PK: Do you remember approximately how long it was?
I think it was a matter of two, maybe three months from the time I started trying until I felt confident with the technique.
PK: And does it happen now that people who would like to learn this and are looking for a teacher or even workshops come to you?
Yes, there are such people, but unfortunately I don't have enough time for it at the moment. I don't really have room for more than one person in my current studio - we probably wouldn't fit in physically.
PK: In your opinion, are there any qualities or skills that are necessary to do this?
You need to have willingness and patience, that's all. Of course, manual skills are important here, but I believe that if there is willingness and patience, everything can be worked out. I never thought about it myself - in my case it somehow happened, I started doing it and it worked.
PK: Who are the people who buy your stained glass windows?
As for those clients who buy and order stained glass directly from me, they are really different. I have some regular customers who have been buying my products for years. There are also those who come to my studio from the street - they see the window and the interior of the store, look inside and often enter curious about what is there.
The clients are both older and young people. I think that my products can reach different target groups. They usually buy these items for themselves or for someone else as a gift - it may be a small item or a larger individual order, e.g. on the occasion of an anniversary, etc.
The lamps I produce are usually purchased by individual customers, although I have also supplied, for example, law firms. I also made custom stained glass windows for a law firm in Krakow. They were an important part of the interior and staircase decoration.
PK: So I can buy not only ready-made products from you, but also commission an individual stained glass design?
Yes, I carry out custom projects, although sometimes I have to refuse if I have a lot of other orders at the same time. When I know that I might not make it on time, I simply do not take on such an order, because I know that in such a stressful situation I will have no inspiration. It won't be what I want and I simply won't be satisfied with such a product. It is very important to me that the final product pleases both my clients and myself.
PK: Do customers more often decide to place individual orders or rather choose one of the readily available products?
I don't see that one or the other side is somehow dominant here. It depends very much on who the client is, what his budget is and what products are available at the moment.
PK: Where do you purchase products for the production of your stained glass windows?
I buy mainly from a wholesaler in Silesia. It is very well stocked - this is where I order good quality glass and most other materials.
PK: You say "good quality" - what are the differences between better and worse quality glass?
Better glass will be easier to cut, while glass of lower quality, where the pane is not properly expanded, may sometimes break into small pieces.
PK: How do you make sure that the glass is suitable and meets your expectations?
There are various glassworks whose products I already know. I usually need a specific color of glass, so its color and shade is one of the key aspects for me. It would be difficult to judge the color based on a photo, so it's not something I order and then deliver. I specifically go to the wholesaler to buy glass and choose the right products there. Of course, you need to be careful so that nothing breaks during transport.
PK: Has your glass ever cracked during transport?
I try to protect them well, but it happened to me that individual panes were slightly damaged and smaller pieces broke off. Usually in such situations I use these fragments in small elements of stained glass.
PK: Apart from glass, what else is necessary to make a stained glass window?
It depends on the technique used. I work with the Tiffany technique. It involves replacing lead profiles with copper tape. This is a thin tape that is used to cover the edges of all elements. Thanks to this, they can then be welded together using tin to create the final stained glass window.
PK: Are these techniques significantly different from each other?
They are just different. The technique using lead profiles is older. The creation of the Tiffany technique was a kind of evolution in this field. In my opinion, it makes it easier to work with small-sized elements.
PK: Could you tell us what your work process looks like, from the moment the client arrives until the final product is handed over to him?
It depends, because each client is different, each expects something different. First of all, the customer tells me what he would like to order. Does he have any initial idea or inspiration or should I come up with it and design it? First, I talk to the client about the size, base, pattern and complexity of the stained glass window. If a client comes with an idea that is, for example, difficult to implement and I know it won't look good, I try to advise what we can do. Clients usually trust me and rely on me for technical issues, etc., so in such situations we usually slightly modify the original concept. Once we determine what the order involves, the stained glass window is then sketched and drawn so that the client accepts the pattern.
PK: This is a product where it is probably not easy for clients to imagine the final effect of the project, because we have to combine all these elements, see how light affects them, etc.
Yes, that's why when showing the designed pattern to the client, I usually cut it out of the paper on which I paint the pattern. This is a model that helps you imagine what the finished stained glass window will look like.
In such individual orders, the issue of choosing the right color is very important. Glass can have many shades and sometimes you won't find the right one. Sometimes it is a minimal difference and something will no longer fit - it will be too cool or too warm compared to other elements, or simply different than what the customer would like. In the case of individual orders, I show clients the available glass and together we select the shades - if a shade is needed that is not immediately available, I also try to find and import the appropriate glass.
PK: And what happens next? Once we have selected the appropriate glass.
After selecting the glass, we move on to the cutting and grinding phase. We cut out shapes in a glass pane with a knife with a diamond blade and a given fragment breaks off. Interestingly, due to the material being glass, when the elements we want to cut are, for example, round, we do not break off the round element immediately. We cut and break smaller elements around a round shape, which allows us to extract the shape from the surface without breaking it.
When all the shapes needed to create the pattern are cut out of glass and polished, we move on to the next stage of work. As I mentioned earlier, to connect the elements, their edges should be covered with copper tape, thanks to which they can then be welded. Tin is used to connect the elements, which can then be patinated to cover it with color. Such a combined stained glass window is washed after welding and then covered with a patina of a given color - depending on the customer's preferences. I patinate most of the stained glass windows in copper, but they can also be in other colors, such as black. Such stained glass is also polished with polishing paste, which is an additional coating that slows down the oxidation of the weld.
PK: Does the fact that we are talking about the oxidation of the binder mean that such stained glass is not durable?
Both lead and tin oxidize, but it is a very slow process. Of course, despite this, it is worth taking care of such products and securing them in such a way that they can serve as long as possible.
This is a very durable product. If the stained glass window does not have mechanical damage, such a product can last hundreds of years. Of course, such very old stained glass windows will show traces related to the passage of time. A specific residue may appear on the glass - but this can be cleaned. There are people who renovate such old stained glass windows
PK: So patinating and securing the stained glass with polishing paste is the last element of the process?
Yes, this stained glass window is finished and ready to be handed over to the customer.
PK: How long does this whole process take?
This, of course, depends on the complexity of the project. When it comes to the design of a stained glass window, this stage can actually last forever - it's hard for me to average it.
When it comes to creating a specific product, when we have a design, for example, working on a lamp shade, it takes me about a week from the time the customer places the order until the design is ready for collection.
PK: Between all the orders you are working on, do you still have room for experimentation?
If something comes to mind, by all means.
PK: Are there any limitations when designing a pattern due to the stained glass technique?
I try to avoid right angles. A right angle is quite problematic when working with glass, because such a refraction can cause the glass to break beyond the drawn shape - along the lines creating such an angle.
PK: As we know, you have been working for over twenty years. Do you design a new pattern every time, or are there patterns that you have developed and are used many times?
An example of such a stained glass window, the pattern of which I have developed, are angels that I create for several places in Krakow, they can be found, for example, in souvenir shops in the Sukiennice. However, all my products, even those created on the basis of one project, are different from each other and each of them is unique.
PK: Do you have a design or type of product that is your favorite?
I don't think I have a favorite design when it comes to those designed for individual clients. However, I must admit that I have become "acquainted" with these angels, which I do quite often. What's cool is that this project is so specific that when people buy this product, they know it's from me. I also used to make stained glass lanterns and it was also a product that I liked very much. Now they have fallen into the background and I rarely create them - maybe I should change that.
The first product that I was very pleased with was a lamp shade. I remember that I was quite hesitant about taking on this task, because it was the first time I had to create such a three-dimensional object. From today's perspective, it was quite simple, but at the time I had no such experience. It turned out very nice and both the client and I were very pleased with the project. In spatial designs, it is crucial that the flat panels are connected properly - it must be symmetrical and it is quite easy to cause slight shifts. After completing this first spatial order, I started making more such lampshades to become more proficient in combining elements.
PK: What happens if such elements are connected crookedly? Can this be corrected or is it a process that does not forgive mistakes?
Theoretically, this can be improved by unsoldering all the elements and starting over. However, this is often not the best solution because it is simply not profitable. These repairs may take more time than doing it from scratch.
PK: Does such a three-dimensional stained glass window differ in any way from a flat one?
If we are talking about such three-dimensional designs made of stained glass, it is definitely more complicated. The challenge is not only the symmetrical connection of the elements, but also the durability of these connections - otherwise such a structure will not be stable. Sometimes it is also worth additionally strengthening the structure of the product, for example with copper wire or copper sheet, but this is very dependent on the given project.
PK: Coming back to your favorite projects, is there a product to which you are attached and which you do not plan to sell?
Yes. Somehow it turned out that there are actually two, maybe three such products that I take with me every time I move, but somehow I never wanted to part with them.
PK: Speaking about the Tiffany technique, you mentioned that it allows for easier work with small elements. What was the smallest and largest project you have undertaken?
The smallest stained glass window I made was about 7 centimeters, and the largest was less than three meters high.
PK: And what was the largest stained glass window?
It was a stained glass window for a private house near Krakow, which was part of the entrance door.
PK: For this type of project, do you have to go to the place where the stained glass window will be installed to, for example, take accurate measurements?
In this case there was no such need. However, I sometimes went there to write down the measurements, but also to see where it would be, find out what it should look like and advise.
Sometimes it happens that the client has a mistake and imagines it in a certain way, but it may turn out that the specific design does not fit. For example, it may be too light, too dark or simply not suitable for the interior. When selecting stained glass, of course the light that will fall on the stained glass in a given place is also crucial. It is light that plays the most important role. A stained glass window is, in a way, painted with light.
PK: Have you seen any changes in this profession over the years? Maybe the customers have also changed in some way?
I have the impression that in the past there were more projects that were, for example, decorations for the entrance to private houses - now I have fewer such specific projects, I think it is largely related to changes in architectural trends. On the other hand, interest is growing in general - especially among young people. Many clients also visit my studio, often simply out of curiosity. The studio is located on a quite busy street, so the products visible through the window attract the attention of passers-by.
PK: Are these customers from Poland or rather tourists?
Most customers are Poles, but there are also foreign customers. He promotes his works mainly on Facebook, which is run in Polish, so this is probably largely due to this. Foreign clients most often come to me when they pass by and notice my studio.
PK: How do you see the prospects of what you will do over the next 10-20 years?
As for me personally, my business is certainly to some extent dependent on many factors, for example tourism, which has quite a large impact on the number of my clients. Above all, I think it depends on the broader society and the state of our economy in these 10 years - on how many potential customers will be able to afford to purchase such items.
I realize that what I create is a luxury item rather than a necessities, so sometimes sales go better and sometimes worse. This cannot be predicted. But I'd like to be here in ten years and still doing it.
PK: Do you have any motto, any guiding thought related to what you do? Something that maybe motivates you?
I just like doing it. I like sitting here and working - it makes me happy.
PK: Do you have any advice for young creators who would like to work doing what they love?
You need to have a lot of perseverance. Sometimes it's hard to make a living from this kind of work, there are different moments. It takes a lot of patience and perseverance to achieve anything.
PK: Why do you think it is worth choosing craft products?
Because they are unique.
PK: Nothing to add, nothing to take away. Thank you very much for the interview
Me too.
