Custom Stained Glass Designs & Creations
We create the finest stained glass window designs
Over the last 120 years, one of the most dominant parts of our business has been the creation of new stained glass windows in North America and Europe.
Associated Crafts® & Willet Hauser Architectural Glass has a design repository of over 25,000 original works of art. This resource can assist our clients in realizing exactly what they want in their stained glass window – aesthetically and thematically.
Our studio has an in-house, full-service Design Department and working relationships with a multitude of freelance designers. This versatility guarantees us the ability to incorporate any particular style, taste or aesthetic for your project.
Associated Crafts® & Willet Hauser Architectural Glass uses many different techniques for new creations that we have perfected over the years. Our techniques include leaded glass, faceted glass, fusing, and lamination.
Leaded Glass
Leaded stained glass windows are made of colored glass, cut to the desired shape and strips of metal – primarily lead – cast or milled to make an ‘H’ in cross-section, soldered together creating a lead matrix. The lead is not merely functional but forms a critical part of the design. The glass technique can incorporate painted glass to enhance the desired imagery. The color was inherent in the pieces of glass for most of the middle ages. Glass paint/pigment comes in shades of brown or black and controls the passage of light and details such as faces, ornament, and lettering. Silver Stain was developed and used extensively for glass painting from the early fourteenth century; it was a way of adding yellow and amber directly to the base glass. Sanguine and a range of enamel pigments/colors were introduced in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries giving the glass painters a wider range of color options beyond the base glass palette.
Faceted Glass
Developed in France in the 1920’s, this stained-glass technique was pioneered in the United States by Associated Crafts® & Willet Hauser®. Similar to leaded glass, faceted glass is a multi-step process. The design possibilities are limitless with faceted glass. This technique utilizes slab-colored-glass, approximately one inch in thickness, cut and chipped to give it a jewel-like quality. The effects contribute an even brilliance of pure color under transmitted light. The glass slabs are Once the pieces are arranged a matrix of epoxy is composed and poured around the design. Designing for faceted glass integrates the bold graphic line beautifully with rich color and skillful manipulation of the glass. These traditional and contemporary designs are made to be beautifully detailed pieces of art.
Lamination
The lamination process allows the glass to be weather and UV proof. This is a process that Associated Crafts® & Willet Hauser® introduced to the United States in the 1960s. After visiting a glass factory in Amsterdam the company brought the process back and has been performing lamination for decades. Laminated glass was previously done by using a primer on the glass surfaces and creating layers of the glass.
Fusing
Fusing is a process of kiln-formed-layering of clear and colored glasses. The glass is fired to a melting temperature that fuses the glasses into one another. Inclusions of glass powders, frits, stringers, enamels, and wire mesh are just a sampling of elements that can be added for a dimensional effect. Kiln-glass harnesses the transformative power of color, allowing us to tailor the experience with light in a space. Fused kiln-glass is easily maintained and permanent, offering functional solutions with an aesthetic benefit.