07891 072639
Established for 25+ years
Tuition with Tony
Learn how to make a stained glass panel or a fused glass piece.
Workshop courses are flexible, friendly and fun.​
Stained Glass £15 an hour. Fused Glass £20 an hour.
All materials included. ​​
Classes are 2-4 hours. Several classes will be needed to complete your unique item. Maximum of 2 people at a time, giving you almost undivided attention.
​​Gift vouchers available.
What a typical course entails:
Stained glass
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The first session is usually about 2 hours. I guide you through cutting and shaping glass and then discussing your design and the approximate time it will take you to complete.​
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Next we draw the design to full size and select the colours and textures to be used from the large range of stock.​
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Each piece is then accurately cut and shaped to size and placed next to the previously cut piece.​
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All the glass pieces are then individually wrapped with copper foil* around the edges and placed back on the board ready for soldering.​
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This next part looks difficult but because we apply a flux, the solder flows only along the line of the copper foil, giving a neat seam to join the pieces.
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To finish off we wrap the entire design in a strong edging frame and apply 'hangers' if required. The panel is then cleaned with soapy water ready to take home. *This is a method made popular by L C Tiffany at the turn of the century.​
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This copper foil method is suitable for internal use and gives the design a fine detail to any work.​
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When a more rugged external work is required we will use the more traditional leaded technique (as used in churches).
Fused glass
Fused glass or kiln-formed glass is the working of glass, usually for artistic purposes, by heating in a kiln. The process used depends on the temperature reached and ranges from fusing and slumping to casting. The glass becomes progressively softer, less rigid and less viscous with the time spent at working temperature.​
There are 3 main processes:
FUSING - The glass retains its shape but becomes sticky and adjacent glass pieces stick together.
SLUMPING - The glass deforms its shape, becomes flexible but still retains its solid form.
CASTING - The glass melts, becoming a viscous liquid and takes the form of its containing mould.
It is common for one piece to use use several of these processes in turn.
All tools and materials supplied. Suits ages 14+.
25+ years' experience
I initially trained as a designer draughtsman for English Rose Kitchens and the Premier Kitchen Manufacturer where I learnt the basics for well-made and eye appealing designs in furniture. After 5 years I moved to a commercial interior design company, dealing mostly with businesses requiring reception, boardrooms and office designs. All this was very satisfying as a career except for supplying me with the one thing that I was passionate about, that is working with my hands to produce the objects I was designing. So I set about learning the skills necessary to achieve this, which is where I am today. Over 25 years later and I’m still learning, still acquiring skills. As well as making stained glass I now also work with fused glass in developing kiln formed techniques, some of which are included in my designs, making them truly unique.
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Whether it's a traditional or a contemporary work, I can take you through the design process from your initial enquiry to installation, providing you with as much help as you need. If it's a subtle addition to a period property or a contemporary design for a more modern setting, I can provide you with something individual in this increasingly mass produced society, that enables you to express yourself.
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- Tony Judson