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Always in fashion, these are perennial favourites!

Glowing Embers - The Product and the Artist

Who is Glass with Class?

Glass with Class began as a cottage industry in 1995, focusing on stained glass installations and three dimensional work. Always eager to explore new avenues, Gail Heinze-Milne soon discovered the world of mosaics and fused glass. The allure of melting several pieces of glass into one was too much to resist, and our first kiln was added to the studio. Gail has been exploring this world of "warm glass" for several years now, and is delighted with the surprises that await her the morning after a night long firing.

After taking early retirement, Gail's husband Sigfried joined her as a full partner. Sig looks after marketing and the needs of the growing customer base, allowing Gail more time to work in the studio and ensuring that our customers are happy. A juried member of the Nova Scotia Designer Craft Council, Gail has participated in juried markets and exhibitions throughout the east. The success of her new jewellery line has led the studio into new markets in New England and Canada.

Gail Heinze-Milne - Glass with Class

What is Dichroic Jewellery?

Although the technology for dichroic glass has been around for some time, it is only within the past ten years that it became available to the art glass industry. Making dichroic glass is a high tech process, involving an electron beam gun and a vacuum chamber- definitely beyond the scope of most glass studios. I purchase my raw glass from Coatings by Sandberg in California. The name "dichroic" comes from the fact that the coated glass reflects one colour, but transmits another. If you hold a piece of green/pink up to the light, you will see green, but if you lay it on something black, it will reflect pink. After fusing, you may end up with teal. Dichroic glass is full of surprises! Because of the vivid colours and sparkle, this glass can compete with natural gemstones in jewellery. In fact, it offers a much wider selection of colours, and can be fused into many different looks. For the glass artist, it provides a never ending source of inspiration.

How do we make Glowing Embers?

Each glowing ember is designed one at a time. A base colour is selected and cut into a pleasing shape. Dichroic glass to complement the base colour is chosen and cut to fit. This may be layered with other dichroic colours or patterns, and is finished with a clear cap resulting in a tiny "sandwich" of glass, which is gingerly placed in the kiln.

When the kiln shelf is full, the glass is fired to 1480 F, at which point the pieces truly are glowing embers of red molten glass. After 15 minutes the kiln is cooled to the correct annealing temperature and held there to remove the stress that could result in breakage. Over the next few hours the glass slowly returns to room temperature.

Upon inspection, some pieces may be ground and fired again until the right effect is achieved. Only the best pieces make it into our line. A tiny groove is ground into the finished piece to hold the wire, and each is hand-wrapped by the artist with sterling or gold-filled wire.

Our jewellery line has been described as "elegant and unique". We avoid the cookie cutter tradition of just cutting up a sheet of dichroic glass into many small pieces insuring your customers will have a piece of jewellery unlike any other.

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