Please note that we have dropped the 9958 3140 number and are now only available on 9476 6400.

We apologise that you will now frequently be greeted by an answering machine. Things have changed substantially around here meaning that we no longer have someone always devoted to the phones.

If we are on-site or otherwise can’t leap to pick up a phone just leave a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as we are not juggling glass!

You can now also find us on the first Sunday of the month at the Heritage Craft Fair in St Ives.

RSG has just moved from Unit 18, 51 Leighton Place Hornsby.

Consultation is now by appointment only so please call or email us with your enquiry.

We may also be appearing at selected markets in the near future so please keep your eye out for details.

We will have the studio open to the public

10-6pm Friday 16th December

10-2pm Saturday 17th December

We are happy to see people by appointment throughout the week until 23rd December.

Merry Christmas

It’s official: the studio at Leighton Place will be closed after 4th February 2012. After which time we will no longer have a showroom open to the public.

The good news is everything’s on sale (because the less there is to move the better!)

All DISPLAY DOORS & JOINERY are up for grabs on very much a first in best dressed basis.

Any JEWELLERY that is left has all got to be cleared. Items start as low as $2 - (RRP $80!).

Plenty of MATERIALS FOR HOBBIESTS with many glasses available below wholesale price plus tools and more.

RECONDITIONED stained glass and leadlight panels being sold for the first time ever.

No reasonable offers will be refused so give us a call & get yourself down to the studio between now and the 22nd December.

“…in 1878, when in the course of a libel suit he had brought against a critic, the painter James McNeill Whistler was challenged to justify the high price of his work. When asked by opposing counsel whether he really charged purchasers of his paintings the large sum of 200 guineas for the labor of just two days, Whistler replied, “No, I ask it for the knowledge of a lifetime.” (Whistler 1922, p. 5).

- David W. Galenson (2010) Understanding Creativity, Journal of Applied Economics, Vol XIII, No. 2, 351-362.

Stained Glass or leadlights are not charged in same manner as “art”. Nor are most artworks priced such as Whistler’s. In fact the hourly rate of artist’s and artisan’s is generally very poor. Stained Glass is priced either by the square meter or by the piece. Piece rates are difficult to manage in terms of quotation as they require design to be complete before a final price can be established and of course designing is a considerable component of the work.

Stained Glass and leadlight is a labour intensive craft with very little of the process having changed in a thousand years. There simply is no machine that can produce stained glass.

To put this craft along side it’s modern (and arguably less skilled) counter parts - it is not unusual to pay over $200 per hour to have a glazier complete a job. Anyone who has hired any trade will be aware of these sorts of rates, which for the record are not unjustified in the costs of running modern businesses. Many stained glass studio’s are charging less then $40 an hour for their toils. Simply market driven I’m affraid and eventually few studio’s will remain and even fewer professional artisan’s. Less business costs many studio’s in fact subsidise their work rather than take a wage.

As I look through the website undertaking a routine copy update I’m reminded of how fortunate we are to have such wonderful clientele.

Below is a brief list of some of the commercial clients we are proud to have provided services for.

Our domestic clientele are also among some of Sydney’s most cultured, educated and generally fabulous people but of course their details remain confidential!

Renaissance Stained Glass clients in Australia:

• St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney
• SHORE, North Sydney
• Sacred Heart, Mosman
• Our Lady of Consolation, Rooty Hill
• Waxie O’Connors, Gold Coast
• Wesley College, University of Sydney
• Saint Andrew’s College, University of Sydney
• Canadian Consulate, Sydney
• Scotts College Chapel
• Cranbrook School Chapel
• Colombian Hotel, Sydney
• Angel Hotel, Sydney
• Liverpool Hospital Chapel
• Wolli Creek Nunery
• Saint Saviours Church Redfern
• Hunter Baillie Memorial Church, Annandale
• Sydney Grammar School
• Soho Bar, Sydney
• St David’s Presbyterian Church, Strathfeild

Renaissance Stained Glass provides stained glass and leadlight expertise and services to Express Glass as well as many architects, interior designers, building companies and specialist home design services across Sydney.

Sean Hardingham’s (RSG Creative Director) work in the UK:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.414704866610.200652.48925251610&l=d8875b97aaAs we no longer have the online shopping facility and the jewellery has not as yet been added to the gallery I thought I’d post this link to our FB photo album. There are lots of pic’s and posts on FB which you can hook up to if you’re a FB user. Either follow this link or next time you’re on FB try typing “Renaissance Stained Glass” into your search. Once you’re there you can “like” the page and you’ll see our FB updates in your news feed. Don’t panic, we don’t post 10 a day as recommended by all good marketers!

Despite best intentions time has yet again gotten away from us. The studio has been busy with Hunter Baillie restorations whilst keeping up the usual flow of domestic repairs and restorations, a couple of new panels and a couple of large scale domestic commissions are in design. The team continues to be busy outside of the studio as well all working hard at our studies. Sean is roughly half way through a conservation management plan project which I’m sure he’ll blog about when he has two seconds to spare. Krista and Dan continue their work at the Julian Ashton Art School. As for your humble author and GM here at RSG, my academic work is actually in the field of psychology and this year I’m heavily entrenched in independent research. So as you can see there’s quite a bit going on.

First term classes have reached their conclusion with students completing both leadlight and copperfoil projects. The design course was a rather intimate affair. A long term client who has been buying hobby supplies and getting pointers from Sean for around the last 7 years came along and learnt some of the basics that had been overlooked in his past learning which will significantly impact on his future projects. Just thought to ask him to write a few words for those of you who might be interested.

The design course was developed in response to the large number of hobbyists we meet looking for supplies from the studio with a range of design techniques that we felt could benefit from a little professional tuition. Sean remains a rather rare commodity in this country in that he is actually professionally trained and qualified. For the most part tuition is past from one hobbyist to another and many fundamental skills of the craft, including design, have been all but lost. This continues to be a major issue within industry also though that is a much larger blog post.Suffice to say that training and licensing is a major issue under debate nationally at the moment and we will give you the update when some resolutions start to emerge.

So that’s what we’ve been up to. More on the world of stained glass and RSG shortly.

This year the Hunter Baillie restorations begin with the hall. (stained glass restorations anyway)

We’re very pleased that a benefactor has come forward to repair the windows in the creche and we have met the difference. The team are onsite getting that underway as I write. 

Back to the site… www.rsg.net.au

Rapidly approaching week 3 of term 1. Good work on your glass cutting everyone! Getting there :)

Follow the links to enrol now for the following:
Fundamentals (8 weeks from Tuesday 10th May)
Refine your technique [Intermediate] (8weks from Thursday 12th May)
Stained Glass Design (Saturday 5th March or Saturday 28th May)

Many people are keen to salvage second hand stained glass or leadlight for it’s historical significance or relevance to their property. When you are doing this there are a few things to consider:

All pieces of second hand leadlight are not necessarily old or significant. The process of selecting worthy pieces requires some amount of skill and knowledge. Some panels that appear to have significant age may not actually be all that old and are thus neither in terms of glass or design particularly worthy. There are also more than enough instances where an old panel has undergone multiple repairs in its lifetime and contains very little original glass. The one element here that pretty much anyone can see is the state of the glass. Is it broken or scratched. The more pertinent question however is its age and scarcity. For that you need to consult an expert. Be cautious about the experts you turn to. Glass is a very specialised area and I know licensed general glaziers who can not identify “old glass” accurately so just be very wary. There are a handful of appropriately trained and qualified people and I’d recommend if you are parting with reasonable amounts of cash hunt them down. If you’re carrying a phone with a camera get the best photo you can as this can be an invaluable help to someone providing you with advice.

Hurdle # 2 - the condition of the panel. Most of us expect old leadlights to look pretty shocking out of their hole. Some just need to be reinstalled and polished whilst others are fundamentally flawed and the only way they are getting better is full restoration which may cost you more than a new panel so approach this with care. Thinking back to the earlier point, if it turns out you haven’t got unique or rare glass why would you pay more to restore second hand stuff that may or may not have been your absolute first pick of design anyway? That’s before we get to issues of installation which I’ll come to in a minute.

The structural integrity of a panel depends on a few things: it’s lead, solder and sealants. Once a panel is out of its supporting structure (i.e a window or door) it is much more fragile and prone to stresses. If you have white dust falling off the lead that is oxidising lead. If you have a rare gem worthy of restoration great. It will need restoration and it’s lead replaced but that’s a natural part of maintenance for stained glass. You should however be cautious about touching white lead and where you put it. Make sure  it’s wrapped in something old, preferably disposable, before you put it in the car. Under no circumstances let kids touch old leadlights that look like they are oxidising. If everything else is in good order professional polishing may just be enough to stave off further deterioration for a few more years.

Now we’re looking at solder joints. Are they cracked/ cracking. That’s a problem. The more joints that are cracked and the more severe that cracking the more work they are going to require. Usually where there are cracking solder joints there is also missing sealant. This is a really difficult thing to describe and I have yet again realised the value of YouTube! We’ll get a demonstration video up sometime soon. The sealant is both waterproofing and holds the whole structure together. Contrary to popular belief leadlights should not rattle or leak. If the sealant is the only issue with the panel this is not the end of the world and a professional studio can reseal and polish panels for you.

Right, last issue, and it is significant. Where do you intend to put this? If a panel needs to be re-sized do not underestimate the extent of work that may require. Especially if you are concerned about maintaining the integrity of the panel and it not looking generally like a dogs breakfast. Again, I think a demonstration of how this is done is in order. There is also a minor consideration in regard to current building legislation (and here I assume my audience to be in Australia). There are regulations governing the types of glass that can be put where in residential buildings. Doors, anything that can be mistaken for a door (such as a sidelight) and glazing in bathrooms are subject to very strict safety guidelines. Leadlights and stained glass is made from 3 or 4 mm annealed glass which means the pieces have to be quite small or a form of double glazing with safety glass will be required. Doable, but another consideration and usually expense. New panels from a professional studio are designed to meet standards.

As an aside I should note that any building that has particular stained glass or leadlight pre-existing AS-1288(2006) can be repaired indefinitely and is not subject to the same scrutiny. This clause recognises the need for a different approach where the preservation of our cultural heritage is relevant.

So if you thought picking up a second hand piece of leadlight was an economical choice you may be reconsidering about now. If you are a genuine enthusiast and conservator, great - fill your boots and I hope this has been informative and helpful. If there’s anything we can do to help you in your quest to preserve our/ your cultural heritage don’t hesitate to contact us. Keep watching this blog and possibly get linked up to us on Facebook or Twitter for continued education in this domain.

Just been chatting with a couple of new clients and realised this information should be on the site but is not so I’ll pop it here for now.

There is no such thing as “off the shelf” stained glass. Every piece is hand made to fit the hole in which it shall reside. There is a long discussion about “second hand” or “antique” panels that could go here but I shall save that for another post (that will probably appear very soon). As such every new panel is a bespoke item. We tend to refer to a project as “a commission” when the design content becomes very elaborate or the finished piece is of such a scale that it warrants the title. In practice the process of all new work, from major ecclesiastic windows to a residential door panel is the same.

1. Someone needs to come to site to get accurate measurements, assess installation requirements, discuss design considerations and prepare you a quote.
2. You choose to accept the quote with a commitment of a deposit to begin design work.
3. The design is drawn based on the design consultation (usually done at time of the quote as the quote relates to the complexity of design). Design consultation can take place via email or in person. We design using CAD so electronic consultation is more than possible.
4. Once the design is agreed upon (in black & white) you will come in for a glass and colour consultation. These can be arranged at your home but this is the one process where it can be advantageous to be in the studio with the expansive range of glasses and other panels to view etc.
5. Once you have agreed upon your glass we get building.
6. The four stages of building the panel are cutting the glass, leading & soldering the panel, sealing and cleaning the panel and polishing of the panel. Each process is undertaken by hand.
7. An appointment is made at your convenience for installation.
8. The panel is installed. (The final payment is made before or upon installation depending on your chosen payment method).

I shall expand with some FAQ’s in posts in the near future.

Hello all,

Thought I’d start adding a breif monthly update here.

Courses for term 1 are underway. Still got a few spots if you’re really quick (that is before next Tuesday which will be week 2 of the course) otherwise enrollments for term 2 can be taken now. Links can be found in the post about three down from here.

Just met a lovelly lady from Hornsby Heights Public School who has collected some glass off cuts for a project in the school. If you have community projects we may be able to assist with please drop us a line and we’ll see what we can do. As an aside that may not have occured to many of you, Sean is available to give talks to schools etc about Stained Glass and it’s history in Australia as well as broader topics related to heritage conservation.

With many large projects both by way of new commissions and restorations to undertake this year we have taken on a new team member. We’d like to welcome Krista Brennan to the team. Krista is both a student and teacher at the Julian Ashton School of Art in the Rocks and a freelance artist in her own right. More about Krista can be found at www.kristabrennan.com.au

It has now been established that the circular window installed in place of the “louvre ventilator”is still in the building (due for restoration later in the project). This is the 5 ft diameter panel purchased for 10 pound from St Andrew’s, Longueville, in June 1929.

I have now tracked down “St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Longueville: silver jubilee celebrations 1911-1936”, a publication held on microform by the National Library. At this stage I haven’t established how to get my hands on said publication short of a visit to Canberra - which I’ve just done twice in the space of a month and probably wont be doing again any time soon so here’s hoping technology is going to pull through for me!

Assuming that this panel was built for this parish, which is fair given that it carries its insignia (St Andrew’s cross) we can now pretty safely say the panel is no older than 1911. Possibly almost 100 years old. Not ancient in terms of stained glass, but up there with the significantly aged in Sydney.

The following was originally published in our old blog on 5th April 2009. I have copied it in here for enthusiasts of Sydney’s heritage stained glass or stained glass heritage. This work was undertaken by Renaissnace Stained Glass for Willoughby Council.It is very early days in the historical search for truth regarding the origins of the stained glass panels currently under restoration in the soon to be Northbridge Library. The records of the church council at the time of building the Northbridge Presbyterian Church on Sailors Bay Rd note the purchase of two stained glass panels. On 12th December 1928 permission was granted to purchase a window for the northern elevation from the Longueville Presbyterian church.

Building commenced on 4th May 1929. In June it was decided that rather than continuing with the planned louvre window in the southern elevation that a 5ft diameter circular stained glass panel, also purchased form the Longueville parish would be installed instead. This panel depicted the church insignia - St Andrew’s cross and the burning bush. It was purchased for ten pounds having been removed from the Longueville Presbyterian Church where a new panel was being installed in honour of the McLeod’s.

At this stage I have not followed up on the McLeod memorial window. I speculate that this may be the same McLeod’s that founded the Spastic Centre though at this stage there is absolutely no valid evidence for that assertion. I’m purely sharing a fleeting thought as I blog along this journey of discovery.

Thus far we have absolutely no reason to believe that the panels discussed in these early church council meetings are actually still present.

The Northbridge Presbyterian Church was opened on 29th August 1929 at a total cost of 2,978 pounds including the land cost. If such a project were to cost $1,000,000 today (which is quite a reserved figure) the proportionate cost of one second hand stained glass panel would be $3,357.00.

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