Creative Building

Last weekend I visited a nearby health and fitness center. It was the sleekest, most modern gym I’d ever seen. It had three levels and each level featured snazzy glass and metal railings and balustrades (if only I had my camera! I had thought to myself). But there was more to it than just the railings … there were glass stairs! If you’ve yet to walk on glass stairs or flooring, it may seem somewhat intimidating … after all it is glass … but they are manufactured in such a way that it’s completely safe.

Seeing all of this got me thinking about decorative glass—a hot, hot item right now. GANA’s youngest division, the decorative division, now just more than 1 year old, is off to a strong start and growing rapidly. While not the largest division, the decorative group is actually growing faster than of the others. And that’s no big surprise considering how much architects are craving anything and everything that’s new, different, colorful, textured and the list goes on.

But I really wanted to get the inside scoop from some companies that offer decorative products. With that said, I went straight to the source and here’s what a few folks shared as to why they think decorative glass is becoming more and more popular.

“I think decorative glass is gaining because designers love the ability to use different things. It has so many varieties it really lets the architects put into play what they truly visualize in their spaces. Plus its more mainstream now, years ago it was strictly export, but now you find it all throughout North America,” said fellow blogger and USGlass columnist Max Perilstein from Arch Aluminum & Glass.

“So much in our built environments use manufactured materials and the same materials appear everywhere. Decorative glass sparks the imagination and can give a handmade feel to a built environment. People value a unique, creative environment, and decorative glass offers a vast array of ways to achieve a wow factor,” said BJ Katz, founder and art director of Meltdown Glass & Art Design.

To me it’s so interesting. Think about it, some of those amazing designs and sculptures of glass, it all started out as sand. I don’t know of too many other building products that can do the same.

What do you think about decorative glass? We’d love to hear what you think, so send me an email and let me know.

Anyone who's spent more than an hour in North Carolina (my home state) knows one sure thing: ACC basketball is big. There are people there who devote their lives to following and supporting their favorite ACC team--face and body painting, dying their hair the team's school colors, planning/scheduling events around their team's playing schedule; I have seen friends become foes because one guy's team beat the other's ... it's never ending.

So yes, I'm a big fan of ACC basketball (Go Tarheels!) and I enjoy talking to others who share a similar passion for the sport, like Bill Cobb, president of Coastal Industries in Jacksonville, S.C. While he's not a Tarheel fan, he is a die-hard fan of the Clemson Tigers. So much, in fact, that Mr. Cobb and his wife travel around in their RV tailgating at Clemson games. But not just any RV--it's an orange, black and white Clemson RV! He's been profiled in several RV and tailgating publications and even featured on ESPN's Ultimate Tailgating.

It was such an interesting experience getting to know Mr. Cobb, it got me thinking about how I'm sure there are many, many others in this industry who are also intriguing. We get to know people from a business perspective, but how well do we know them? What do they like to do that is truly unique? I'd like to learn more about the people in the glass industry and what makes them unique. Tell me about someone you know or about yourself. Post a comment here or send me an email.

Being Aware ...

I was watching the news this morning and heard that Al Gore had won the Nobel Peace Prize--a timely recognition as October is Energy Awareness Month. Gore has been speaking out for years against global warming and whether you like him or not, it doesn't hurt anyone to be a little more environmentally conscious and aware.

As part of Energy Awareness Month, the Federal Energy Management Program is providing materials to federal employees that can help remind them of making smart choices for saving energy, money and resources (items such as room temperature cards).

Glass products have been proven to be a great way to reduce energy costs. But still, it takes a lot of energy to produce some of those products. What if every company in the glass industry found just one or two ways to reduce energy usage? According to the EPA, recycling paper (and we all use paper), for example, can reduce water usage by 60 percent, energy by 70 percent and cut pollution in half. Do you have ideas that glass companies could employ to help save energy? Email me and let me know what you think.

On my mind ...

I called this blog "Off the Press, On my Mind" for a couple of reasons. First, it fit really well with what we at USGlass and all of our publications do--the magazines come off the press, you read the issue, and think about the news, features and other articles each month.

Here, I wanted to tell you about some of the things that go through my mind, the things I learn about, experiences from traveling to different events ... the things on my mind as they pertain to the glass industry.

One thing I can tell you, is that after having worked for USGlass for almost eight years I can't walk into a store, airport, house, place of business without noticing the glass. Not only that, I can't watch a movie or TV show without noticing the glass. Just last night we watched Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 classic, "The Birds." Aside from noticing that Tippi Hedren's character Melanie wore the same outfit all week long, I also noticed how the glass broke when the birds attacked...long shards of glass. Is it odd that I think that way?

But I like glass and I like the industry. I enjoy learning about it. People often ask me about my job, where I work and what we do. They usually end up saying something like "Glass? You write about glass? Is there really that much to have a whole magazine?" I just tell them, "You have no idea."