Stained Glass Express - The Blog / Category_News

What amazing talent by every participant this year for our annual Just For Fun Contest! Here are our 2022 winners in each category:

1. Glastar burned to the ground on October 18th. Glastar is a leading manufacturer of glass-shaping equipment, tools, accessories, and supplies. The warehouse next door exploded, and the fire quickly spread to the Glastar building. No one at Glastar was hurt, however two people were killed and two were injured in the warehouse where the fire started. We do not expect to see any Glastar products soon. Everything that was available, sold out quickly. They still have a Facebook page with no news and the website continues to state, "they will be back soon", but yet no news. The following is a link to the Bing video of the Canoga Park explosion. glastar fire - Bing video
2. The Paul Wissmach Glass Co was sold. On April 1, 2021 Jason Wilburn and Annabelle Javier became the new owners. Mark Feldmeier continued to be actively involved so that is probably why it all happened, and we did not even realize. Wissmach is the second oldest manufacturer having been operating since 1904. This is their new logo:
3. Kokomo seemed to have a rocky year. I was not able to get them directly, but I did get my info from a reliable source. What I heard is that their extremely interesting furnace is now not operating and has been replaced with day furnaces. This is a round furnace with a down draft which I so wish I had seen while it was still operating. Kokomo was founded in 1888, making it the oldest producer of glass in the United States. The transition caused lapses in production, and we have not been able to stock as much as we would like. One of their key personnel retired after returning from a bout with Covid. Apparently Covid took its toll at Kokomo, which also slowed down production because of employees being absent. We have been assured that all is back on track, and we will be seeing more glass!
4. Oceanside also reported some difficulties in 2021. Many people were not happy that the glass is "different". Vince Moiso shared how hard it has been sourcing chemicals. They follow the "recipe", and some glass has come out different, we had some orangey reds and other differences. He also reported that we will be seeing more bubbles in the glass. Even though they do make the glass like Spectrum did, they do not have the long ribbon or glass system that Spectrum had, and the shorter run will create bubbles.
5. On a positive note, Youghiogheny seems to be just smoothy flying along. After purchasing the Uroboros hand rolled sheet process from Oceanside in May of 2020 they continue to add more Uroboros glass to their already amazing lines of Youghiogheny.
6. In general, we have seen unprecedented price increases. These come from increased shipping costs, raw material sourcing issues and increased labor costs. Less product at higher prices.
7. We did see a new line of art glass come on the scene. Artisan Glass is an imported glass that is quite beautiful and reasonably priced. Artisan Glass (stainedglassexpress.com)
8. Tools and supplies have been difficult. In addition to not having any Glastar products, we cannot get Morton products. Some that have been difficult are: spray a, score one plus, didymium glasses (clip-ons), value tools, bevel clusters, fid'l stick, some silver products (earring findings), glass pro silver protector and cleaner, Breda nippers, Hifire, Thinfire, and resin. Some products were difficult for awhile because people could not get packaging for them, like glue. Right now we are waiting on Inland Grinders.

In honor of National Art Glass Month, Stained Glass Express, hosts an annual contest called "Just For Fun Contest". Customers of ours, local artists, and any glass enthusiast can enter the contest under three categories: Stained Glass (Copper foil or lead), Hot/Warm Glass (Fused, Torched, Blown), and lastly Mosaics. All entries are due this year by March 26th, and we display all the entries in our store. We then host a special "Invite Night" exclusive to contest entry participants and guests. This night brings together such talented artists from all over the State of Maine, and with appetizers and refreshments, everyone can connect and enjoy being in the company of people who all share the same interests of glass and art. But most importantly, everyone invited to "Invite Night" gets advantage of the store's biggest sale of the year! Our customer's love this aspect of the contest because the store puts out so much product and glass at a very low price! We also receive amazing donations from our top glass distributors and give everyone who participated a "Swag Bag" full of awesome stuff from each distributor. Everyone involved from the loyal customers to the amazing distributors and the employees who put this on it is truly a special night uniting us all over the love of art and glass! During Invite Night, each person can vote on their favorite entries and the winners selected for each category will receive gift cards to our store. Each year we have an amazing turnout and we cannot wait to see all the entries and how beautifully talented everyone is who submits an entry. Janet Parkhurst, owner of Stained Glass Express stated " It really is the most fun event we do. Not only do you get a present, but you get to hang with people who love what you love, and you get to see amazing artwork."

I think I have not researched an issue and come up with less concise data ever. Here are some things I did find.

FUSING

The causes of concern when fusing are lead and cadmium. Cadmium when combined with sulfur forms Cadmium Sulfide and results in deep yellow color. If mixed with Selenium and Sulfur, it gives you bright red and orange. Adding Titanium produces yellowish-brown glass. https://www.bullseyeglass.com/is-bullseye-glass-food-safe.html At this link you can find the list of Bullseye glass that contain more than 1% lead and more than .5% of cadmium. They recommend this list be capped with clear. They also said that transparent glass leaches lead/cadmium at levels below FDA limits and less than opalescent lead/cadmium-bearing glass. So, you can decide not to cap transparent glass. I also found from Randy Wardell in his book "Everything Else", this: The official answer from the glass manufacturers is, all tested compatible glasses have been tested by the FDA for food bearing surfaces and were determined to be suitable. However, if you add other processes or compounds to the items, for example paint, stains, decals, glazes, etc. it is important to check that these items are also approved for food bearing surfaces.

• Glassline pens are lead free and food safe.
• Mika powder must be capped.
• Iridized glass needs to be capped. Bullseye irid is safe if full fused.
• By spraying a coating of Fuse Master Super Spray on top - food safe.

The bottom line seems to be, if you have any concerns top the piece with a sheet of clear when fusing.

FLAMEWORKING

Clear Boro (COE 33) is food safe. Think Pyrex. Boro colors with high metal content or fuming are not food safe. Boro is food safe if the colors with high metal contents and fuming are not the surface. The metals can cause issues in microwaves and sometimes older dishwashers that get really hot during the drying cycle. I was not able to find a list of Boro colors with high metal content. However, here is a little info on metal oxides. When glass color is made, the metal oxides are stable and "in solution," anytime you work with the glass, in any manner, you may be breaking open "the solution" and expose the metal oxides. Rods can contain: Iron Oxide, Chromium, Sulfur, Calcium, Manganese, Manganese Dioxide, Cobalt, Arsenic, Potash, copper Oxide, Nickel, Chromium, Tin Oxide, Cadmium, Titanium, Uranium, Didymium, Selenium, Copper, Gold & Silver.

TRADITIONAL STAINED GLASS

In traditional stained-glass work where you solder, there are also concerns. If the product is going to be near food or next to your skin, you should use lead free solder. Or, if you are doing something like a night light for a child's room, use lead free solder. Lead toxins can be absorbed through the skin.

Every year I look forward to the announcement of Pantone's color of the year. They have been doing this for over 20 years. The announcement influences fashion, home furnishings, industrial design and a glass sale at Stained Glass Express! To pick the color, the Pantone color experts look at color influences from current/emerging entertainment and film industry, art collections and new artists, fashion, design, travel, sports, lifestyles and socio-economic conditions.

2021 Brings us two colors! Ultimate Gray and Illuminating Yellow.

"The union of an enduring Ultimate Gray with the vibrant yellow illuminating expresses a message of positivity supported by fortitude. Practical and rock solid but at the same time warming and optimistic, this is a color combination that gives us resilience and hope. We need to feel encouraged and uplifted; this is essential to the human spirit" _Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute.

Our picks for our March sale are:

For 96 COE - Oceanside 28072 Pewter and 161 Yellow Transparent

For Art Glass Wissmach's 31 Corella Classic and Kokomo's 789 Grey Opatlume

These are some picturs from the fashion world using the colors.

Home Decor

What is the difference between copper wire and tinned copper wire?

They are both copper wires. The tinned wire is a bit easier to use if you are soldering it because it already has a coating of solder on it.

https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/metals/wire/

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So many foils!

Different backing, different widths, and different thicknesses

Why does this matter? Take a look.

Can you see how the color of the backing shows through? It matters when you are using see through glass. It helps when the patina matches the backing. Like the center one is black backed. If that copper on the outside gets patinaed black it looks good. If you were doing a piece with a lot of see-through glass and you used copper back, you would be sad, disappointed and distracted by the copper peaking out at you.

https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/metals/copper_-_silver_foil/

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FUSING WITH NON-FUSIBLE GLASS

Can you do it? Yes. However, you cannot mix sheets because the coe is unknown. If you know that two pieces of glass came from the same sheet, you could fuse them together. Sometimes non fusible glass will devitrify. Probably because you don't really know what temperature to fire it at. If you coat it with Spray A that generally takes care of it. This is also good for slumping bottles. They come out clearer if you coat the up side with Spray A.

https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/Chemicals/fusing-chemicals-kiln-wash/hotline-spray-a-plus-16-oz.html

You could take two wispy pieces of glass from the same sheet and put one across the other with the wisps going in a different direction and get a nice effect.

You cut shapes from one piece and fuse to another piece if they are from the same sheet.

You could take single pieces and slump them into a vase.

Pic from Glass with a Past

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TRACKING HEAD

https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/Glass-Tools/Hand-Tools/cutters-shears-and-snippers/heavy-duty-wide-head-brass-glass-cutter.html

This is a great cutter for straight cuts. You just will not believe how much easier it is to use.

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CUTTING TUBES WITHOUT CRUSHING THEM

When cutting a tube, put a toothpick in the end where you are cutting, and it will keep you from crushing the tube.

https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/Glass-Tools/Hand-Tools/cutters-shears-and-snippers/tubing-cutter.html

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Have an old circle cutter you no longer use to cut glass? Use it to cut paper.

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PLIERS - WHICH END IS UP?

RUNNING PLIERS - Just cannot live without them. They are used to run a score. You just position the jaws at the end of the score line and gently squeeze. To remember which end is up, remember the saying "screw up or screw up"

https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/Glass-Tools/Hand-Tools/pliers/metal-running-pliers.html

GROZIER PLIERS

I learned this one just this week. Your pliers should look like alligator head to be the right way.

https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/Glass-Tools/Hand-Tools/pliers/grozer-breaker-pliers.html

(I would like to give credit for this, but I no longer know where I got it)

Solder Law: Hot solder looks exactly like cold solder.

Solder Law II: One lead joint will always be unsoldered.

Breakage Law: The number of bad breaks you get is directly proportional to the price of the glass.

Breakage Law II: The number of bad breaks is an opposite proportion to the amount of glass on hand.

Breakage Law III: The number of bad breaks is proportional to the distance from your supplier.

Law of Studio Geometry: Any horizontal surface is soon piled up.

Law of Focus: At the most difficult point in construction of any project, the phone will ring.

Law of Focus II: The moment your hands touch lead, flux or patina, extreme hunger pangs will commence.

Law of Commerce: Everyone knows someone who does glass....cheaper.

Replacement Law: The moment you replace a lost tool with a new one, you will find the original.

Installation Law: The time required to install is proportional to the number of people watching.

Installation Law II: The tool you desperately need is back at the studio.

Common Sense Law: There is no such thing as a clean stained-glass window.

Common Sense Law II: The number of people you did not know were listening is proportional to the severity of the swear word used.

Common Sense Law III: Everything takes longer than you think.

Common Sense Law IV: Deadlines are always closer than you thought.

Here is a good thing that happened in 2020! The amazing Glass Challenge. Endings and Beginnings! The Entries really are amazing. We are proud to be the host of this contest and be associated with such talented people. We want to acknowledge and thank the founders of The Amazing Glass challenge, Lucie Boucher and Bernie Huebner of Soneridge Glass. They started The Challenge with Gray Glass Challenge in 2012. Stained Glass Express has kept it going most years since then. We also want to thank our judges for giving us the time and talent. Bruce Grantham, Alice Yates and Kathi Wall. Read Their Bios at these links: https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/store/skin1/images/patterns/About%20Bruce%20Grantham.pdf https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/store/skin1/images/patterns/About%20Alice%20Yates.pdf https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/store/skin1/images/patterns/About%20Kathi%20Wall.pdf And the biggest THANK YOU to all who took on the challenge. The winners are: See all the entries here: https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/store/skin1/images/patterns/All%20Pics.pdf If Covid had not turned our Champagne Reception into a hybrid event with our program being virtual, I would have added this as my contribution and the end of the program: Intro of

The Glass Tears Poem Journal by Randal S. Doaty

A ray of sunlight came through a pane in the glass studio workshop

The scrap glass bucket was nearly full. On top of this heap was a hardened drip of glass that had

carelessly fallen from a glass artist's punti.

Glimmering in the sunlight that morning was the very first Glass Teardrop

It may have remained just scrap until the simple words, glass tears, softly whispered in the imagination of a would-be poet.

What was intended as the end - into the scrap bucket - became the first bit of beauty of the day.

60/40 60/40 solder is 60% tin and 40% lead. It stays in liquid stage longer, giving you more time to set a smooth bead. It melts at 372 to 374 degrees F. It solidifies at 361 degrees F. This is the most popular solder. Easy to use, consistent, smooth. 60/40 takes all patina great. https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/60-40-solder-1-lb.html 50/50 50/50 solder is 50% tin and 50% lead. It is more economical than 60/40. It has a higher melting point of 413 to 420 degrees F. It solidifies at 361 degrees F. https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/solder-50-50-1-lb.html 60/37 Fast setting or also called eutectic, which means it melts and solidifies at the same temperature. That means it stays where you put it. Great for decorative soldering. The melting temp is 361 degrees F. https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/63-37-solder-1-lb.html Lead Free - Do not be fooled. Lead certainly is the most toxic of the metals in solder. However, right behind lead is silver and antimony. Lead free melts at a higher temperature than lead solders which makes it more difficult to work with. Depending on the brand or type, the melting range is from 440 degrees to 482 degrees F. It is the least toxic of all the solders and should be used when making anything that will be in contact with the skin or handled often like jewelry, jewelry box or kaleidoscopes. Black patina works fine on lead free solder but copper patina does not. Some brands of lead free solder will have a satin finish, not the bright and shiny finish that most want. Amerway's Ruby and Emerald lead free solder do have the silver look. https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/lead-free-solder-1-lb.html

This announcement is something to look forward to every year! It is plain fun. Pantone is a company that provides a universal language of color. Many manufacturers use it. Once you might not know is paint. Because it is all about color, we watch for it every year and match up glass and feature glass. Pantone describes it like this: "Instilling calm, confidence, and connection, this enduring blue hue highlights our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era. Little did they know when this was announced that the world was also about to announce the start of a pandemic that did any but ensure stability. Leatrice Eisemen, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute says "we are living in a time that requires trust and faith....Classic Blue is a solid and dependable blue hue we can always rely on...an anchoring foundation. A bondless blue evocative of the vast and infinite evening sky, Classic Blue encourages us to look beyond the obvious to expand our thinking; challenging us to think more deeply, increase our perspective and open the flow of communication. I look at this color and I think of favorite blue jeans. The ones you just want to slip on because they feel good. The Pantone website also gives colors to go with the color of the year. They call them Color Harmonies. There are several but my favorite is Desert Twilight. Suggestive of the early evening sky, the boundless PANTONE Classic Blue 19-4052 creates an elegant backdrop for a glittery grouping of sophisticated shades painted across the sky, adding illuminating sparkle to a Dessert Twilight. To see other Color Harmonies click here: https://www.pantone.com/color-intelligence/color-of-the-year/color-of-the-year-2020-palette-exploration

• In January, the COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the United States.
• The Trump administration declared a public health emergency on January 31.
• In February, the first deaths were recorded.
• On March 11^th, the World Health Organization declared the Novel Coronavirus Disease, COVID-19, a pandemic.
• On March 13, President Trump declared a national emergency.
• By the end of March all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all inhabited U.S. territories except American Samoa had cases.
• On May 27, the U.S. had the most confirmed active cases and deaths in the world.

OUR LIVES

• States are under, “Stay at Home”, “Shelter in Place”, “Safer at Home” orders that encourage people to stay at home as much as possible.
• We went from elbow bumps to six feet social distancing.
• We wear masks, wash our hands over and over and sanitize everything in sight and out of sight.
• Schools closed, people work from home, non-essential businesses closed, and we sent our employees home.
• Conferences that have been held for years have been cancelled.
• No need to travel, no place to go. Everything is closed.
• The sick perish without loved ones at their side. Quarantined until the end.
• We Zoom meetings and FaceTime with our grandchildren and other loved ones.

LOOKING FORWARD

• Some business are closed and will never reopen.
• Some business are open but operate very differently.
• Still a question if children will return to school in the fall.
• Most will live, some will pass away, many will live with lasting effects of the illness.
• Be optimistic and look forward to what normal will become.

Stained Glass Express has always taken pride in never being out of stock on any glass. We would have at least one sheet cut up and out on the retail floor, ready for you to carry out, and another full sheet in the warehouse. As soon as the full sheet in the warehouse went to the retail floor, we ordered another one. Unfortunately, it’s no longer that simple. Since Spectrum (announced May 2016) and Uroboros (announced October 2016) closed, not only has some glass been scarce or not available at all, the dynamics of buying glass is different. Both companies’ assets were sold to Oceanside Glass and Tile. Oceanside certainly has had its challenges. It moved the assets, constructed buildings and trained workers. As the distributors’ warehouses emptied their stock of Spectrum and Uroboros, we felt the need to find glass. It was a year from the time Spectrum announced its closing that we knew that Oceanside would begin production. In the meantime, this is what we did:

1. We bought one year’s supply of cabinet glass in advance. We sell a lot of cabinet glass, most of it to one customer. We bought one year’s supply in advance, hoping the dust would settle by then and we would not be cutting and putting together hundreds of new sample sets for this customer. We called it right on that one. We made it through the year, and we are still using the same sample sets. Below is our top selling cabinet glass, Clear Seedy.

2. We brought in two new lines of fusible glass. First, we brought in Wissmach’s 96 line. That meant rearranging some display area to make room for a new line of glass. We still had a lot of the old System 96, but as we ran out of some colors, we needed to be ready. Then we brought in Youghiogheny 96, later to become the Northeast distributor for Youghiogheny and increasing that line.

Wissmach 96 COE Glass Youghiogheny 96 COE Glass

3. We increased our offering of Bullseye compatible glass. We like to think of this as 90 COE, but Bullseye just calls it “Bullseye compatible.” We have had more customers switch over to Bullseye to avoid the turmoil. There is no question the glass is beautiful.

Then Oceanside announced that most of the line that previously was nonfusible would become fusible. Wow! That involved us changing around the entire showroom. Our big wall of nonfusible cubbies would become fusible because that change meant most of our glass would be fusible. What a delight this change has been for fusers, who now have many more options. All these changes for Spectrum/Oceanside meant a rocky supply chain. Clear glass was manufactured and then it switched to color. Before it went back to clears, they became scarce. It also meant a lot of changing around the showroom and trying to keep items so you could find what you wanted (if we were lucky enough to have it). We arranged our glass so that the nonfusible glass was kept separate from the fusible. For a time, we might have had two pieces of glass that looked identical, but one was fusible and one was not. At this point, there are colors that are manufactured twice a year. We can only hope that our distributors call it correctly and have enough to get us to the next run. They have not even manufactured all the colors yet! Iridized glass has all but disappeared. Kokomo’s iridizing machine was shut down during the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s investigations in 2016. It got plugged up when it was turned off and they have not gotten it running again. Oceanside does not have the ability to iridize yet. Once in a while, we get some Wissmach, but it is scarce. We brought in two new lines, which was a big investment. Then Oceanside started being manufactured, and we wanted to grab glass from that line as it became available. We had to make big decisions about how much to buy. We all have limited resources and even though we might want to spent every available dollar on glass (we know you understand THAT) we also have to meet payroll, pay utilities, put paper in the copy machine and all those other things you just hate to think about. Even planning a sale is different. I now start gathering up enough glass to have it on sale three months ahead. I might have to buy from three different distributors and I generally try not to buy glass more than twice a month. That means there is extra glass sitting here, waiting for a sale that is two to three months out — or more. That means less money for routine orders. However, we now know we’d better buy glass when it becomes available. We are being diligent about continuing to do so, and we are trying to keep the website updated with these changes. On those days when customers don’t seem to realize there have been shutdowns, we feel we should pat ourselves on the back — because that means we have kept enough glass in stock so that vast gaps are not as obvious to you, the customer. There are other days when we don’t know how we are going to, for instance, run a sunflower class because we don’t have enough yellow glass. But we sigh, roll up our sleeves and find a way to make it happen. Despite all the current difficulties, we are lucky to be in an industry that surrounds us with so much beauty, fun and healing power.