Kralik and Bohemian Glass

Do you need to identify your piece of Bohemian glass? This is the place! http://www.kralik-glass.com/

The Frederick Carder Gallery at the Corning Glass Museum

I know that some would say Frederick Carder who?  He was the designer and manager at Steuben from 1903 until 1932. His glass was and is fabulous! Take a look at the top banner and hit the white dots and you will see a feast for the eyes.

http://www.cmog.org/collection/galleries/frederick-carder-gallery

A Different Epergne Bowl

Last year we were contacted by a customer who needed a cut glass insert dish for a sterling sliver epergne.
The one dish had to match perfectly the other 3 existing inserts.We contacted David McDermott of McDermott's Art Glass Studio. David made two blanks just in case one did not work out. Lucky for us we had an extra. The first bowl that was cut was about 85% done. It was sitting on the work bench when Wayne heard a light "ping". It had been sitting there for over an hour, by itself. He knew exactly what the ping meant. DANG! The bowl cracked from stress. This will occasionally happen on new glass as well as old.
He had about 5 hours into the bowl. He started over on the second bowl with great success! After 7 hours to cut the bowl we shipped it to the customer. It matched perfectly and he was very happy. The cracked bowl was put on a shelf and forgotten about until our post Tuesday on the epergne bowls.

             This photo shows the bowl. Notice the bottom step cuts and a deep rayed cut on the base.

     This shows the rayed base and step cuts and the sawtooth top. The gray area is the unfinished pattern.
     That was the easy part left to do.

                                         This photo shows the unfinished underside of the bowl.

                                         It can be hard to see the the crack it a about one clock

This piece could not be salvaged. We intend to use it has a display piece of how cut glass can be cut. With the several hundreds of thousands of glass items we have repaired or re-cut this has happen to about 30 items both new and old.

Making, Cutting and Decorating Epergne Bowls

We were contacted by a customer who needed 4 6" bowls and 1 8" bowl for a sterling silver epergne. All but one of the original bowls had been damaged due to a basketball. Our customer was unable to find any matching bowls that would fit the epergne. She needed to have them custom made. We contacted David McDermott of McDermott Studios who made the blanks for us. David worked for Pairpoint for many years. Now he has his own art glass studio with his wife. They are out of Salem Maine.

Photo #1 shows the 4 6" bowls unfinished from David. The first step is to flatten the bottoms so the bowls sit level.

 Photo 2: the height of the bowls is measured and marked. They are then cut to the correct height.

                                                    Photo 3: one bowl with the cut off top.

                Photo 4: bowl that has been cut flat and is ready to be marked for cutting with the pattern.

 Photo 5: all 4 bowls are marked and the 8" center bowl is marked with the pattern and ready to be cut.

                                                   Photo 6: cutting started in rough cut.

Photo 7: showing smooth cut is done. It is ready for the pumice and then followed by diamond polish with cerium.

                                                          Photo 8: shows finished bowl.
                                    

Photo 9: all the bowls are finished with the plugs put on the bottoms for ready insert into the sterling holders.


From the customer's first inquiry to finished product was 4 months. Actual preparation, cutting and polishing was 5 hours per bowl.

Uncorked: Wine, Objects and Traditions

This link is to the Winterthur Musesum. You can learn about wine vessels, history etc.
 http://uncorked.winterthur.org/

Stretch Glass Society

Learn about stretch glass! This group has virtual conference calls periodically to discuss stretch glass. They have a convention once a year. Also quarterly newsletters.  http://www.stretchglasssociety.org/

Thank you veterans for your service!

Thank you to all our veterans on this Veterans Day! We are free because of all of you!
May your legacy continue in this generation and beyond! We will never forget.

Shanghai Museum of Glass

The Shanghai Museum of Glass. Wow. http://en.shmog.org/index.php

Historical Glass Museum in Redlands California

This museum was founded in 1976 and with a lot of hard work by the founders. The museum is called the Historical Glass Museum located in Redlands California.

http://historicalglassmuseum.com/