Glossary of ARt Glass Terms
Glossary of General Glass Terms
The General Terms definitions are followed by specific sections of Tools Used in Glass Work, Glass Manufacturing Terms, and Sheet Forming Methods.
Can I buy glass directly from you?
At this time, we do sell some products online and we may choose to expand that in the future. Historically however, a distribution chain has served us well and is in place for the majority of our products. Our continuous ribbon process allows us to produce large volumes of sheet glass that are packed into full cases per color. Because full cases of 48” x 24” sheets are not easily consumed by even the most passionate of glass artists, we have utilized a tiered distribution system to buy cases in bulk, break down that bulk, and move it to retailers who take the same process a step further.
Where can I buy your products?
At this time, Color Bar, Sample Sets, and #GlassFamMerch can be purchased online. For all other products, please visit your favorite glass supplier. If you need help finding a supplier, please check out our dealer locator here on the site.
Do you sell samples of your sheet glass?
Absolutely! Our Master Sample Set contains samples of each sheet glass we produce.
Why are some of your products unavailable for extended periods?
With our sheet glass, it’s normally due to our inability to accurately predict the future. The nature of our process requires us to run an extended color cycle. That is, the colors must be run in a set sequence, and it takes months to go through the cycle. So, when we make red, for example, we make enough to stock and sell for the entire length of the color cycle—until we get back to red production again. Sounds simple enough, but the longer the cycle, the harder it is to accurately predict sales volumes.
At other times, our capacities have been so overburdened that we’ve chosen to skip certain products in the cycle in favor of others. Knowing that we’re going to be out of something, we might to choose to produce Clear Waterglass® sheets but skip Orange as the Clear is in much higher demand. These are tough decisions but, fortunately, they are rare.
Tools Used in Glass Work
Can I buy glass directly from you?
At this time, we do sell some products online and we may choose to expand that in the future. Historically however, a distribution chain has served us well and is in place for the majority of our products. Our continuous ribbon process allows us to produce large volumes of sheet glass that are packed into full cases per color. Because full cases of 48” x 24” sheets are not easily consumed by even the most passionate of glass artists, we have utilized a tiered distribution system to buy cases in bulk, break down that bulk, and move it to retailers who take the same process a step further.
Where can I buy your products?
At this time, Color Bar, Sample Sets, and #GlassFamMerch can be purchased online. For all other products, please visit your favorite glass supplier. If you need help finding a supplier, please check out our dealer locator here on the site.
Do you sell samples of your sheet glass?
Absolutely! Our Master Sample Set contains samples of each sheet glass we produce.
Why are some of your products unavailable for extended periods?
With our sheet glass, it’s normally due to our inability to accurately predict the future. The nature of our process requires us to run an extended color cycle. That is, the colors must be run in a set sequence, and it takes months to go through the cycle. So, when we make red, for example, we make enough to stock and sell for the entire length of the color cycle—until we get back to red production again. Sounds simple enough, but the longer the cycle, the harder it is to accurately predict sales volumes.
At other times, our capacities have been so overburdened that we’ve chosen to skip certain products in the cycle in favor of others. Knowing that we’re going to be out of something, we might to choose to produce Clear Waterglass® sheets but skip Orange as the Clear is in much higher demand. These are tough decisions but, fortunately, they are rare.