industry information

Hello everyone - My desire is to open an art glass stuido which will offer supplies and class instruction in the areas of stained glass, fused glass and mosiac work. I'm in the process of writing my business plan and cannot find any information on the art glass industry. I need information on industry size, estimated sales, and growth projections. I've written to every glass manufacturer, 2 distributors, and the Art Glass Association. 2 glass manufactures wrote back and said they know of no such information and referred me to distributors, 1 distributor wrote back and said the same and referred me to the Art Glass Association but I can't get a reply from them.

Does anyone have knowledge of such information? I know warm glass is hot right now - I hear manufactures can't keep enough diachronic glass in stock but I need facts and figures.

thank you so much for any lead that you might have or if there is another group that I might visit let me know that as well.

K
Reply to
kat
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A "studio" or a "retail store"? Or a blend? Big city or hamlet? Red State or Blue State? "Artist" or "craftsman'?

I'm in the process of writing my business

Candidly, this information probably isn't germaine to a small start-up business. What's more important, I'd think, would be your local demographics, local/regional competition, established glassworkers who are currently buying elsewhere and are live prospects, local home builders who might use your services in custom designs, etc. Of utmost importance to a lender (beyond your assets and credit-worthiness) is your personal experience. How long have YOU been doing glass? Time on the job counts for a LOT!!!

Who is doing what nationally or globally isn't likely to have much impact on what you do in your locale, unless you are planning on making a "really big splash" and competiting with Delphi or Ed Hoy or the like on a national basis. If you absolutely HAVE to have this information, maybe you could get circulation figures from the trade magazines like "Glass Craftsman" or "Glass Patterns Quarterly"? At least you'd have some idea of the magnitude.

I think it'd be easier to count tombstones in the SG business than it would to project growth and estimated sales. The oldest and most skilled retailer/teacher in my area just went belly up after 20+ years.

Izzat a pun?

I hear manufactures can't keep enough diachronic glass

So, have you determined if the shortage is because of a high consumer demand? Or is it because there are manufacturing difficulties or raw material shortages or the glass is sitting in a container ship on the high seas?

And if you are right that the mfg's and distributors can't keep up, it makes me wonder what makes you think they'd sell to you rather than long time established customers? They are going to fill their backorders before they take on any new customers.

Reply to
Moonraker

Kat, I, like everyone else, am aware of no such published figures. I think you're going to have to come up with your own figures, which is what most prospective business-owners end up doing. You might base them on a combination of magazine distribution rates and other publicly available figures. A proportion of pure speculation also comes into play. You might try contacting the SBA in your area; they offer a class on writing a business plan, and once you've taken the class they have experienced volunteer mentors who can help coach you.

Good luck.

kat wrote:

Reply to
Kalera Stratton

The particular mix that you are interested in seems weak to me. If you are planning on supplying people who do this, then you have to survey your area to find out who is doing it by contacting the small shops who sell it and buy locally. If you are planning on selling this mix of things, then you have to do the same thing. Hot glass has been hot for some years, warm glass has been warm for some years (pun intended). Get your hands on Niche magazine. The real problem is that most small fused and hot glass is done as production items, even in small studios, and sold through wholesale markets like Rosen and the ACC. If you visit places selling glass for decorating, etc., you will find 10-20 artists represented only 3-4 of which are local, because the public wants choices of style for decorating.

Reply to
Mike Firth

thanks for the responses thus far.

It will be a blend and we'll open shop in a hamlet 45 miles outside the big city of Chicago. Chicago being part of a blue state but it seems we are pretty blended out here. Artist or craftsman? - good question. I'd consider myself a craftsman but my partner is definately an artist so again a blend. We both bring different things to our journey.

You've given me alot to think through and I've begun to come to the conclusion that I was trying to figure out current demand and maybe there isn't any demand because people our here aren't really aware of stained glass as a hobby or as something that is an option to the HomeDepot entry sidelight. Stained glass is not displayed prominently around here anywhere that I've seen so maybe we will be making our own market and creating the demand .. make sense?

and yes - did you like my pun :-)

I'll also look into the magazine distribution... I didn't even think of that - thanks!

Reply to
kat

As I have said many times before......DO NOT GIVE UP YOUR DAY JOB!

aside from all the other posts, I strongly suggest you have VERY DEEP POCKETS and a substantial cash reserve to carry you

24 years experience in lampshade shade making.

Home based manufacturing, teaching, and any other way to create a "buck" (net, after all expenses) from this endeavor.

Once you have "fixed" expenses, you MUST have enough reserves to carry you through the lean times, enough to enable you to buy at the bottom or close to that figure. Strong work ethic (discipline to keep at it) and enough business sense to know when to say no! I do no "busy work", I do not cut my own prices to sell stuff, and find the crap from the 3 world countries so bad that my clients know the difference and can afford to pay for custom work. There is no way one can compete with $1.00 to $2.00 a day labor, DO NOT EVEN TRY!

QUALITY SELLS........I do not take welfare checks or food stamps in lieu of REAL MONEY.

H
Reply to
howard

You need to understand the difference between a studio and a retail store. A studio YOU make the hours. Retail store, the customer makes the hours (nights,weekends). Retail you need a sizable investment in supplies. Not needed in a studio. Retail you need a storefront (costly). Studio needs factory space (cheap). Maybe the way to test the market is a studio that does commissions and teaches classes. If you get enough interest in classes THEN maybe consider a retail store.

Reply to
Vic

Yeah - start with a studio and setup at the flea market for exposure is what alot of people have told me but our desire is to teach and neither one of us have a space big enough to do that. So to teach we have to find more space. Maybe a studio space would be less expensive then a storefront and I'll certainly check that out but with our demographics out here I'm thinking most of our classes will have to be offered in the evening or on weekends and I worry that people wouldn't be comfortable in a less visible place... maybe I'm wrong though. hmmmm more to think about.. thanks

Reply to
kat

Classes - you should be able to find a space that is respectable but less costly, for example, "Behind the Baskin Robbins at Main and 3rd" Most communities have some form of Continuing Education, here in Dallas it is offered both as Community College classes and as Fun Ed. By offering classes through these operations you can get promotional opportunities that you would never be able to afford. The classes of this type here were offered in neighborhood school chem labs and the instructors brought in all the basic equipment (10-15 sets) for use and sold glass (lab fee) and tools. Some classes are offered in the instructors' studio space. If there is not any kind of learning operation in your area, then it would suggest a less than active craft/self-help community. Here in Dallas activity was much higher several years ago and activity is much higher in the snazzier northern suburbs than it is down here east of downtown which more blue collar - survival oriented.

Reply to
Mike Firth

well get the annuals from the net (gross income) of the 6-7 main players in the glass business.

Spectrum Bullseye Armstrong Wasserman Kokomo Allegheny Wassermann (sounds like an STD test) XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX

there are more, but if you get the main players you will get close.

Reply to
Boner the Cat

Stay away from the flea markets unless you want the customer who wants to dicker with you for everything. Find a commercial location...you don't have to be on Main St. USA. Have a clean and inviting workspace. Carry lots of Spectrum and slowly add the others. Carry all the basic tools that students need. Never under estimate the buying power of your customers...first they buy what you use then they want other stuff. Don't sell them something they don't need...they can make that decision later as to what other things they want. I've been a retailer for over

12 years and I make a darn good living at it. Treat your customes like you want to be treated. Teach everything you can. If you don't know how to teach lead...learn it. Join the "Retailers of Art Glass and Supplies" Association.
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You willget more information from retailers around the world than you willanywhere else. Learn from those that operate a retail store.Andy Neoglassic Studio
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neoglassic

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