Beginner's Questions

Ditto..

Liam

Two things are important to me. My own satisifaction with my work and the customers smile. And I think the customer is more satisified by a great looking window than a cheap price. They will boast about thier great looking window for years, but a sale is forgoten by the next payday. Better glass greatly contributes to satisfaction. But then again I don't rely on my studios income to put bread on the table. If I did, I might sing a different tune. Charging double for a panel with better glass is an exageration, yes, but the point still stands. You can more than recoup your costs of expensive glass by using it. Any besides, if you are going to look at the leftovers on a shelf for the next year, wouldn't you rather look at Armstrong than Spectrum?

THAT is not a fair comparison, they are both inexpensive and in the same range, with Armstrong now being Chinese, all bets are off there, BUT and more to the point....

ever looked at Youghiogheny? Older Lins?( not much around, but it can be found) Oceana? Old Urorboros( yup there is still some out there), There are some great opalescent glass around, the Kokomo catspaws would be great if they would bother to make it cutter friendly, which should be a whole new thread! All these make for great glass art, and make a project more pleasing to the eye, as do a great number of mouth blown antiques, Lamberts and St Just.

It would seem that each project calls out for a particular glass, and each manufacturer has his place in the glass world, otherwise they would not be here. The market demand would remove them.

curious bullseye mottles "aint bad either"

I live close enough to hand pick my Uroborus from the factory and if I wheedle and cajole (and have a few $$$$$$$) I maybe able to get to the factory at Bullseye. too!

The yogo stipples (specially the non=production stuff) make for a real nice lamp...........

Amrstrong, Spectrum, most of the Kokomo tend not to be my first or second or third or fourth etc., for small pieced Tiff style shades. I do have some older Oceania and a little CAG leaning around..... for my production shades (panel ones) ONLY STOCK SPECTRUM!

Don't forget those of us who do not have a local retailer that is easily accessible. Being able to see and touch glass in person is the best way to buy, without a doubt. I'd love to be able to do that without having to drive 189 miles (one way) to do so.

When I can, I make the drive and come out with a lot of beautiful glass, but most of the time, I make my purchases on line. Knowing what I want, mfr and color/style, is the key to getting the right product.

Bev

Say it aint so.....dangit, and I just found a local wholesaler.

Liam

Warehouse is in GA, manufactured in mainland China, and guess what, there are 7 other factories there, and making colors that have the domestic guys scared stiff. Looks just like the normal KOG, Wissmach, and Yough, but cuts like crap, for now!

But I remember when their bevels looked like hell too, and now? Yup, their lamps are pure , cheap junk, but they hit a market niche that I wouldn't and now the bottom is knocked out of the lamp market, comparitively.

Better get a firm grip on your butt, because while it isn't happening yet, it will, where they improve their quality, and distribution, so that using American Glass will be a loyalty thing. It will be an even field as to quality, "theirs" will cost alot less, and that means profit margin to those that DO earn a living at this wonderful art/craft we do.

I sure hope that those manufacturers that have given the small professional studio a hard time wake up, that those same makers that make their glass so darn hard and brittle(Listening KOG?) when they don't have to, change the way they do things, or they will be eaten alive and be crying the blues about what happened to "their" market.

This should be a new thread!!

We had a sign in the machine shop I worked at.

------------------------------------------- We can do it right. We can do it fast. We can do it cheap.

Pick any two.

Right and cheap. It won't be fast. Right and fast. It won't be cheap. Fast and cheap. It won't be right.

-------------------------------------------

Fast was based on the assumption that we worked OT around the clock.

Armstrong was nothing special when they were making their own. A notch below common Spectrum was my opinion. As Java says, they saved their bacon importing Chinese, when the cost of utilities went sky high. The Asians blatantly copy all the common textures too! Glue chip, Waterglass, baroque, etc. Not great, getting better, but for .99 a foot my cabinet panel customers can't tell the difference. I was looking at some new glass at Hollander and asked if it was Chinese..... it was South African they said! Any of you oldtimers out there remember Vietnamese white opal? Can Cuban glass be far behind?

Cuban glass, eh? We'll have to smuggle it out of Canada along with cigars and rum.

And Viagra!

and coffee...

the fda just announced new laws pertaining to the importation of legal foodstuffs from non-US countries.

For our own good, no doubt.

Jack

That's pretty much what I've got written into the "company philosophy" for my little enterprise. It's proven surprisingly effective at setting customer expectations.