Glass for the corner cupboard
Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
Arrived at the Touch of Glass shop in Asheville to find it closed. Business next door informed me the owner was on vacation in Europe but helper would open sometime later. Some later I checked the door and it was open. There was a lady inside. Fast forwarding, she is the artist that does the design work for the shop. While I was discussing my needs for glass for doors someone came in the back door of the shop. It was the owner making a surprise appearance. After some consultation the owner said he would attempt to cut these difficult pieces. The lady would help us choose the glass and select portions from the stock 30 x 48” sheets. There were only two stock sheets. We could screw up only 5 cuts.
I love to watch an artist work. She immediately grasped that the glass was to compliment the furniture while at the same time add to the design. I can’t think in this universe. She rapidly scanned the hundreds of candidate pieces, then pulled one out. It was acceptable to us. She continued along the last row of stock and selected another. Perfect, she declared.
It was not something I would have considered, but indeed when held against the cherry door it was perfect. It was not simply neutral filler in the door. It complimented and added attractiveness to the door without commanding attention, just the goal I was searching for. That’s what artists can do.
The first 3” x 35” cut encountered a “grain” change in the glass and the cut ran out to the edge short of the required length. Not a good way to begin. Tried another portion of the sheet and it and the next 5 pieces went well. The next two ran out short, changed sides of the stock sheet, and got the final two plus a back-up piece. Considering the 2.5 hours of work to get the required pieces the price was much lower than I thought was fair for the effort and expertise.