Custom
Cranberry Stained Glass specializes in designing original, one-of-a-kind creations to suit your unique stained glass requirements.
What does Custom mean?
Custom work means we turn ours skills to meeting your needs.
How does it work? It starts with us listening carefully to your wishes and requirements. Can’t express them in words? We have pattern books, online resources and many years of experience dealing with every kind of request, such as:
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Cabinet Doors
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Privacy Windows in Bathrooms BIG Entryway Systems
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Sealed/Triple-Glazed Window Units for New-Builds Glass
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Table Tops Shelves
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Hanging Dividers between Kitchen, Dining and Living rooms
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Memorial Church Windows
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Commemorative Dishes and Plates
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Mosaic Garden Stones
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Awards and Trophies
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Counter and Stove Backsplashes
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Lampshades
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Gift Items to Celebrate Every Occasion
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And too many more to list here.
If you're hesitant to ask, remember we’ve probably heard it more than once before; including the tearful man who asked that a few grains of his buddy’s ashes be incorporated into torch-worked beads for his children.
With a slight twist of Walt Disney’s words, “If you can dream it, we can do it.”, or we’ll connect you with someone who can. This is our way of “Sharing Our Passion for Glass”.
P.S. Ironically, Disney went on to say, “Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse.” Read in our CAD section just how important a different kind of mouse is for our work at Cranberry Stained Glass.
Feel free to Contact Us if you would like to discuss a custom piece.
Computer Designed
Computer Assisted Design is our version of magic! Let’s go back in time to the dark ages of design – about five years…
Then, all our patterns were drawn in pencil by hand. If we wanted to divide a line into thirteen equal parts, for instance, out came the calculator and ruler then, invariably, the eraser. Try free-handing an ellipse or two and positioning them accurately in a design.
Let’s say the process goes smoothly but the pattern’s 5/16” too big…more calculations and more erasures. Two copies of the design are almost always required and each piece of the pattern has to be numbered. Imagine how labourious it was to accurately trace every line and transfer all of the numbers.
Flash forward to the present. It took us a couple of weeks to get used to the Glass Eye 2000 Dragonfly software design program. Not only did we have to learn to sketch with mouse in hand but there are dozens of nifty functions to speed up the design process. Now all our math is computer accurate! We can resize by the smallest increments. Photos can be scanned and used as guidelines for patterns. Design elements can be cut, flipped, rotated, stretched and pasted elsewhere.
The icing on the cake is an extensive library of glass choices that can be inserted to bring colour and life to a pattern and, it will automatically number all those pieces. The program can determine exactly how much glass is required depending of a variable percentage of wastage.
Let’s say we’re making sidelights and transoms for an entryway – a big project to which the customer wants to be confidently committed before paying a deposit. We can use photographs of the front of their house and the inside foyer. Then we superimpose the design on the those pictures so the client has a very good idea of what the finished installation will look like as they approach their house from the street and as they take their boots off at the end of the day. Customers from Calgary to Indonesia have greatly appreciated this service.
And that’s just the tip of this magical iceberg!
Pricing Policy
“Roughly, how much is all this going to cost?”, is a question we’re asked regularly.
The quick answer is, “It starts at about $270 per square foot.” A more accurate reply is, “That depends on a number of factors…”
Surprisingly, the cost of a stained glass panel is not determined so much by its size, not necessarily by the colour of the glass, but by the amount of work and time that goes into designing and making it. A recognizable hummingbird can be made using only five pieces of glass. A dozen pieces brings it to life! It also more than doubles the price of the hummingbird. You decide what your budget can bear.
In most cases, we begin by charging a non-refundable design fee of $200 that will be deducted from your final bill if you decide to go ahead with the project. Once we’ve worked our magic on the computer designing a pattern and adding colour choices, we are able to email you a very good rendition of the finished product along with a quote. Our CAD program allows us to tweak your design until you’re satisfied with it. Before we proceed, you’ll be asked for a deposit of 50% of the total remaining. (The design and pattern remains the property of Cranberry.)
Our custom designs are one of a kind and will not be duplicated for anyone else.
One of Cranberry’s goals is to help people appreciate the many steps required to turn a sheet of glass into a hand-crafted work of art.
Contact Cranberry to arrange a time to discuss your custom stained glass wishes and we will try to work within your budget.