Hang it anywhere the light reaches: in a window, on a hook on the wall near one, or from the ceiling. It arrives on a brass chain, ready to hang the same day. Direct sun gives the strongest colour and throws it across the room; a north-facing window still lights up in the afternoon, as one buyer's landing does.
Which window works best?
The one that gets direct sun for part of the day. The glass is at its best with the sun behind it: as the sun moves, the piece casts soft, shifting reflections across the walls and floor, and the colour changes hour by hour.
A window without direct sun is not a bad choice, just a quieter one. One buyer hung his in a north-facing landing expecting it to look flat, and found that around four in the afternoon the whole stairwell goes orange. The lesson is that the piece works with whatever light the window has; it simply does more with more. If you are choosing between two windows, pick the one you walk past most, because the point of the thing is to be seen.
- A kitchen window: the piece is lit most of the day and seen most of the day.
- A landing or stairwell: the colour falls down the stairs in the afternoon.
- Above a desk: direct light on it for part of the day, and it is in front of you.
- A bedroom window: morning light, and the first thing seen.
Can it hang on a wall instead of a window?
Yes. It hangs in a window or on a wall, and the photographs on this site show it both ways: in a window, and on a wall hook with a window somewhere nearby. On a wall it reads as a picture; in a window it reads as light.
On a wall, the glass is lit from the front rather than the back, so you see the colours as colours rather than as glowing light. The lead lines and the brass frame show more. A wall near a window, where light rakes across the piece for part of the day, gets you some of both. The create page hangs your design on exactly this kind of wall, so what you approve is a fair picture of what a wall hanging looks like; try it on the create page.
What do I hang it from?
From its own brass chain, on a fixed hook: a cup hook screwed into the window frame, a wall hook in a plug, or a ceiling hook. The chain is fixed to the brass frame that is hand-soldered around the edge.
It is glass, lead and brass, so it is heavier than a printed piece of the same size; one buyer's review mentions the weight, with approval. Choose a hook rated well above what you think the piece weighs, and screw it into something solid rather than relying on an adhesive hook. Do not hang it from the chain over a nail that could work loose, and do not let the glass rest against the window pane, where it could knock when the window opens. If a hook or the chain ever comes loose, the care guide says what to do.
How does the Christmas ornament hang?
From its gold cap, on a tree hook or a ribbon, like any bauble. It is 10 cm across and made of thick translucent glass, so give it a branch that will hold it and a spot where the tree lights sit behind it.
The ornament is translucent rather than fully transparent, so it does not need a window: the lights on the tree are enough to bring the portrait up. Out of season it can hang in a window on its cap just as a suncatcher does, or go back in its box. Suncatcher or ornament compares the two if you have not chosen yet.
Which size for which window?
The round suncatcher comes in 15, 20 or 25 cm. The 20 cm suits a standard sash window pane; the 15 cm is for a small pane or a cluster of several; the 25 cm is for a wide window or a wall.
One buyer summed up the middle choice: the 20 cm was the right size for her sash window, and the 15 would have been lost in it. Another could not pick and ordered three. The sizing guide sets the three sizes against each other and against the price.
Questions this leaves
Does it come with a hook?
It comes on a brass chain, fixed to the brass frame, and is ready to hang the day it arrives. Hang the chain from a fixed hook of your own in the window frame, the wall or the ceiling. If you are unsure what hook to use for your wall, ask us before it arrives and we will say.
Can I hang it outside?
We make it for a window or a wall indoors. Outdoors, weather gets into the solder joins and the brass, which is the one thing the care guide asks you to avoid. Put it in the window instead and it gets the same sun without the rain.
Will it catch the light in a room with no direct sun?
It will show its colours in any daylight, and more in direct sun. On a wall it is lit from the front and reads as a picture, so a room with soft light still works; the glow you see in the photographs comes from a window with the sun behind it.
