STEP ONE: Your homework. Having some ideas ahead of time will dramatically speed up the design process.  If you do not have a design in mind, look through my previous pieces to get some inspiration. I encourage you to look through other peoples work as well. If you find ideas online you like, save the website so you can forward those to me.  We will use those as a starting point. Each piece I create is unique and not a pattern or a copy of someone else’s design. Do you have specific colors you would like to incorporate? Is this piece going in a specific room that you would like to draw inspiration off? Are you looking for a more traditional piece or something more modern? How big will this piece be? Also, think about your budget.

STEP TWO: Initial design meeting. Let’s sit down and discuss your ideas. This meeting will provide me with the building blocks to design your piece. It will also provide me with the basic information needed to give you a ROUGH quote.  The final cost will be affected by the types and colors of glass, the number of intricate, complicated cuts vs. simple, straight-line cuts, how big the final design is, etc. Depending on the design, it could take hours or it could take days to build. The more pieces mean more labor which could mean higher cost. This is why hand crafted stained glass artwork is expensive. This is also not HAND PAINTED glass. Looking through the “Make Of…” pages to see how involved each piece is.

STEP THREE: Polishing the design and the estimate. Once I have had a chance to sit down with the information we discussed, I will draw up an initial design, consider the different glass choices that would be right for this piece and begin to firm up the estimated cost. I will re-contact you and ask you to view the initial design to make sure we are both on the same page.

STEP FOUR: Finalize design. If you approve the initial design and glass color choices, we’ll proceed to STEP FIVE. If there are changes that need to be made, I will do so at this time. 

STEP FIVE: Final Total and signed approval. At this point, based on the intricacy of the design, expected labor and materials cost, I will have a firm final total for you.  If you wish to continue with the creation of your piece of stained glass art, I will request 50% of the final total (non-refundable – receipt and promise of completion will be provided) in order to purchase the supplies and begin work (This final total should only change if the desired types/colors of glass are not available.)  A signed approval of the final design will be required. I will also provide you with an estimated completion date. This date will depend on how many other projects are ahead of you and the intricacy of your project (As each piece of glass is cut by hand and fitted, the more, smaller  pieces there are, the longer the project will take.)

STEP SIX: Work begins. I will purchase the materials and begin working on your project. I will attempt to take photos of the progress so you can see your art go from full sheets of glass and a hand draw design through final completion of your new custom made stained glass art.

STEP SEVEN: Take your new baby home. Your project is completed! You get to see your custom, hand-crafted stained glass artwork for the first time. With payment of the remaining 50% due, you get to take your new piece of art home with you. Shipping: This is an additional expense and will be added to you final bill. If you are outside my local area, I can arrange to have your piece shipped to you at your expense. Total payment must be received before I can ship your stained glass piece.  Larger pieces will be shipped in custom-built wooden crates, so keep this in mind.

Congratulations! You are the proud owner of a piece of art that no one else in the world owns.