Meet the Artist:
The Stained Glass Factory is a small, independent business run by me, Rupert. I design and make bespoke stained glass windows, my studio is near Bristol city centre.
I believe that the colour, light, mood and vibrancy created by light through glass provides a very special feature in living and working spaces. I love the transformation new stained glass brings to a home.
Commissioning me to design and make stained glass is an opportunity for you to own a bespoke piece of Art. A collaboration of some of your own ideas together with mine to create stained glass that is right for you.
My work is influenced by the Arts & Crafts movement. The Arts and Craft movement, beginning in the mid-19th century, favoured quality hand crafted items rather than mass produced, machine made goods, and sought a human personality in design. I look for opportunities to design quirky shapes and themes using the lead structure to provide a rhythm and an elegance often inspired by natural forms and shape. My sensitivity towards colour often results in subtle blends of blues, greens and amber and I’m able to translate this rhythm and style into rectangular I see stained glass as an opportunity for creativity and the celebration of a distinctive style.
All my work uses traditional materials and techniques. Glass is manufactured in a wide variety of colours and textures. Blue, green and amber glass colours are particular favourites of mine and can achieve a traditional look. The glass is held in place by a lead structure. Each piece of lead is joined by solder and then to weather proof and increase rigidity, glass cement is pushed in into the spaces between the glass and lead came. Larger windows are re-reinforced by steel rods attached to windows via bronze wire ties. Some windows have concealed steel strips within the lead to achieve reinforcement without externally seen bars.
My background is in Art, design and teaching. I began making stained glass almost thirty years ago, improving my knowledge, skills and craft through new projects. Running The Stained Glass Factory has brought me into contact with hundreds of clients, both to design new windows that compliment their homes and to restore original windows to their former glory.
I have worked with clients mainly within Bristol and the surrounding area but have also worked for clients in London, Wales and in the south of England.