Boehm Stained Glass Studio Tour

My current project is a collaboration with a fellow stained glass artist.  For several months, we've been working with my customer down the shore to design and build an approximately 6' x 3' window which depicts her husband's beautiful racing sailboat.

So while things are are relatively quiet here, I thought it might be interesting to give a tour of Boehm Stained Glass Studio, where I create custom residential stained glass windows and do repairs of windows and lamps. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at where the magic happens!  Captions are below each photo. (Click any photo to enlarge).

My husband Eric has a similar sign on his workshop door.  We spend hours down here working together.  He makes scratch-built balsa wood airplanes!  We have a habit of knocking on each other's door, to ask permission to enter.  (We look around for a moment, and then say "yes").

(Above) I keep small items on the wall in front of my glass cutting table. On the left is a re-purposed metal CD holder mounted sideways.  It holds film canisters with small bits of solder for tinning, a small container with Q-Tips for cleaning the corners of glass pieces after waxing, a small bin with scissors and pens, a large supply of various sizes of copper foil, lots of acid brushes, black and silver Sharpies, and many hooks to solder onto the backs of frames.

On the right side I keep supplies of tape, stained glass paint, Staples rubber fingers in various sizes, plastic tubing for my electric glass cutter (photo to follow), and various liquids and chemicals including cutter oil, Clarity Stained Glass Compound, copper and black Novacan patina, liquid flux, grinder water conditioner, and Goo-Gone.

(Above) This is where I generally do all the glass cutting.  On the left are gardening gloves which I use for handling sheets of glass.  In the left corner I've got my groziers, running pliers, needle-nose pliers, pattern cutters, pistol grip glass cutters, and scissors.  In the center are packages of Strongline reinforcement, braided reinforcement, 60/40 solder, a container for the Staples rubber finger protectors, and a small brush and pan to keep my work surfaces clear of glass fragments and beads of solder.  And on the right, of course, is my trusty glass grinder.  My husband installed an outlet specifically for it which turns on and off with the light switch. Also of note is my work surface which is Homasote, a sound-proofing board which is available at any Loew's or Home Depot.  It takes push pins well, is somewhat fire resistant, and has a soft, spongy surface which is ideal for cutting glass.

(Above) Here's another view of the left side of my cutting table.  It shows a plastic shoe box filled with junk mail envelopes where I store pattern pieces after projects are completed. Also visible is a breathing mask I use when I solder, and two navy blue aprons, one of which I wear whenever I'm working.  Stacked in the corner are large plastic pretzel jars which are perfect for storing solder, glass rondelles and colored pencils.  On the walls are hand-written thank you notes, notes of encouragement from my hubby, stickers removed from purchased glass, and a few old patterns for inspiration.

(Abocve) This wooden file cabinet holds a stack of clean old dish towels on top, which I use for drying and also applying finishing compound.  The towels are resting atop an informal collection of books full of supplies to purchase and patterns for inspiration.  I keep all the pattern pieces from every project, identified and in order, in Pendaflex folders.  The top drawer holds a supply of old manila folders for patterns, a package of carbon paper, and a supply of cardboard in various thicknesses.

(Above) In the mid-eighties, I was a rubberstamp artist.  For over 3 years, I wrote bi-monthly articles and had work published frequently in Rubberstampmadness Magazine under my "nom de stamp", "Miss Rubbaloid".  These custom made cabinets held my collection of nearly 5,000 rubberstamps, most of which I still have.  Now they work perfectly for glass.  Each drawer is labeled with the color of the glass for easy retrieval.

(Above) Another view of my glass storage cabinets. I keep a supply of cardboard packing material and more glass underneath the cutting table. I found the tractor chair in Target about 2 years ago.  It rolls around easily on the tile floor which I sweep frequently.

(Above and Below).  Here are two more storage areas for my glass, arranged by color.  These were home-made units which I purchased from a stained glass store which was going out of business.   They are attached back to back, with wheels on the bottom for moving when necessary.

(Above) Here's my secondary work surface where I generally build stained glass windows and repair lamps.  On the right corner is a box of jewelry findings and beads.  (I sometimes make jewelry as well, but just for myself).  Both soldering irons can be seen resting on a small brick, as well as a small flower pot which I stuff with wet paper towels to clean the tip of the soldering iron, and yet another breathing mask.  

This may just look like a stack of funky old Parisian shoe boxes .. and it is .. but the boxes contain pieces of 45-year old glass gifted to me a few months ago by a kindly older gent who was giving up his hobby.  This is the first place I check when an older lamp or window comes in for repair. The glass he's given me has been a perfect match for repairing several older pieces. 

(Above) Here's another work surface.  I use this for building windows, doing repairs, or glass cutting.  I just move my tools from place to place.  We bought this table from the inventory sale at a local Borders bookstore! My Dremel tool is here, which I use to sign my name and date to custom windows.  Also on the table are my part-time photography assistants, Phil and Philomena Foamhead .. I sometimes employ them for lighting experiments when I'm preparing for a shoot.  (Click here to see my event photography website).

On the left is a rolling colored-bin glass holder, purchased recently at Michael's.  I keep smaller pieces of antique glass here.  On top of it is a white plastic bin which holds all the hardware when we do a window installation.  The pink carpenter's bag on top was a gift from Eric, but he's the only one who uses it.  It holds everything he needs to do the installations .. Caulking gun, caulk, hammer, brush and pan, tape, cardboard, the works.

On the floor is a holder which Eric made with vertical plate holders found in the Container Store.  He nailed them to a piece of plywood, then added wheels.  Here I store larger sheets of glass that won't fit in my custom cabinet drawers.  Some antique glass is here as well.

In the laundry room is the good old utility sink where I rinse off all glass after its been grinded, and where I sometimes clean off finished windows and lamps.  I sometimes use the kitchen sink upstairs.  It depends on the size of the finished piece.

This is my electric Gryphon Omni Wire Saw Glass Cutter, used only when I have cuts that are too intricate to be done by hand.  Its very loud (I have to use earplugs) and its intimidating for that reason, but it does a great job.  99% of my work is hand-cut, though.

I always keep a good supply of 6' lengths of wood for framing, as well as zinc and brass channel.     

And that concludes our tour!  Hope you enjoyed it!  Give me a call if you have an idea for a custom residential stained glass window .. or if you have a lamp or a window that you no longer display because its cracked.  Let me fix it for you and give a new life!  Call 201-600-1616 or email me at Kathy.Boehm@Verizon.net and we'll get started right away.

To see more of my stained glass work, please visit my website (click here). And if you are on FaceBook, become a fan and I'll keep you up to date on all my stained glass projects.  Thanks!