More Fusers Reserve Just Arrives

We just got in some more of this wild Fusers Reserve glass from Spectrum (over 150 sq. ft.). 

It's a new item from them and for us, where they are doing some unusual and unrepeatable colour experiments. 

Our last batch sold out in less than 10 days! 

It's equally great whether you are fusing or doing stained glass.

 All sale priced. Some samples tastefully (!) modelled here by Nicholas Picholas.

Store Hours

Just a reminder...

Monday....................Closed (sorry)

Tuesday .................. 11 am to 5 pm

Wednesday.............. 11 am to 7 pm

Thursday.................. 11 am to 5 pm

Friday....................... 11 am to 5 pm

Saturday....................10 am to 4 pm

Sunday.....................  Closed (sorry)

Glass- Liquid or Solid? The Definitive Answer Here

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.
      While we are the largest stained glass and fusing supplier in Canada, there are one or two people out there who may not know that. We've sadly had some competitors close most recently and there has been a lot of calls from those who have never darkened our door. So for those sadly unaware people, here's pics of our Sale Square Racks (WITH OVER 10,00 PIECES) as they stood on May 19, 2012;
    

Russians Claim IMF Loans Lost Making Fantasy In Glass Purchases

Russian finance officials attempted to refute accusations of illegal money laundering by claiming that tens of dollars were lost making purchases during Fantasy In Glass's current May 2012 Monthly Sale. 


"Ve knew that Louie Tiffany vonce made a small fortune vif little inwestment so ve thought ve could increase the walue of monies ve vere reciewing from the International Monetary Fund," said Finance Minister Gary Brownoff. 
Unfortunately, the money was put into Armstrong orange and blue cathedral glass to mass produce teddy bear night lights to cheer up the proletariat at their dachas during the long, cold and dark winters, when their staff colourist mentioned that teddy bears don't come in those colours.
"I guess ve goofed as you Canadians say." Brownoff so eloquently admitted.
Federal investigators looking into the missing funds weren't satisfied with the explanation knowing that Armstrong Glass is available virtually nowhere in Canada, and intend to further pursue the money trail. 
"The Russians have been losing more money than some Toronto stained glass retailers so we believe there is more to this story," said Pat McNeil, spokesperson for the Customs Service, who requested her name remain anonymous.

Mike Colero

Mike Colero is a new addition to the characters hanging around Fantasy In Glass as of late. 
So much so that he has personally made it his responsibility to tend and care for those extraneous things around the store that Mikey Our Leader usually does (and often does poorly). 
But his real job is as a jeweller, making his own glass earrings and necklaces. No doubt many of you may have seen/bought his work as he's been a fixture on Queen St for a long time.
It seems complaining about the weather is also something he does frequently. So much so that Mikey has set up a display of his stuff in the store all climate controlled and sheltered from sleet and snow. There's just one small problem- seem we just can't get Mike to leave this new in-store display which makes things kind of awkward when Mikey locks up and goes home at night.

Mike Colero's jewelry is made from hand ladled American Tiffany style art glass that has been fused, reacted, diamond cut then sand blasted. Working exclusively with organic materials such as silver and glass Mike sculpts them into unique one-of-a-kind works of art. His most recent work involves fusing copper based and reactive glasses to achieve a very unique effect not yet seen elsewhere. If you are a fuser then this is something you should have a look at as the effects are spectacular. All pieces are hand produced exclusively by Mike. The use of Chinese convict labour is just a vicious and unfounded rumour. Mike's Bulgarian...

Continuing with Tiffany

Landscape with Yellow Sky, c. 1915.

A superb late example of Tiffany's mastery of stained glass in a landscape. The window exemplified how his style evolved from impressionism to a greater degree of realism, without sacrificing any spiritual impact.

And check out that sky- all in Kokomo Glass and still available today.

Video Series Continues

Here's another in-store video done to show you our selection of molds for slumping including the newest ones just in this month...

Slumpy Order Comes In- Zenia Brags A Bit

It seems that occasionally Mikey asks Zenia to place a few ‘small’ orders, and it seems that every time he asks, it is at a moment of weakness when he forgets the pain she then inflicts on the FIG chequing account. This time wasn’t any different- when he asked her to place two large small orders… one with Uroboros Glass and one with Slumpys. The Slumpys order is full of new products! And Zenia made sure to include lots of square molds (because no one likes cutting circles and squares yield less scrap). All of the molds on order are under 11” to ensure that they will fit into our most popular kiln- the Coneart B3K117. 

The most fun item we are bringing in are the new Mini Pot Melts. They come in both 6” and 8” circles and comprise of a multiuse pot melt bowl and ceramic ring that the bowl sits on top of- so no more kiln posts necessary to support the bowl! You can buy the bowl and ring separately or together as a kit for a savings!

The Carolina Frit series has been very popular for us, specifically the multi colour mixes, and since our last order, Slumpys has increased the line! The colour mixes include- Bling (red, white and blue opal), Poppy Fields (cherry red, cotton candy pink and white), Wisteria (cotton candy pink, cotton candy purple, grape and clear), Purple Haze (Aventurine blue, grape and clear), Sunshine (yellow opal, orange opal, yellow transparent), Ocean (clear, dark blue and sky blue transparent), Fire (orange and red opals), Caribbean blues (turquoise. Medium blue and sky blue), Teal Thistle (teal and pastel green) and Snap Dragon (yellow opal and amber transparent). To top off the Carolina frit we brought in the new Lemon Grass, as well as the two discontinued Cotton Candy colours (pink and purple). 

Some examples of what to expect will be featured in an upcoming video...

Yup!

A while back, we dropped our dealership of Bullseye Glass. 
The decision to do so seemed difficult at the time.
Seeing stuff like this tells us that I think we made the right one.

Goofing Around with Fusing

Way too simple- we've placed some clear squares (thick works best) on a coloured base and this is the result...

Figimodo's Experience at Uroboros In the First Person

A few weeks ago Mikey sent me on an adventure to Portland, Oregon (oh yeah… Zenia was there too). As we were waiting at the gate, getting all excited I was thinking about everything Portland has to offer- and most excitedly thinking about Uroboros glass!  With my normal size passport in hand for a miniature sized me, I boarded the plane. After a smooth flight, and a trip on the Max (the light rail system… Zenia) we made it to North Kerby Avenue. But Uroboros wasn’t there. Apparently North Kerby Avenue exists in multiple places and we were in the wrong spot. After a quick call to Kat (Person Extraordinaire) where she rescued us in her green VW Beetle and drove us to the factory.
Once at the factory, we met Eric (the Top Guy) and the rest of the staff. Touring the production side, Kat showed us where and how they mix their colours and how they make all of their glass. As we were given the tour we saw the staff at work making clear iridescent sheet glass. Unfortunately, since we were there in the afternoon we missed all of the super exciting stuff- the staff creating multi colour mixes, blowing fractures, crushing frit and pulling stringers and rods- but we took Kat's word for it that they do it all there!
After our tour, she walked us to the racks of glass so we could pull an order to ship home! We went directly to the System 96 Uncats and V-series aisle. (Uncats are Uroboros’ uncategorized sheet glass- meaning they are all one of a kind ‘mistakes’ and the V-series sheets are variants on a colour number that just do not meet up to the high quality standards that Uroboros has set over the years). Both of these categories of glass are strictly tested to ensure they have a COE of 96 and are ready for us fusers. So, by the time I had barely had the chance to absorb anything, Zenia was pulling glass like a maniac. She looked like a kid in a candy store meeting Mickey Mouse while petting a monkey all hopped up on caffeine and pixie stix- it was nuts. But did she pick some glass! There is a multitude of collage glasses on streaky bases, with different coloured bits coming in, some bright solid opals, and some beautiful streaky multicolour mixes! 
After the pulling frenzy, Zenia looked like she was going to crash, so Kat took us out to a nice dinner at a local pub called Pause to get her energy back up. The blue cheese and bacon burger with a Portland made beer was the perfect end to a great day!
Once back in the city, Zenia finished putting the order together to make sure we get everything we need. In a few weeks time we are expecting 3 skids of glass to come in the door!

Figimodo Flies Off to Uroboros

We love Uroboros. 

And apparently Uroboros loves us.

Because of the terrible job that one of our local Uroboros distributors has been doing (little or no inventory and other nasty stuff like a price increase of 60% on clear fusible where the factory confirms an increase of 6%), we are pushing ever harder to get as best a supply as possible of this tremendous art glass and fusible glass supplier. 

And apparently that means sending Figimodo off to visit Kat and Eric and the staff at Uroboros out in Portland Oregon. Seems Mikey only wanted to send Figimodo, but when you're only 8" tall it's kind of hard to pull your own glass, so Zenia was seconded to assist.

Here's the two of them giving a bit of a tour...

... and some still shots...

Over a dozen crates expected this month and will include more Ends, fusible 96 glass, collage glass such as fracture/streamers, reactive clear and opal base glass and some surprises...

The Continuing Fallout of a Monopoly

Just the other day, when receiving our regular weekly delivery from our OOCSGS, we saw the price of Uroboros smooth thin 90 coe fusible had gone up 60%. 
Has to be a mistake, right? 60%? Couldn't be!
Nope, OOCSGS confirmed it was due to a price increase from the factory.
A quick email to Uroboros confirms a price increase from them...
They raised it 6%...

This stained glass window was apparently a favourite of Tiffany himself, because he hung it in his studio and refused to sell it (remember those Goodyear muffler calendars weren't out yet due to mufflers not having been invented in the early 1900's).

After his death, F. G. James of Cleveland, Ohio, acquired the window and donated it to The Field Museum. In 1941, it was installed into the Gem Hall (Chicago), where it has been on display ever since.

(some plating detail)

As said on this blog once before-
There used to be a time, years ago, when we heard the name Louis Comfort Tiffany spoken with reverence and awe in our store several times throughout the day.
You see, those were the 'sweet spot' times in our industry when art glass manufacturers were exploring, inventing and rediscovering all manner of interesting glasses such as Drapery, Ring Mottles, various iridescences, Fractures and Fracture/Streamers- of which many were the invention of Tiffany Studios back about a hundred years ago.
And we carried them all.
Heck, we even had our whole east wall full of lamp patterns and molds. We held full eight week classes just on lamp construction. Stocked well over 300 lamp bases at all times.
How things have changed.
One thing that hasn't changed though, is the genius of Louis Tiffany, and the legacy of his work and its still lingering affect on our industry today (read more about Tiffany here).
He deserves to be better known and we plan to start that here with the posting of first of a series of Tiffany works with some copy...

Seminar Update

Next seminar scheduled and confirmed as a go is the Working in 3D one coming up this week on Sat. May 5. After that is Jewelry Fusing on Sat. May 12. End of the month is our popular Puddles and Plates on Sat May 26 as well as Pattern Bar and Window Plates on the same day.
We've also added a new seminar and held its first session just this past weekend called School for the Somewhat Puzzled. Self-explanatory pic below...

Another Horrific Pic Of Zenia Posted

... or, as per tradition, our way of announcing the posting of this Month's Sale! This picture is so hideous and frightful that the FIG Editors have taken the unprecedented step of censoring said picture to spare the pain and anguish it might otherwise cause.
This month's sale can be found here...
Uncensored copies of this picture are available with a $5 donation to our charity of choice ( if accompanied by a doctor's note as to your cardiac health).

Finding Help

Stolen By Zenia, reprinted here...

While we carry only a cursory collection of findings, Toronto has lots of other places if you need a wider selection. Here are some places to get jewellery supplies in Toronto.

 

Arton Beads- Technically two stores side by side, Arton Beads is located at 523 and 525 Queen Street W. The 523 shop supplies base metal findings, tools, stringing materials, and beads made of plastic and wood. They also carry a variety of somewhat unrelated but totally fun materials like neon feathers. The 525 shop, on the other hand, carries higher quality supplies including semi-precious stones, Swarovski crystals, and silver and gold findings. Both are incredibly affordable, especially if you've got a membership card.  

Bling Bling- This jewellery supply store found at 448 Queen Street W has so much bling they had to name it twice. Bling Bling's pride and glory is found in their hanging strings of glass beads and crystal materials - both of which are nearly blinding... in a good way. They also sell findings and semi-precious stones, and although the collection is not as impressive as others in the same neighbourhood, the store is worth a visit.

The Beadery- The Beadery is a little unorganized and therefore slightly daunting, but they make up for it with a great selection of quality imported gemstones, handmade glass, wood, and seeds all in bead form. They're also one of the only jewellery supply stores that offer small classes for those looking to learn how to use tools properly, in order to produce professional pieces. 

Fancy Gems & Accessories- If you're looking for something a little fancier (ergo the store's name), I suggest taking a gander at Fancy Gems & Accessories. They carry a number of findings, beads and semi-precious stones unavailable at the many other jewellery supply stores on the same strip. The prices are also reasonable despite the high quality, and there's an entire basement dedicated to sale items. 

Bead Girl- Walking into Bead Girl is somewhat reminiscent of a boutique experience. Located in Yonge and Eglinton, the roomy and well-organized space carries a limited selection of beautiful semi-precious stones, glass beads, and Swarovski crystals. Their assortment of findings is lacking, so it's safe to say Bead Girl is only worth going to for the ornamental function of jewellery. 

Bead Junction- Bead Junction on Roncesvalles is perfect for those hoping to make quality statement jewellery. With beads and pendants ranging from base metal to Japanese glass, and from natural bone to freshwater pearls, it's hard not to find what you're looking for. They also offer a consistent number of beading events every week for beginners, as well as specialty jewellery-making lectures for keeners. 

Beadworks- Located in the Beaches, Beadworks is another quaint and cluttered jewellery supply store with a large variety of natural beads made of materials such as clay and seed. There's nothing overtly special sold here, but they've got all your basic needs - and even some tools and books - complete with a bohemian vibe. 

Earth Rocks by Bead Heaven- With the ideal of locally made jewellery pieces, Earth Rocks was opened to help share the owners' work as well as nurture and supply for other designers. What's unique about their shop is that they only carry handpicked crystals and stones, both in bead as well as specimen form (perfect for metaphysical uses!). They also offer one-on-one jewellery making classes. Overall, the experience Earth Rocks shares is parallel to that of a Zen garden. 

Courage My Love- Courage My Love in Kensington Market shouldn't be the first place to get jewellery supplies since the selection is extremely limited, and the shop's main focus is the vintage clothing and accessories they're known for. However, if you're in the middle of purchasing a pair of kick-ass cowboy boots, it's worth it to throw in some leather string and hand-carved skull beads to match. 

Artka- Artka is a bead supply store located on the upper floor of the Yonge and Eglinton centre doubling as a pre-made jewellery and accessories shop. They carry mostly sparkly Swarovski crystals and semi-precious stones, and although their collection of findings is very limited and the prices a little high, Artka is a great place to kill time when you're in the area.

Wish You Were Here

Yes, that is Zenia and she's not here! 
She's checking out the selection at Uroboros Glass in Portland right now!