Our Process for Making Glass Pulls and Knobs

We begin with large sheets of glass that are specifically designed to be used in a kiln. All glass that is heated in a kiln needs to have the same coefficient of expansion. In other words, it needs to expand and contract at the same rate, or else it will not survive the firing process.

We start by creating a particular design, and then we hand cut individual pieces of glass and arrange them to fit that design. We then take the product and carefully place it on a kiln shelf and transport it to the kiln. Next, we begin to slowly fire it to approximately 1500 degrees, fusing the individual pieces of glass together.

We then gradually cool the kiln back down to room temperature, taking special care not to "shock" the glass, which can occur if a specific firing schedule is not strictly adhered to. A critical juncture in the cooling process is the annealing stage. This occurs between approximately 960 degrees and 750 degrees, and is the area in which any stress in the glass is relieved.

Lastly, we carefully attach a solid brass base to each piece of glass, utilizing a specific glue that bonds glass to brass. The entire process can take 24 hours or more, in addition to the time spent creating and preparing the design, but we feel the end product is well worth the wait!