a substantial quantity of the SP209F. 
Enough to do Green Eggs and Ham.
Or maybe even Fox on Socks.
Or Horton Hears a Who.
And possibly Mikey on His Bikey...

Score Magazine

This magazine, published by Spectrum Glass, is full of articles on their products, telling you what's new, how to use their glass as well as Project Sheets. 
Now while The Score is a magazine of great value and good taste (they must be- they did a front full page article on us many years ago) and is free in the U.S. they do not seem so inclined to send them to us above the 49th Parallel, understandable given today's shipping costs. 
But...
We can do a bit of an end run around this problem and post a link to the magazine here!

Things Happen

TORONTO, CANADA- According to an unconfirmed report, a thing happened Saturday at Fantasy In Glass, a large, friendly, well stocked stained and fused glass store in Toronto’s west end, though experts say it is still not clear exactly what the thing was. 
‘All we know at this time,’ Humber College professor of phenomenology Rudolphp Fishingbacher said, ‘is that some kind of thing happened.’.
Ordinary citizens, meanwhile, are struggling to put the whole thing into proper perspective. 
‘You don’t expect a thing like this to happen,’ Etobicoke resident, Joe Chase said. ‘Not with the way thing’s have been’.
In a statement published Sunday on the Fantasy In Glass blog- Diary of a Dememnted Store Owner, Mikey urged all stained glass hobbyists to remain calm.

A Little Brevity Is Occasionally Warranted

Looking For Bullseye Glass?

Further to our blog posting  on Friday (see here), here's another reason we no longer carry Bullseye. 

Who can compete if the manufacturer themselves are selling direct to retail and then offering discounts of up to 50%? If you are in Southern Ontario it would definitely be worth the drive down to Mamaroneck, NY for these savings. It might make the glass almost as affordable as Spectrum! 

I'd be concerned if I carried Bullseye Glass today.

You Scratch My Back

Mikey was at Indigo/Chapters yesterday (the new Archie Big Comic must have come in... Vanna Opal) and took advantage of a great promotion they have on now until mid-June. 
Now listen to this- buy $40 in books (comics for Mikey) and you can take home this beautiful suede multi-pocketed apron for a lousy $29.50 (and get another 10% off if you have a Chapters/Indigo card!). Perfect for glass work.

Rochelle Puts The Arm On Mike

... and makes him post this promotion for the Art Tour she is part of (but of course she's more than worthy).

Just In Case...

... you don't follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, here's the latest content- a video tour of our main floor store area conducted ably by the Flowering Lotus Blossom (aka Zenia)

With the development of the Baroque line of glass from Spectrum, comes another line of deeply swirled and sharply delineated glass that is fusible (but also suitable for stained glass) known as Opalart. 
We carry every colour they make of which there are seven standards and always available. In addition, there is always the possibility of experimentation and hence we get their 'Fusers Reserve' line, made up of some stunning hits (and sometimes misses). Many done in the style of an Opart/Baroque. One of our biggest hits can be seen in this dish below-

We now have what Vanna Opal thinks is another hit. Picture Aventurine Blue and Opal White swirling across a Peacock Green base in this dynamite new Fusers' Reserve mix. The colours are beautiful together and, after fusing, the glass subtly glistens -- sometimes even in areas where the Aventurine is no longer visible but has magically dispersed its flecks among the other glasses.

make sure to check it out next time you're in...

Amanda The Puddle Queen

If you've spent anytime in our store, or been to our Facebook Page, Instagram feed or even Twitter then you must have tripped across entries showcasing Amanda (and her mom with tacky wardrobe that we struggle but always succeed in matching to glass in the store). Amanda really is a special person in more ways than one and she along with her somewhat annoying mother have used fusing as a therapeutic exercise that has become quite successful. Last week Amanda was invited to be a vendor at the Association's conference for Developmental Education and was surprised to  receive an award (figures, mom is clueless, we knew all along she was a sure thing... Vanna Opal) as the winner of the Trailblazer Award for Entrepreneurs! 
We are all so proud of what she has been able to accomplish.

Congrats Amanda. Fries, Big, Coke on us next time you're in (Vanna will pay... Mikey)

Showing Off A Student's Work

Our friday Day and Wed Night Intermediate classes also give you access to our kilns.
So you too could do work almost as nice as this gorgeous piece by John M.

Wow, Really?

Yes, it's true. We have over 400 jars of System 96 frit and powders with today's truck shipment! 

New Spectrum

Imagine mixing swirls of Aventurine Blue and Opal White rivers across a Peacock

Green base. That’s what the newest Fusers' Reserve mix is all about. The colours are beautiful together and, after fusing, the glass subtly glistens -- sometimes even in areas where the Aventurine is no longer visible but has magically dispersed its flecks among the other glasses.
It is a limited run but we did snag a good supply. 
Available in full sheets as well as 12” and 6” squares.

New Stuff

Another new albeit somewhat underwhelming new colour addition to Spectrum’s line of glass (fusible but also suitable for stained glass) is their new Rust Transparent (#571.1F). This colour sits at the junction where Orange meets Red - add in some warm Brown undertones and you're there. 

Copywriter alert- 

"This deep earthy colour is simply gorgeous and will be invaluable in creating sophisticated tonal shading and dimension in both stained glass and fused artwork”.

Hmmm...

We have a couple of full sheets coming in with another truck shipment tomorrow.

Wow! This Tuesday

The Things You Find

Cleaning out an old drawer...

Bullseye Glass

Being the largest glass fusing supplier in Canada and having sold fusing supplies for over 30 years, the obvious question occasionally arises about why we do not carry Bullseye Glass.

Here is the explanation-

Bullseye is a remarkable glass, of superior quality with a tremendous colour range (albeit more expensive than competing lines). 

We believed in this glass so much that we were a dealer of Bullseye for well over a decade buying direct and introducing the largest variety of their product in Ontario as there was no one else as willing to make the same commitment as us.

Then Bullseye decided to get into the retail market. In other words they wanted to sell to us but then sell to our customers as well. 

That's the reason why.

As an addendum, Bullseye offers 'Bullseye Glass Resource Centre' status to selected retailers on the condition that they carry Bullseye Glass ONLY and no other manufacturer's glass.

So, while Bullseye wanted to compete with all retailers, they don't like anyone competing with them.

Here's a link to their New York state store which is having a tremendous sale on now at up to 50% off (how could we or anyone else compete with that... Wanna Opal)