the Inspired-glass Gallery - Recent work

It’s sometimes difficult to keep this website up-to-date with our latest projects - we also do a little freelance website design - so, just like the shoes on the cobbler’s children, our site is usually bottom of the list when it comes to updating!

So - (apologies over!) here’s some of our more recent projects..... if you’d like to talk to us about creating a beautiful piece of stained-glass, either for yourself or as a great gift - please contact us.

Stained glass & fused glass projects

Claire's Door

This timber front door looks out onto a delightful sunny courtyard in the far south-west corner of West Cork.

Previously, it had a rather dull piece of obscured glass - but now it boasts a free-form stained-glass panel, including different textures of cathedral and irridised glass, combined with polished natural agate slices, and with the addition of two tiny fused dichroic glass dragonflies.

As the door is left open all day throughout those long, hot, sunny West Cork summers (!!) - the panel is not only a window but also an ever-changing piece of artwork.

Magic!

Price-guide from €175

Church Windows

Although we spend most of our time creating new stained-glass work, from time to time we do get asked to undertake repairs to existing works.

This little West Cork window had come off second-best in an argument with a builder’s stepladder. (ouch!)

To repair the window using conventional techniques would have been very time-consuming and costly, as it would have involved extracting the fragile 100-year-old window from the stonework, dismantling it and completely rebuilding it.

However, using a combination of modern technology and a certain amount of low cunning we were able to make a cost- effective repair in next to no time.

It's a sad fact that it can often cost more to repair an existing stained-glass window than to create a brand new one - so, unless your broken window is of great historic or sentimental value, it may be worth replicating it in modern materials, rather than trying to repair it.

In this case, there was no direct replacement for the original glass, but we managed to locate some modern glass that was a reasonably accurate colour-match, and would pass a casual inspection.

The window is now stabilised, waterproof, and should survive the next hundred years - builders' stepladders permitting!

Richard’s lamps

Richard came to us with these unusual lamps, made from recycled timber sleepers.

Unfortunately, the original fabric lampshades were not up to the job, and had discoloured and scorched.

Richard had an existing art-deco lampshade that he liked - so we were able to design two pairs of matching shades in real stained-glass with clear bevelled-glass surrounds and finished in patinated lead - which looked truly spectacular!

The work involved designing the shades, and devising a way to attach them to the original framework, which had to be reinforced.

We’re pleased to report that Richard was delighted.

Price range - from €100 per shade -
€400 for the complete set.

Pat’s boat

Pat is very keen on sailing, and has won many competitions in his timber-built Mermaid ‘Jill’.

Creating a new study in his house, he hit on a plan to recycle an existing 45cm diameter ‘porthole’ window, with a back-lit stained-glass panel depicting Jill.

The brief was to create as ‘realistic’ an image as possible, so working from Pat’s photographs, and after a quick tutorial from Pat on sails and rigging <g>, we created this panel.

It includes rigging crafted from twisted wire, and detail on the hull is provided by careful use of applied brass rod - everything being treated with grey-black patina. The finishing touch was to etch Jill’s registration numbers on the mainsail and spinnaker.

Price-guide - €225 - €300

Joan’s Door-panel

Keeping with the nautical theme
- here’s a little (12” square) panel that was commissioned to fit a new hardwood door.

Given the limited amount of space available, we decided to go with a stylised approach, and the client was delighted!

The bright colours of the sailing ship and the various blues in the sky and the sea really stand out against the dark timber of the new door.

This is a good example of how the copper-foil 'Tiffany' technique allows great detail in a small panel. Trying to execute the same design using conventional 'leaded' construction would make the design look much more clumsy.

To avoid complications with double-glazing etc, we arranged for the external double-glazing unit to be fitted first, and then for the stained-glass panel to be fitted to the ‘indoors’ side of the door - achieving total security as well as a beautiful stained-glass panel.

Price-guide for this size of panel
- €120 - €180

Ed’s Window

Working from the client s sketch, we designed and created this
3ft x 3ft window for a property
near Skibbereen.

Unusually large unbroken areas of glass in a limited selection of colours lead to an uncluttered effect in the final window.

Price guide for this size of panel -
€600 - €800 depending on complexity of the design.

Original sketch

Computer pattern

Installed panel

Fiona & Padriag’s Fastnet Light panel

This bespoke panel was created to bring some light and colour into a window half-way up a flight of stairs in a house renovation in Dublin.

It measures 4ft x 3ft, and was designed to be attached to the existing, opening UPVC window.
Colour highlights in the design were chosen to co-ordinate with decoration and furnishings, and the panel was strengthened with built-in reinforcement to ensure that it continues to look good for years to come. As a finishing touch, tiny glass windows were applied to the lighthouse, and two copper-foiled seagulls were added to the design.

Price guide for this type of panel
€600 - €900

Computer pattern

Cupboard door panels

Brighten up your kitchen cabinets with a set of hand-made stained-glass cupboard door panels!

Designs and colours can be tailored to your own requirements - fused glass sections and etched designs can also be incorporated.

Price-guide - from €90 per panel, - discounts for sets of panels.

Sculptural work in conjunction with Mojo Designer Blacksmiths

I first met Moss and Joe at the Designer Arts and Crafts Show in Rosscarbery - and we discussed the use of stained and fused glass in their amazing sculptural work.

This six-foot-high piece, with inset stained glass and hand-beaten copper-work was created recently for a garden in West Cork.

It’s going to be fun working with these guys! - see their website for more information

Meriel’s mirror

Meriel is a little girl who is very fond of bunnies and rainbows. Her mum wanted me to create a wall-mirror that brought these two design elements together.
This was the result!

The mirror measures 50cm x 35cm - and features a stained glass rabbit, with an ornamental ‘rope-twist’ border with pearly white irridised glass and fused ‘rainbow’ sections.

Was the customer pleased ?
“Bunny mad here - squeals of delight”

Price-guide - from €95

John’s car

My friend Bill has a friend called John - who runs a motor museum in Kerry.
As a nice surprise Christmas present for John, I was asked to create a window-panel showing this 1933 Alfa Romeo.

The original photo, which was used as the basis for the panel design, came from a small ad in the motoring papers. The image was imported into our computer design package, and various combinations of glass type / colour / texture were tried, until a pleasing design resulted.

The final piece measured some 45 x 28cm, and featured textured mirror glass for the radiator, mirror glass for the windscreen, headlights and bumper and contoured solder for the wire wheels.

Price-guide - from €105 - depending on size & complexity.

Original photo

Computer design

Finished panel

Karen’s windows

An elegant new house near Rosscarbery was the setting for this classical set of window panels.

The external front door already had a lemon-yellow ‘bevel’ design built into the double-glazed unit - so we continued the theme with plated bevels and two types of heavily-textured clear glass, with coloured accent sections chosen to match the floor-tiles. In keeping with the overall style, the lead-lines were treated with a chemical patina to darken them, and show off the glass.

Price guide - from €550 for the set of six windows.

Olive’s Smith Chart

When Olive’s electrical engineering professor from UCC retired, she and her fellow students wanted to give him something a little bit different! A Smith Chart is a graphical device that’s used in electronic engineering - so (between us!) we designed a stained-glass Smith Chart.

It took one or two iterations to get the complex colour graduations just right, and the finished article (measuring 12” diameter) was edged with a lead profile, and provided with hanging loops to accept cord. For extra sparkle, the lead-lines were waxed and buffed!

Olive liked it so much she ordered a second one for herself!

Price guide - from €100

Kevin’s Lighthouse window

Once upon a time in Carrigaline there was an East-facing window - that was just crying out for a nice bright stained-glass panel. Because we didn’t want to cover the entire window in stained-glass, we devised a white glass ‘frame’ that blended with the UPVC window-frame, and gave the panel strength and artistic effect. The Fastnet Rock, sailing ships and sunsets provided inspiration for this colourful panel - which measured 1ft tall x 2ft 6 inches wide.

Price-guide - from €300

Gerda’s Lamp

This fused-glass lamp was created as a leaving present for Gerda’s boss, - who is very much into wind-farms, Irish country living and sheep-farming.
It consists of an 11” diameter, three-layer, kiln-fused, glass platter - which depicts a stylised wind turbine, a country landscape with a ‘big sky’ - and some sheep..

The timber base was hand-carved from local Irish oak by my friend Charley (Charley’s Chairs 028 37594), and carries a long-life bulb to illuminate the panel.
Comments included “ “original” – “very personal” – “very effective” – “outstanding work” <blush!>

Price-guide - from €140

Bespoke doors, windows, panels, mirrors,
lamps and presentation pieces

We can design pretty much anything to suit your requirements and colour scheme.

Our computer-based design program lets us try out the effect of different styles and colours of glass - and we can develop a design with you via email (most of the items show above were designed ‘remotely’).

We can also arrange courier delivery of finished items - although larger pieces like door and window panels are best hand-delivered, and we can offer an installation service in and around County Cork.

If you want a piece for a particular event, please do leave sufficient time for us to design and create the item - we can get very busy with markets in the summer and Craft Fairs towards Christmas - and we don’t like to rush things!

Please contact us for more information or see our guide to commissioning a stained-glass window..

Custom-made panels for a glass-storage cabinet

We were asked to create a pair of glass panels for the doors in this cabinet.

Local furniture-maker Ian Camfield (028 31749) designed the glass-fronted cabinet to match the client's existing cupboard base.

The doors were made up from custom-fused panels, framed by an elegant 'Tiffany-style' design, executed in special lightly-rippled 'restoration' glass (for that authentic 'antique' look).

Detailed close-up of one of the fused-glass panels (approx 30cm wide). The 'Tulip' motif echoes the carved wood design on the original cabinet.

Price on application.

Photos by
Ian Camfield /
Keith Nash