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HomeOur glass

Stained glass,
made once

Hand-cut, kiln-fired suncatchers of pets, people and the ones you love. No two the same.

A wall of finished Lumera suncatchers hung on a rail: pet portraits in blue, amber and rose glass, lit from the side
A finished corgi portrait in pink glass being lifted out of its packing box by the maker, kneeling on a chequered rug

Why it lasts

Kiln-fired,
not printed

Colour fired into glass at 1,465°F cannot scratch off, cannot peel, and will not fade in a south-facing window in twenty years. That is the difference between a suncatcher and a sticker.

Every piece is hand-cut, leaded into its frame, and packed by us.

In the studio

Cut, painted,
fired, leaded

Cut from sheet

Every shape is scored and broken by hand against the drawing. On a 20 cm round that is between forty and ninety pieces.

Painted

Eyes, whiskers and the inside of an ear are painted in glass paint, wet, under magnification, and they are the reason a portrait looks like the animal.

Fired at 1,465°F

Twelve hours up and twelve hours down. The paint fuses into the surface, which is what makes it permanent rather than decorative.

Leaded & soldered

Came, solder, patina, brass chain. Then signed and dated on the back, and packed in a double-walled box with a foam cradle.

Good to know

Shipping, returns
and care

Shipping

Ready-made pieces leave the studio in three to five days, in a double-walled box with a foam cradle, tracked end to end. US post is $6 and free over $75; international is calculated at checkout and takes seven to fourteen days. Duties, where they apply, are shown before you pay.

Before you buy

Every piece is cut, painted and fired to order, so we do not take returns. That makes the questions beforehand the important ones: size, colour, which window it is going in. We would much rather answer four of them than have you guess. Message us and a person replies, usually the same day.

Hanging & care

Any window, any light. Dust it with a dry cloth; no glass cleaner on the leading. Direct sun will not fade it. That is the whole point of firing the colour in.

Come and hold one

Where to find us
in person

Photographs never get the light right. Three or four times a year we pack the range into a van and take it somewhere you can pick a piece up and turn it over.

A Lumera market booth, pet portraits hung on a timber frame above the table
New York

Two weekends each spring, and the week before Christmas.

A Lumera market booth seen from the front, portraits on stands along the table
Asheville

Home. The first Saturday of the month, most months.

A Lumera market booth with suncatchers catching the light along the back wall
Chicago

Once a year, in November, and it is always the coldest one.

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Lumera | The studio