Anatomy of a Custom Order: Case Studies

One on the many great features of being an Etsy seller (http://www.etsy.com/shop/smashglassworks) is that I can give customers the option of requesting custom made items.  Additionally, my customers can make a custom order request based on specific items available for sale or previously sold from my shop.  I'll use a couple of recent examples to illustrate how this process works.

Study 1:  'Grape Vines' Mosaic Frame

I was contacted by a customer who liked my 'Nouvelle Croissance' offset mosaic frame.

'Nouvelle Croissance' - Glass Mosaic Picture Frame by Smash Glassworks

https://www.etsy.com/listing/154814120/mosaic-picture-frame-nouvelle-croissance

The above piece is 12" x 12" (finished size) and holds a 4"x 6" photo.  The design is created using clear, tempered glass fragments over a painted background.  The grout lines are highlighted with gold for added effect.

The customer liked the offset shape of the frame and the general layout of the mosaic.  She was looking for something similar, smaller, and with a grapevine theme instead of leaves.  She was looking for a frame to commemorate a trip to the Napa Valley as a gift. We discussed colour and settled on a suitable frame size. The following is shows the project at various stages, including the final result:

The finished frame is 6.5" x 9" in an offest layout.  It holds a 4" x 6" insert and is suitable for table top display.

Study 2: 'Abstract' Mosaic Frame

Another customer contacted me in reference to the following abstract frame done in stained glass mosaic:

'Fresh' - Stained Glass Mosaic Picture Frame by Smash Glassworks

https://www.etsy.com/listing/99085249/abstract-mosaic-picture-frame-fresh

The customer liked the layout of this frame and wanted something similar to frame a handmade card she had received. She needed something created in specific dimensions to accommodate the card and she wanted the colours of the stained glass mosaic to complement those in the card.  I asked her to send me a snapshot of the card to get a sense of the colour scheme.  From this and the required specs, I created a custom design:

The above made-to-order frame holds a 6.5" x 6.5" insert.  The finished size is 10" x 10".  The mosaic is made from a selection of opaque and semi-opaque glass tessarae.

Both of these recent custom orders were a pleasure to create.  The process was that much more interesting knowing a bit about their intended purpose.

"Smashable" Glass

Believe it or not, this mosaics on this series of frames is done exclusively with smashed safety glass.  The colourful designs they yield are hand painted underneath the mosaic and revealed through the random facets of the clear glass.  Since the tempered glass used here can't be cut by traditional means, it was literally 'smashed' to create the individual mosaic pieces.  Fitting, I think.

The painted design in the top frame uses a mix of tangerine, lime, yellow, white, turquoise, aqua and copper.

The lower frame is painted in aqua, deep purple, yellow, orange, copper, and raspberry.

The grout used in these mosaics has been brushed with a gold pulver and acrylic varnish mixture to create a faux metallic finish.

Back to the Jungle

I've used some of the design elements from my "Mighty Jungle" mosaic mirror to create this much smaller,  simplified (finished size: 8"x8", photo size 3.5"x 3.5") frame. The frame is supplied with both a mirror and clear glass insert and can be used as either a stand alone picture frame or a small mirror.  Using gold pulver to back the semi-transparent glass pieces, this piece achieves a subtle shimmering effect in direct lighting.

Frame Sets

The holiday season seems to have obliterated my inventory of complementary mosaic frame sets.  (No complaints here.)  So, I've added these two new sets in an effort at replenishment. 

The top set is done in sun-baked tones of gold, rust, orange, deep red, plum and olive green.  I selected the glass from a range of opaque and semi-opaque pieces, which have been individually backed in silver to add a shimmering quality when cast in the light.  The grout is a sanded, dark taupe tone and the wooden frames have been hand painted in a complementary dark brown acrylic. SOLD

The bottom set is done in a bright palette of lime, tangerine, pink, white, and sky blue.  All of the glass is opaque, set in a dark charcoal, polymer-based grout.  The wooden frames have been hand painted in a complementary matte black acrylic.

Frames by Popular Demand

In acknowledgement of the great response to my stained glass mosaic frames from the Etsy community, I have added these three 8" frames (picture size 3.5").

 

Framed in Glass

I often see frames that are as interesting to look at as the pictures they eventually contain.  The problem is that they are often available as a single item.  If you wind up collecting a series of interesting frames, they'll often clash with one another.  Why don't more of these 'interesting' frames come in complementary sets?

With this project, I've attempted to address this problem by creating a set of 3 stained glass mosaic frames.  While I've incorporated the same glass pieces through out, each frame is unique, yet they still work as a set. SOLD