Quick Little Blog Note on Inventory

If you've been waiting for 1/8" diamond drill bits or Aanraku's great silver earring bails, they just came in our front door...

Christmas 2008 Fantasy In Glass Monthly Sale

Or as it's better known around here, it's "An opportunity to post another embarassing picture of Zenia time". Go here to see what's on sale for this month.

Andre's Somewhat Weekly Sale

Rapid Resizer computer program for resizing and printing out patterns. And a Canadian product too!
Only $22.22 from November 24 to December 1.

The Trials and Tribulations of Writing a Blog

You might think that I'm going to tell you how tough it is to come up with interesting and thought provoking stuff every couple of days.

Or how I try to let you all in on the inside workings of our industry from a retailer's perspective, while trying to be mindful of not annoying our suppliers, oops, I mean supplier.

Or how I'm able to take all these potshots at Gary Brown...

Not today.

Today, I'm lamenting the fact, that some days I'm so on my game, so witty and clever, so inspiring and thought provoking, yet once a new entry is written, these pearls get buried below newer entries and thus get lost and unread.

Have the time? Or the inclination? Consider digging a little deeper into Mikey's musings.

You'll read about his ground breaking study on how Neanderthal man may not have been so primitive, given the discovery of evidence he was involved in the craft of stained glass. Or how Stephane Dion was hired by FIG as it's night manager and finally gets to put his 'Green Shift' into place. You'll even learn about how our ever attentive staff meticulously run each and every sale square we receive through our own in-house electro-Figtrometer to detect and eliminate excess radiation and bad karma.

Or this...
Fantasy In Glass is offering the ConeArt BX117 fusing kiln (see here) at:

1) $798.88!
or
2) $898.88 and we'll throw in $200.00 of Bullseye fusible glass for free!

Given that competing kilns now go for over $1000.00, this is a pretty incredible deal.

To get this price, we need a deposit of 25% by November 30 for delivery in December.
This is the largest kiln available that is still capable of being powered by a regular household electrical outlet. It's Canadian made, and comes complete- kiln shelf, posts, kilnwash and Bartlett 3-button controller!

I don't Understand... Never Mind, I Actually Do...

According to our one and only Canadian stained glass supplier (OOCSGS)- due to the cost of importing from the U.S. they "must add a currency surcharge to our invoices, to partly offset increased cost due to the sharp rise in the U.S. dollar".

But wait a minute... there's alot of stuff that is made here in Canada (lead, solder, irons, clear glass, kilns, many chemicals, etc) and paid for in Canadian dollars -surely we aren't going to be charged the 14.9% U.S. dollar surcharge on these items? After all, it didn't happen in the past when we had a competitive wholesale market. Both suppliers were careful to strip out all non-U.S. goods before adding the surcharge.

Oops, we don't have the protection of competitive market anymore. And yes, we are expected to pay this U.S. dollar surcharge on everything- including Canadian goods also...

We've found another supplier for some of these Canadian supplies. To save 14.9%? Partially. To feel better about not allowing ourselves to be taken advantage of. Absolutely.

But for most of our competitors, there isn't another supplier.

Remember, this blog does accept comments, which we love to get (yes, even from Gary Brown).

And if you're scared, you can even do so anonymously.

Andre's Somewhat Weekly Sale

November 14 to 22
Mika's handy mosaic cutters/groziers- regularly- $32.99, on sale at $19.88!

RCMP To Shift Focus To Stained Glass and Mikey Puts Kilns on Sale To Celebrate

TORONTO, ON- After decades devoted to deciphering Russian military codes. working various covert operations around the globe, tasering Polish immigrants and covering it up and working on perfecting the Musical Ride, RCMP spokesman Gary Brownlee announced today that they will phase out all policing and national security operations to focus exclusively on the production of a new line of machine made artglass.

"Around the time we investigated the Somalia affair we began to have doubts about whether this is what we really wanted to do," Brownlee said. "After last month's top secret burial of nuclear waste in Lake Ontario, I just thought"You know what? There's more to life than this. That 'more' to us, is the spreading of happiness and joy through the promotion of stained glass. We've started an intensive program and have sent out our best agents to Fantasy In Glass to learn as much as they possibly can about this craft, and report back to us."

Mr. Brownlee has confirmed that production of their first colour will begin shortly after Christmas ("We're appearing in the Christmas Parade with our Musical Ride" reports Brownlee, with a maple read and white opal mix.

Such a memorable event cannot pass by without some sort of celebration-

Fantasy In Glass is offering the ConeArt BX117 fusing kiln (see here) at:

1) $798.88!

or

2) $898.88 and we'll throw in $200.00 of Bullseye fusible glass for free!

Given that competing kilns now go for over $1000.00, this is a pretty incredible deal.

One condition:

To get this price, we need a deposit of 25% by November 30 for delivery in December.

This is the largest kiln available that is still capable of being powered by a regular household electrical outlet. It's Canadian made, and comes complete- kiln shelf, posts, kilnwash and Bartlett 3-button controller!

Free Fusing Project Ideas and Patterns and Other Stuff

... or how Mikey enjoys alot of alliteration...There is always an abundance of patterns prevalent everywhere (even here) for those working in stained glass, but what about those who have just gotten interested in fusing and slumping? Well then look here...

Want to get into fusing, but don't know where to start? It's not really that hard and the best way to start is to come on down on Saturday November 8 when Louie runs our next one day fusing seminar (more details here).

Need a kiln, then you've got another reason to visit FIG- have our staff fill you in on our ConeArt kilns- they are the best deal anywhere, and with the rising U.S. dollar, these Canadian made kilns are now about 25% less than Evenheat, Hotfire and Skutt kilns. We even have our BX116 (see details here) on sale- buy it (complete with pyrometer, shelf, posts and kilnwash) for only $599.99 and Mikey will throw in $100.00 of fusible Bullseye glass with it for free!

More ConeartKilns Arrive Tomorow!

If you've been yearning for a kiln of a decent size for fusing and slumping, then this Canadian kiln manufacturer is the only choice- quality and price-wise. And that's even more so now as we expect to see American made kilns rise significantly in price given the current currency situation. 

We have a delivery arriving tomorrow with Bx116's and BX117's (see them here) at $599.99 and $899.99 (complete with shelves, etc). 

Just The Facts- You Decide

The cost of supplies to both you and us is continuing to rise at an ever-increasing rate. And, this rise seems to have little or no correlation to market realities. Is it actually a function of true costs increasing or is it something else? You decide.

The price of an item is a function of several things; namely, cost of goods, cost of transportation, value of the Canadian dollar (for non-Canadian goods), and the amount of markup expected by the supplier. We all know that the dollar's gone down recently, gas is up... oops, no it’s not- it’s now down- to the lowest level in two years. Some suppliers have raised their prices (some have, but we know who hasn't, given our close contact with American suppliers and wonder why products like window glass [which is bought locally] would suddenly go up 40%). But do all these factors justify the substantial price increases our industry in Canada has seen in the past year or so? You decide.

We've progressively pursued alternative sources for supplies over the past few years to the point where we now depend on our Canadian supplier for less than 25% of our inventory. Of course, as we are not as dependent upon our sole Canadian supplier as some of our competitors, the impact on pricing at Fantasy In Glass is not as extreme as you might experience elsewhere. And we have secured supplies and made other plans to continue to try and minimize the impact to you (maybe we should be working for the Canadian wholesaler- if we can do it, why can’t they?).

Where’s this all going?

In two separate letters received from our one and only Canadian supplier in recent weeks, they are instituting the following surcharge on all goods bought from them- namely, for every dollar spent with them, they will be adding a percentage to recoup their increased costs.

Surcharges are as follows:

Oct. 15- (dollar at .845 cents)- surcharge is 7.9%
Oct. 31- (dollar at .823)- surcharge is 14.2%

That means that a dollar difference of 2.7% warrants a surcharge increase of 6.3%.

Make sense? Justified? You decide.

It’s a strange and trying time to be a Canadian stained glass retailer…

Hands-On Lead Seminar Saturday November 15

Not doing anything Saturday November 15? Consider spending it with Teenuh in her Hands-On Lead Seminar.This course is for those who can cut glass and have little or no experience working with lead. It's a full one-day hands-on course where you'll learn the basics of how to work with lead, cut glass to a leading pattern and continue all the way through to completion of a small panel. Note: all materials are included. Students must bring their own hand tools. Three spots left!

Stained Glass News #82

Stained Glass News is a full-color newspaper which has been dedicated to informing, entertaining and inspiring stained glass hobbyists for the past 20 years. Each issue features:

• information on new books, tools and glass
• quick tips & hints and Q&A's
• columns on stained glass, mosaics, and hot glass by industry experts
• photos of readers' projects in the Readers' Gallery including nudity (kidding, just checking if you're actually reading this)
• glassworking hints from readers on The Readers' Page
• a photo and information about a glass workshop
• other information that makes working with glass easier, more fun and more rewarding

SGN is published five times a year (on the first of January, March, May, September and November). The current issue is SGN #82 (November, 2008).

This month's free pattern 

...and... It's free. Just come in and with any purchase we'll give you a copy. 

... and... we've got them because we get them direct and not from our one and only Canadian supplier...

Health Canada Recalls Lead-tainted toys- Stained Glass Retailers Rejoice

Toronto, ON- Health Canada is ordering retailers in Ontario to pull tens of thousands of items off their shelves after finding they were selling lead-tainted toys and children's products, according to a report. Officials say these items contain lead-levels in excess of allowable amounts. The lead-tainted items were sold in a variety of stores, including "dollar stores," and range from toys to products children put directly in their mouths, such as baby pacifiers.
According to the government of Canada's "Healthy Canadians" website, the recalled items include:
"My Baby" brand pacifier twin pack and silicone pacifier
Children's Charm craft kits ("Super Dooper Charms" and "Shoelace charms")
"GTZ Kool Charmz" charm gift bracelet
"Fairy Dust Pendants" and "Candle Charms"

In related news, the Stained Glass Retailers Association, led by Fantasy In Glass, a wondrous stained glass emporium in Toronto has agreed to buy up all returned, lead-tainted inventory. It seems that as there is only one source of supplies at the wholesale level, and since they have almost nothing in inventory, this is the only means to get hold of a decent lead supply for their stained glass customers.

Oops, It Just Slipped By- July 11, 2008

Rob Gilmour, bank manager at the Bank of No Return, calls to remind Mike and Pat that July 11 was the twenty-fifth anniversary of Fantasy In Glass, Canada's first and still only officially sanctioned stained glass supplier. He asks if this is a good time for him to cash that cheque. Mike suggests maybe he wait a little longer- he's having too much fun to worry about making a living.

As a celebration, Mikey revives the Monthly Sale feature that sadly and forlornly, had been missing for the past few months. Find it here...

Andre's Somewhat Weekly Sale

Glastar Strip and Circle Cutter! Andre's put it on sale for only $44.44 from October 23 to November 1!

Stephane Dion Announces His Future Plans!

OTTAWA — Stéphane Dion will no longer need to spend another day avoiding answering questions about his future after his party's election defeat Tuesday night having lost 19 seats and handing the Conservatives a stronger, albeit still, a minority government. Having hunkered down long enough at his official Ottawa residence at Stornoway, Mr. Dion has made his decision on his future today- and that future apparently is with Fantasy In Glass Glassworks.

A newspaper report last Thursday morning speculating that he was poised to announce later in the day that he would step aside was true. It can now be confirmed that Mr. Dion will be stepping down to replace Belinda Stronach as the night manager at Fantasy In Glass, a world famous stained glass emporium found in Toronto.

This would have been the sixth straight day that Mr. Dion was avoiding appearing in public. But now, knowing that there is a position for him in the Spectrum and Kokomo aisles, next to the English Muffle cathedrals and slumping molds at FIG, he has finally found purpose in his life after his devastating election loss. News has surfaced that he now has been so invigorated that he has even formulated a radical plan that he intends to present to Mikey, owner of FIG, later today.

While Liberal MPs and party stalwarts were all saying that he must go, they were all caught surprised by his definitive action, and the possibility of him actually having some sort of plan.

Rather than hanging on to the drapes at Stornoway, Dion is ready to look ahead to the next stage of his life. He incorrectly assumed he had only two career choices - to remain in Parliament or return to academic life in Montreal, until a third more fulfilling option was presented to him by Mikey and the staff at Fantasy in Glass last week. As an opposition MP, he would be a frontbencher, accorded a place of honour in the Liberal lineup. As a professor, he has tenure at Université de Montréal. But as night manager of Fantasy In Glass, Mr. Dion would finally have an opportunity to put his failed ‘Green Shift’ platform into effect.

When Liberal Leader Stephane Dion announced his Green Shift scheme three months ago, he assured Canadians that "every single penny" extracted from consumers from this ‘Green Tax’ would be returned in the form of income-tax cuts or subsidies for "going green". Now, as night manager of Fantasy In Glass, Mr. Dion finally has the opportunity to put his ‘Green Shift’ plan into place. He has proposed that Fantasy In Glass carry nothing but green glass- no more Youghiogneny Purples, or Uroboros Pink Mottles, no Bullseye Fuschias or Oceana Silver Dichroics, just greens- thereby finally realizing his dream of a Canada that has embraced his ‘Green Shift’ dream. While he may have been denied his dream by the Canadian electorate, he’s hopeful that the glass community found at Fantasy In Glass will believe that this is a course of action necessary for all Canadians.

Indeed, voters who go to the Fantasy In Glass' Web site and use the calculator there to determine Green Shift's cost to them will be hard-pressed to enter any combination of glass for any project, be it a Tiffany style lamp, Group of Seven painting, or nite lite teddy bear (Gary Brown’s favourite), and be able to find anything but green glass.

Calls to all the major glass manufacturers to find out if they have plans to alter their production to accommodate Mr. Dion’s plan went mostly unheeded. Evidence that Spuctrem Glass has already decided to copy any greens currently available by all the other manufacturers went unproven (letters to fig@fantasyinglass.com)…

Solder Sale!

Solder prices have increased so dramatically (as much as 50%!) Mike tries his best to soften the blow and says anyone who buys a 5.5 lb spool will get a 1 lb spool free until Oct. 31!

New Copper Foil In

Having had enough of the price increases we've seen in the Canadian market, Mikey searches out and brings in a large quantity of copper foil from the States.

From 3/16" to 1/4', in copper, black, and silver backed, all these foils come in their own unique 'Easy Pull' plastic dispenser. 

Best of all- while it's priced lower than any other foil on the market, the quality of the foil is outstanding. 

Andre's Somewhat Weekly Sale

October 10 to October 22, all back issues of the popular Glass Patterns Quarterly, regularly selling for $7.50, on sale while supplies last at $4.88!

Reprint of Actual Correspondence

Mike arrives back from a day off, opens his mail, and reads the following letter;

Dear Wondrous Mikey
I am compelled to ask- do you write all this stuff? And I am having a hard time understanding some of the language you use. Is it English? Are you on medication for your ailment?
Yours Truly
Mom

Mike ponders and formulates his response;

Dear Mom,
Thanks for the pot roast. Most of the 'stuff' as you so eloquently state, found on this site, is written while I am in a trance or while sleeping. When I awake from one of these states I discover all this new 'stuff' on my computer and I don't have a clue how or why I wrote them. But I don't care, because I accept that I am a channel for some higher mysterious force that is using me to do its work. You might say that I have surrendered myself to this for I am a mere simple man otherwise. As for the inventive language, as you know the English language, or any language, is very limited in its ability to convey meaning, so for some unknown reason the force that channels through me invents new words or phrases to go beyond the wall.
Unfortunately, at present, there is no known cure for my ailment. It is a fatal disease, this love of glass, and someday I will pass from this world because of it. That is why I find such joy in living the remaining one hundred years of my life what I do…
In closing let me give you this comfort… I too am confused by what I write. It often amazes me that these thoughts have flowed through me. It takes time for me to absorb their full meaning. Some of them are absurd. I therefore apologize in advance for any confusion my words may cause.
On the other hand, I am just a humble servant to a higher force,
With Love
Mikey

New! Way Too Much Stuff To Read Section

We've pooled all our miscellaneous literature from the various manufacturers into a nice new white Ikea cabinet. Most are free, some we ask a small donation (to suppress those overly zealous people who plan to a long and cold winter in search of fuel for their fireplace- we end up donating to Sick Kids Hospital anyway).
Here you'll find Mikey's (in)famous TechSheets, back issues of Stained Glass News, and colour brochures from most of the great glass manufacturers. The newest just in is an updated catalog from Spectrum on their Hot System 96® glass- (copywriter alert!)-' Brimming with over 500 products and gorgeous new works by many of the finest artists in the industry. PIck up one at your favorite System 96 Retailer today' (they are referring to us here).

You Meet the Nicest People

Had a customer drop in yesterday. He'd been in before. Quiet guy. Seemed to enjoy Mikey's music. Gave me some cd's just because (because payola is illegal). Had a chat about music- seems we even have a mutual friend in Enoch Kent the Scottish folksinger/stained glass hobbiest and he books (?) acts at Hugh's Room a 200 seat licensed restaurant/folk/roots/blues venue in Toronto's west end (Bloor and Dundas)- something of which there aren't enough. Upcoming acts include Maria Muldaur Oct 7, Harry Manx Oct 15 &16, Sue Foley Oct 17, Paul Reddick with Colin Linden Oct 18, Odetta Oct 24 & 25. More info here.

Andre's Somewhat Weekly Sale

From September 27 to October 9-
Simple- Nite Lites (best quality)
$1.66 each!

Employee of the Month Sad It's Already the 15th

Toronto, ON- Stan Damian, a housewears department shelf stocker and occassional cashier at Acme Glass, expressed sadness Wednesday over the rapidly approaching end to his reign as Employee of the Month. Fellow employees didn't have the heart to tell Mr. Davisdunn his reign had actually ended ten months ago.

d- Small Circle Cutters Back In Stock

Cut a perfect circle every time without the aid of alcohol! This 'lens' cutter makes cutting circles from 3/8" to 5" way too easy. Excellent for all those small projects such as jewelry where you just need a perfectly round and small circle.

Only $69.99, but if you come in and tell us you read it here first, until Oct. 31, it's yours for only $55.55...

Einstein's Beginner Class at Fantasy in Glass

Yes, it's true- Albert Einstein took the beginner course at Fantasy In Glass many years ago. After making the obligatory teddy bear night light and bird suncatcher, Albert cornered Mikey late one evening and asked Mikey how he felt he was doing in the class. Mikey, in all his wisdom quietly and thoughtfully responded,"relatively well".

Spectrum's Score Mag

As if visiting us wasn't exciting and rewarding enough, you can also help yourself to several binders we have, full of free stained glass patterns(all copyright free). Many of them are our own in-house designs, and many come from Spectrum's Score Magazine, a quarterly publication that's been around for (I think) over twenty years (Mikey's mom used to let him colour in the patterns so long as he stayed inside the lines). It includes news on various Spectrum product as well as offering several full size patterns. The latest issue can be found here.

Even Better Yet- Kilns Again!

The Canadian made Cone Art kiln pictured here, if you notice, has a side door as well as a lift up lid- apparently Mr. Tucker was a frustrated pizza pie maker. This kiln is ideal for both fusing and for annealing torchworked beads (the elements are encased in quartz to protect them from prodding rods). 

We've been able to get Cone Art to make this kiln (measuring 9" x 9") without a door and can offer it to you at a little better introductory price- basically, pre-order this specific kiln and we'll give it to you for $488.88!

Now remember, this is a real kiln. Not one of those 'foamy' kilns with the coils buried that can't be serviced. This one is made like the big boys- you know- stainless steel surround, high temp premium grade fibrebrick, infinite switch, hinged lid (not a lift-off), CSA Approved, and includes a pyrometer, stand, shelf, posts and kilnwash...

Kilns! Kilns! Kilns!

The hardest thing to overcome, if you want to start fusing, is the cost of the kiln itself. Well, that's not so ominous today with the revival of the microwave kiln (under $130.00) and our reintroduction of Cone Art Kilns, with their entry level BX117 (9"x 9", with pyrometer, shelves, etc) at only $599.99, and now even less with a 10% discount for pre-orders! If you're thinking of picking one up, we've just found out that they are about 3 weeks away.

System 96 Embellishments

While we've always been strong supporters of Bullseye glass for fusing, unfortunately we also have competitors ('the horror'... Mikey)- competitors who don't have the same allegiance to Bullseye as we do. We are the only full line dealer for Bullseye, and have carried all of Spectrum Sys 96 glass as well (it's actually quite easy as their selection is so small- 21 opals and 26 cathedrals- remember, the whole line is only somewhat bigger if you add in the colours made by Uroboros). We find that customers who end up in our store from elsewhere are usually using Spectrum as it is more readily available, whereas Bullseye is not. To appease these customers while we brow beat them into the virtues of Bullseye, we've widened our peripheral Sys 96 stuff, and are now carrying a full line of frits, powders and pebbles. We've put a link to Spectrum's System 96 catalogue (pdf file) here.