The Glass Gallery product line is composed of a wide assortment of crystal collectables ranging from hand made miniature soft glass figurines to hard glass figurines, and poured slab impressions to laser etched glass cubes. In addition to these groupings, we also incorporate a variety of decorative elements to enhance and embellish our gift items- including Swarovski crystals, Manzanita wood bases, Porcelain accent flowers, 22k gold accents, and much more.
With highest quality standards in place, the Glass Gallery designs and manufacturers over 60% of our entire product line. Each year we re-assess the line, modify designs, and create new items to offer our customers. As a manufacturer and retailer, we go directly to our customers’ requests when designing new items. This allows us to continually provide a product line that satisfies our customers’ gift buying needs.
Listed below are detailed descriptions of our glass categories and our decorative elements used.
Product Line Composure
Hard Glass Figurines – Hard Glass Figurines are crafted from Borosilicate glass rods (similar to the well known Pyrex Glass). Borosilicate is the strongest most durable glass from which this type of item can be made. These figurines are all hand made. You can tell if an item is hand made by placing 2 of the same item next to each other and inspecting them for small differences-making each piece unique. These items are crystal (as crystal refers to clarity); however they have no lead content. They are considered “lamp worked” as they are made from rods of glass melted and shaped with a blow torch.
Soft Glass Figurines – Soft Glass Figurines are all hand made as well. The soft glass has more colors readily available, but is more difficult to work with. Soft glass gets its colors from adding certain minerals or metal salts to the glass. With the soft glass, color runs through the glass instead of being applied to the surface like stains or paint. Part of the difficulty with this glass is it must cool down very slowly with a gradual temperature drop- or it will explode!
Laser Etched Glass Cubes – With laser etched glass cubes, each item starts as a blank cube of crystal. The 3D design for the cube is entered into a computer which controls an overhead laser. This laser shoots beams of light energy down into the crystal cube at different intensities and depths. The laser beam creates hundreds of little bubbles throughout the block creating an intricately detailed final image.
Solids Glass Impressions and Paperweights – Our solid items are made by pouring molten soda lime glass into stainless steel molds. These molds are hand carved by skilled artists and take a lot of skill and precision to create. The process starts with a large oven full of molten glass called a Glory Hole. The glass is drawn from the Glory Hole with a ladle and poured into the mold. From there glass crafters will remove any imperfections with a pick and torch. Once cooled, the glass surfaces are hand polished until the item is smooth and transparent. Finally the item is taken to our artists in the decoration department where it is finished with airbrushed colors and glitter accents.
Decorative Elements
Gold – The gold used is a 22k gold overlay. It is in liquid form and is brushed onto the items. Once the gold overlay is applied, the items are placed in a kiln where the gold is fired on at a blazing 1265° adhering the gold to the pieces.
Porcelain – There are handmade porcelain flowers that adorn many items in our porcelain section.
Airbrush – Many of our colorful items have had colors applied to them by airbrush. We use enamel based paint for airbrushing. Using airbrush guns, the items are hand colored by our artists in the decoration department.
Glitter – Many of the pieces in the collection have glitter added to them. Glitter is also applied in our decoration department by brushing on special glue and sprinkling glitter on the glue until it dries.
Frosted items – Many paperweight items are frosted. Frosted items have a whitish finish and the glass has more texture to it. The back of the wings on the Angel of Love are a perfect example of frost. Frost is another type of finish for an item. Frost is created by sandblasting each item individually in our custom sandblasting cabinet.
Crystals – You will notice that crystals adorn many of our pieces. These crystals are used primarily for eyes, buttons, noses, etc. They are Swarovski crystals. This is another accent that adds to the allure and value of many of our pieces.
Mounted Items – Combining wood with glass, or coral with glass is the unique draw of our mounted section. The coral bases are made from a poly-resin and are not really ocean coral. Hermie the Crab’s shell comes from a real crab shell called a Pink Murex-found in the Caribbean beaches, and our wood burls are made from the root of Manzanita wood.