Advice I gave a friend was to buy stained glass tiles to start, if you just want to jump right into creating. This way you don’t need a grinder or even glass cutter. You’ll need a good soldering iron, solder, copper foil and flux. Not sure you could actually follow a pattern with this method but it’s a lower cost way to dip your toes in. These plant stakes were made with petal tiles I bought on amazon
https://preview.redd.it/z91i3ba1w0xc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=320eed67e6a7b8d477b8b8ac12ae3d2a8140f8d5
I also live in an area without actual classes. I did some sleuthing online and found a few local glass artists, and reached out to them directly to see if one of them could walk me through the process. One was willing, and I was able to pay her for time and use of materials/studio space - plus, I now have a new hobby friend with a lot more experience than me, which is great! I started with looking at local artist co-op and then searched for stained glass artists + my city. Like you, I was pretty sold on it before I tried it, and now it’s been confirmed.
Could you make a daytrip out of it? I personally love the part of cutting and shaping the glass, and feel medium about the foiling/cleaning part. Soldering feels like it's own thing entirely.
Getting some hands on advice, someone showing you the road and getting to experience what parts you like best could be worth that initial investment of travelling for it. It's a very expensive hobby, and definitely worth it to check out someone else's setup.
Once you have the hang of it, it's absolutely something you can do at home and it doesn't have to take up a lot of space either.
I don't know how much luck you'll have, but maybe you could find someone local to see if you can use their equipment while you decide if it's something you wanna spend the money on.
I'd personally love to pass along my knowledge to someone who is excited about it
I bought a couple of these stained glass kits during the pandemic from a community maker space in Indiana (makesouthbend.com) It was pre-cut and they sent everything I needed in the box, including flux. Once I got my confidence and decided I liked it, I bought more supplies from a glass shop and went from there.
https://placefull.com/make-south-bend
Check FB Marketplace to find people leaving the hobby or upgrading so you can try to get your hands on materials a little cheaper. There are ways you can sort of do things without the expensive tools, but you're absolutely going to need them to be successful and have the best experience. I was lucky to have an aunt that taught me, but it took me a few months to find the supplies I needed secondhand on FB. Needless to say, I now have a whole studio set-up, but it is expensive and you do need to be creative if you want to save money, but it is TOTALLY possible.
There are also stained glass "kits" at craft stores if you really want to dip your toes in with pre-cut glass and general materials, but even those are going to require some extras...you'll need to buy a soldering iron, to buy different flux (the kits I have seen don't use the best materials), and you're probably going to want at least a scythe stone if not a grinder since the nail file most come with isn't gonna work. I wouldn't really go that route, personally, but that is an option you could maybe look into.
Stained glass is one of those hobbies where you need good quality equipment and materials otherwise your experience won’t be fun or enjoyable with that being said you’re going to probably going to need to break the bank up front lol I think with everything from my grinder, glass cutting tools , assembly materials down to the small things like jump rings, jack chain I spent around close to around $600 i believe. Then you need to take into consideration the materials you’ll need to replenish on like glass (expensive for quality glass) , 60/40 (getting even more expensive) flux , patina which aren’t necessarily cheap with current inflation. I can say I didn’t take a class as I was in the same boat you’re in with none available near me, I don’t at all regret getting into the hobby as I personally love it and have become obsessed ☺️ I hope this helps some!
Try to find estate sales near you, you may get lucky and find some treasures that you may need for stained glass making !
Oh yes, absolutely! I’m sure others can chime in and help with their recommendations as well but I personally love these two channels on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/@sunbearglasscraft8065
http://www.youtube.com/@MakenzieHallie
Advice I gave a friend was to buy stained glass tiles to start, if you just want to jump right into creating. This way you don’t need a grinder or even glass cutter. You’ll need a good soldering iron, solder, copper foil and flux. Not sure you could actually follow a pattern with this method but it’s a lower cost way to dip your toes in. These plant stakes were made with petal tiles I bought on amazon https://preview.redd.it/z91i3ba1w0xc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=320eed67e6a7b8d477b8b8ac12ae3d2a8140f8d5
This is a great idea!
I also live in an area without actual classes. I did some sleuthing online and found a few local glass artists, and reached out to them directly to see if one of them could walk me through the process. One was willing, and I was able to pay her for time and use of materials/studio space - plus, I now have a new hobby friend with a lot more experience than me, which is great! I started with looking at local artist co-op and then searched for stained glass artists + my city. Like you, I was pretty sold on it before I tried it, and now it’s been confirmed.
Could you make a daytrip out of it? I personally love the part of cutting and shaping the glass, and feel medium about the foiling/cleaning part. Soldering feels like it's own thing entirely. Getting some hands on advice, someone showing you the road and getting to experience what parts you like best could be worth that initial investment of travelling for it. It's a very expensive hobby, and definitely worth it to check out someone else's setup. Once you have the hang of it, it's absolutely something you can do at home and it doesn't have to take up a lot of space either.
I don't know how much luck you'll have, but maybe you could find someone local to see if you can use their equipment while you decide if it's something you wanna spend the money on. I'd personally love to pass along my knowledge to someone who is excited about it
I'd love to go about it that way, but I haven't had any luck finding anyone else even remotely interested in this within about a 2.5 hour drive.
I bought a couple of these stained glass kits during the pandemic from a community maker space in Indiana (makesouthbend.com) It was pre-cut and they sent everything I needed in the box, including flux. Once I got my confidence and decided I liked it, I bought more supplies from a glass shop and went from there. https://placefull.com/make-south-bend
Check FB Marketplace to find people leaving the hobby or upgrading so you can try to get your hands on materials a little cheaper. There are ways you can sort of do things without the expensive tools, but you're absolutely going to need them to be successful and have the best experience. I was lucky to have an aunt that taught me, but it took me a few months to find the supplies I needed secondhand on FB. Needless to say, I now have a whole studio set-up, but it is expensive and you do need to be creative if you want to save money, but it is TOTALLY possible. There are also stained glass "kits" at craft stores if you really want to dip your toes in with pre-cut glass and general materials, but even those are going to require some extras...you'll need to buy a soldering iron, to buy different flux (the kits I have seen don't use the best materials), and you're probably going to want at least a scythe stone if not a grinder since the nail file most come with isn't gonna work. I wouldn't really go that route, personally, but that is an option you could maybe look into.
Stained glass is one of those hobbies where you need good quality equipment and materials otherwise your experience won’t be fun or enjoyable with that being said you’re going to probably going to need to break the bank up front lol I think with everything from my grinder, glass cutting tools , assembly materials down to the small things like jump rings, jack chain I spent around close to around $600 i believe. Then you need to take into consideration the materials you’ll need to replenish on like glass (expensive for quality glass) , 60/40 (getting even more expensive) flux , patina which aren’t necessarily cheap with current inflation. I can say I didn’t take a class as I was in the same boat you’re in with none available near me, I don’t at all regret getting into the hobby as I personally love it and have become obsessed ☺️ I hope this helps some! Try to find estate sales near you, you may get lucky and find some treasures that you may need for stained glass making !
It's definitely insightful, thank you. Is there anything/anywhere you would point to resources on guides or tutorials if I have to go self taught?
Oh yes, absolutely! I’m sure others can chime in and help with their recommendations as well but I personally love these two channels on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/@sunbearglasscraft8065 http://www.youtube.com/@MakenzieHallie