We created this mirror for a restaurant in Richmond, Virginia, around 1980. Art glass goes through phases of popularity. Stained glass, beveled glass, and etched glass rotate when people design their restaurants. I learned early that many people travel to other restaurants looking for decorating ideas when designing their own. Many go to New York, and some even go to Europe. This idea was seen in New York City. We achieved this effect by etching away the back of the mirror, allowing the light from the pink neon to filter through.

Carving is one of the most challenging processes I do. It is almost always on a thick piece of glass; in this case, the glass was 5/8 of an inch with a polished OG edge. It’s heavy and seems to get heavier as the day goes on. A 1/8-inch rubber stencil with adhesive on one side is carefully applied to the backside. Hand rollers ensure the stencil lies flat on the glass. Any air bubbles are cause for concern as they may interfere with the accuracy of the design’s cutting. Artwork is created and traced with tracing paper. Next,

The requests for carving are sporadic. I probably haven’t completed five projects in the last fifty-two years. This is a sample I keep around to show what we are capable of. I wasn’t pleased with it, so I remade another for the project I was working on. I now use it to show prospects what one of our rejects looks like.It has turned out to be a very viable marketing approach.