My Favorite Things

As quickly as glasstec 2008 arrived, it’s now over. Last Monday I stood there in Hall 13 at the Messe helping our team prepare for the event and now, a week later, I’ve returned. Where did the week go? Time sure does fly.

If you’ve never been to glasstec it might be difficult to fully grasp all that the event entails. And, if you’ve only been to U.S. trade shows, the comparison is very, very different. Think about this:

At glasstec an exhibitor’s booth is not just a booth; it’s a café, a bar, a lounge … a place to sit, relax and talk to customers, peers and friends from the show.

At glasstec, the show floor is not just a show floor; it’s your exercise program for the week. Attendees often trudge from hall to hall (785, 700 square feet) lugging around bags filled with brochures and company literature. No time to exercise? No problem. Just walk from Hall 9 to Hall 17 a time or two.

At glasstec, you don’t have to ask people where they will be going out that evening because you know most everyone typically ends up in the Altstadt (the Old Town)—an area where, if everyone doesn’t already know your name, they most likely will before the night … err… morning is done.

So those are just a few general points about glasstec. I also thought I’d share with you a few of my very own favorite things about glasstec 2008. So to start (and in no particular order) …

Hall 9. Here is where the beauty of art glass can be found. Craftspeople are creating and sculpting beautifully, delicate creations. There is even an artist’s gallery showcasing sculptures, vases, and many other pieces—even glass shoes and purses!

Glass Technology Live. There really is nothing else like this display as it’s a section where you can see glass in ways you’ve never seen it before. This year the highlight was a glass bridge that people could actually walk across.

Familiar Faces. Don’t get me wrong. I love to meet new people, but there is just something about being thousands of miles away from home and running into someone you have not seen or talked to in months, maybe even years. For those of us in the glass industry, that happens a lot at glasstec. Such a small world …

Coffee. Don’t laugh, but without a good dose of caffeine each morning it’s near impossible to get through the long day to follow. This year I found some really good coffee over in the Vesuvius booth. In fact, it was the second to last day of the show and after two cups, it was like the week was just beginning.

Skechers. If you’re wondering what Skechers are, they are comfortably stylish shoes that have been my saving grace when it comes to walking the show floor. I really do not know how I ever survived before.

OK, so like I said, that was my personal list and I’m sure everyone else who was there has a list of favorite things, too. Let’s hear yours, too and share your favorite glasstec things by posting a comment.

Where Glass is Avant Garde

I had to laugh earlier this week when I read Megan Headley’s blog in which she referenced that very first glasstec article I wrote. That was such a fun one to write and though it was six years ago I still see people every time I’m at glasstec who remember it and mention it. glasstec, like that article, is a truly unique experience and everyone always leaves looking forward to the next one.

This glasstec will be my fourth one and I know that I’ve learned a lot every time I’ve been there. For starters, while the show is primarily a machinery and equipment event, I know that halls 9, 10 and 11 will have the biggest display of glass itself. Everything from sculptures to artwork to architectural panels and flooring will be there. And yes, I know, there is also a stand or two tucked into the mix with a great display of beautiful glass jewelry and anyone who knows me knows that’s one of my weaknesses. However, I promise to not let it distract me from the real reason I’m at the show.

It’s pretty much a given that architectural trends start in Europe and make their way here. Europe is far ahead of North America when it comes to energy efficiency and solar, for instance (which, by the way, is the theme of this year’s event and I know that Megan will have lot s to report back to you all on that). It's the same with decorative glass, which has European roots and is now making a strong emergence in North America.

Take acid-etched glass. It was first used in Europe and has only in the past few years started to make a strong emergence here. So that’s a product that’s definitely tops on my list of “must sees” while I’m there.

Another product that always amazes me—another we’re starting to see more of here—is bent and curved glass. Some of the stands of bent and curved glass manufacturers are so … avant garde. Companies are doing some really, really exciting stuff and I’m eager to see what’s going to surface this year.

Yes, glasstec is a long, exhausting show. It runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. for five days and spans nine halls. But I gotta tell you, it’s totally, completely worth it … but don’t even think about it walking it in uncomfortable shoes.

A City for Decorative Glass

Las Vegas is a city like no other, and right now, with the City Center project (http://www.citycenter.com/) being constructed and set to open late 2009, there’s a lot of glass going up around the world-famous Strip. But even before City Center, all the glitz and glam of Las Vegas has always made it a great place for glass. And now more and more eye-catching decorative glass products are showing up everywhere.

I, like a lot of other glass-industry people, spent much of this past week in Las Vegas for the recent GlassBuild trade show. If you’ve been reading http://www.usgnn.com/ this week you know the show was a bit smaller than last year’s, however the decorative glass presence was strong.

So what were the biggest trends? Not surprisingly, color is big on the list. Everyone, from designers to homeowners, is looking for ways to make their surroundings one-of-a-kind, and a colorful glass counter top, for example, isn’t something every homeowner in Anytown USA is going to do.

Patterns and textures are also popular. From shower doors to conference room walls, these products allow for the use of glass, but still create obscurity and privacy. Using these glass products in interior applications, such as walls and room dividers, also allows in natural light, which would not be possible with concrete and wood.

Another hot look in glass is digital printing. A number of technologies were on display this past week that showed how companies can print either directly onto the glass or interlayer materials. Digital printing really makes it possible to put ... well ... anything on glass.

Check out some of these pictures from the show that highlight just some of the innovative technologies that are available.

From top left to bottom right,

Dependable GlassWorks laminated marbles into glass to create this counter top. If you look closely at the circles on the side panel, you can see the glass is designed so the circles appear almost 3-D; like they are jumping off the glass.

How would you like to have a cast glass door like this for your shower? This was displayed by Cardinal Shower Enclosures, which does its own glass fabrication.

Interlayer Solutions Inc. offers a technology that allows users to print images onto EVA to be laminated into glass.

The newest launch from Goldray was magnetic marker board. It's just another example of how the possibilities for glass are endless.

Something to Print On

When it comes to decorative glass, it seems like there’s always something new to amaze me. Take, for example, a glass installation project recently completed at the Hotel Murano in Tacoma, Wash. You see, there’s more to it than just a great display of glass artwork; it’s actually glass artwork about glass artists.

Moon Shadow Etchers located in Sandy, Ore., produced twenty-one art theme walls for the Hotel Murano and each of the hotel’s floors is dedicated to one internationally recognized glass artist. These glass walls tell the story of each artist, their inspirations and creative processes. Interior design firm Corso Staicoff of Portland, Ore., came up with the concept and Moon Shadow Etchers worked with environmental graphic designers Ditroen Inc., also of Portland, to create the panels. The process they employed? Sandblasting photographs onto glass … check out the project and read more here: http://www.moonshadowetchers.com/murano.htm.

I was talking to Tim Frasier, founder of Moon Shadow Etchers, and he told me that they started work creating the glass panels around this time last year and they worked on it until the end of February this year. It was pretty much Tim and one other person creating the glass, working12-hour days, just about seven days a week, and only taking time off for Christmas.

To me, part of what’s so appealing about this project is that a company that makes artistic glass creations, created artwork that recognized some of the world’s most well-known glass artists, think Dante Marioni (http://www.dantemarioni.com/).

Of course, it also ties into a big trend right now in glass—imagery in glass. You can ink jet right onto glass, silkscreen glass, print on interlayers for laminating glass … all of this really shows it’s a very exciting time to be working with glass.

Mirror Musings

The Glass Association of North America’s Mirror Division meeting during last week’s Fall Conference got me thinking about the state of the North American mirror industry. It’s no secret that the North American mirror industry has seen better days. After all, so much production of the mass-produced consumer products has moved offshore. Is there any hope that it will ever return to North America? It’s not all that likely. As Lee Harrison, president of Walker Glass told me during an interview, “I wouldn’t hold my breath for it to come back.”

So what happened to the mirror industry here in North America? I went back to an article I wrote nearly eight years ago for USGlass, which talked about the state of the industry then. Let’s take a quick look back …

One struggle that John Matthews, then vice president of industrial products for Carolina Mirror (now part of Gardner Glass Products) in North Wilkesboro, N.C., talked about was the fact that primary glass manufacturers—suppliers for mirror makers—had started making mirror, too, and that lead to over-capacity.

Another deterrent, and probably the most significant, is increased competition from international producers who could turn out product faster and cheaper. As Drew Mayberry, president and CEO of Lenoir Mirror told me:
“Imported mirror and glass from countries such as China are affecting mirror manufacturers [in the United States] in two ways, neither of which is positive. First, mirror and glass parts are being installed in furniture that is being manufactured in [Asia], then packaged and shipped to the United States. Secondly, mirrors produced in China are being shipped to warehouses on the West Coast, then cut and fabricated for those markets. Both activities diminish the market available in the United States."

Producers also told me about the need for development and innovation. And today we’ve seen companies like Walker Glass and Gardner Glass Products do just that—innovate by finding ways to bring new products to the market place to stay competitive.

In last week’s mirror meeting, in fact, Tommy Husky with Gardner said at his company they don’t even consider themselves to be just a mirror company, but rather a specialty glass company. A number of mirror companies have developed new products products and are staying busy serving the architectural and design community’s decorative and specialty glass needs.

Another potential focus area mirror members talked about last week is using mirror for solar applications—another timely and significantly developing market. I know several times a week I read articles online that talk about photovoltaics and solar applications.

Maybe mass-produced consumer mirror production is gone for good. But there are still lots of opportunities for mirror producers; you just have to go out and find them.

Texas-Sized Glass Applications

Next week the Glass Association of North America’s (GANA) Fall Conference will take place in Dallas. In addition to the technical meetings, the conference will include a number of presentations on timely industry topics (Click Here for the full schedule: http://www.glasswebsite.com/events/fallconference/default.asp). While the meeting days are long, there’s a lot to see and do in Dallas—and a good bit of glass at that.

For one, the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center boasts an impressive display of overhead glazing. Naturalite manufactured and installed the skylight, which was featured on the July 2004 cover of USGlass magazine. Memphis, Tenn.-based Knedak Bobo Group served as the project architect. Gaylord Hotels wanted the resort to feature a signature glass dome, similar to the one found in the Opryland Hotel (also manufactured by Naturalite). For the job the company created a custom BMS 3000 skylight for the atrium that features a large, gold star at the top of the cupola skylight, centered in the main atrium skylight. More than 140,000 square feet of skylights was used for the total project. Typical slope glazing used ½-inch laminated glass, while vertical glazing used 1-inch insulating glass.

And if you’re more of a football fan you might be interested in the construction of the new stadium for the Dallas Cowboys (http://stadium.dallascowboys.com/), which has a projected completion date of June 2009. Dallas-based contract glazier Haley-Greer is doing the glass installation. When I talked to Letitia Barker, the company’s president, earlier this year, she was very excited about the project.

“The stadium will have one of the largest inverted-slope glazed curtainwalls in the world, and the end-zone doors are going to be the largest operable glass doors ever produced.”

Here are some other glazing details from the stadium’s design statement:

“The sweeping canted, 800-foot glass walls span the entire length of the stadium ... In contrast, the concave forms at the end zones, which serve as monumental entry areas, receive fans experiencing the building through 120-foot high and 180-foot wide retractable glass doors …the retractable roof panels travel over 400 feet along the length of the arches to rest in the open position. Simultaneously, the glass end zone walls open on each end of the stadium to transform the experience of the indoor stadium to that of an outdoor venue … Colors for the static elements of the stadium – concrete, glass, and steel – reflect the color of the materials used … clear application glass is used in order to enhance one’s understanding of the structure. The canted glass sideline walls are clear and incorporate a high tech white ceramic frit that allows a luminescent quality during both day and night.”

Whether or not you’re a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, the new stadium is going to offer tremendous glazing displays. You can see more of the stadium in the video below.

Hot Glass, Cold Glas, All Glass

I recently had the opportunity to interview Ken Saunders, a co-owner of the Marx-Saunders Gallery (www.marxsaunders.com) in Chicago—a gallery that is dedicated to glass art and only works with a couple dozen or so artists. While the gallery’s artwork isn’t cheap (sometimes $40,000), Ken told me the great thing about glass is that it really is available at any price point.

“There are wonderful, marvelous pieces available at any price,” he said.


One thing I found particularly interesting was the fact that a number of the gallery’s pieces are on loan to the Glass Experience exhibition at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. I asked Ken about this and he said:


“Because we are an artist’s gallery and because we are very intensely associated with the couple dozen artists we represent, it is a part of our mission to seek out these opportunities for greater exposure. So we are often involved with museums, and museums know we are available to assist them with loans and other support to make exhibitions possible.”


If you get the chance to visit the exhibition (which I wrote about a few weeks ago; scroll down to read if you missed it) you can see works from some of the most renowned artists including Lino Tagliapietra (http://www.linotagliapietra.com/) and Jon Kuhn (www.kuhnstudio.com). Both artisans have worked with Marx-Saunders and both create astonishing works. However, the way by which they each approach glass is different. Tagliapietra is a hot-glass (blown glass) artist while Kuhn works with cold glass. Kuhn says his work involves grinding, polishing and laminating repeatedly.


Back to my interview with Ken Saunders … we also talked about how a number of artists who start out creating works for galleries often make the transition to large-scale and/or architectural work. BJ Katz from Meltdown Glass (www.meltdownglass.com) is an example of such an artist. You can read more about her in the Decorative Glass section of the August 2008 USGlass (http://www.usglass-digital.com/usglass/200808/?u1=texterity).



One of the reasons more artists are going the architectural route, Ken told me, is because they’ve found ways to create larger and larger glass art pieces.

“Once they were able to figure that out and began casting humongous objects then there was the ability for the architects to really draw some inspiration and work with some of these artists,” Ken said.


Considering the fact that architects are challenging the primaries and flat glass fabricators to create larger pieces of glass it’s no surprise, really, that the decorative side of glass is getting larger. Going forward, it will be exciting to see what other trends make the crossover.