The glass used in stained/leaded glass is manufactured by specialist companies and comes in a plethora of colors, patterns, textures and styles. It is silica-based and, if colored, done so with various mineral and other pigments.

Here are its basic categories, each of which contains a myriad of varieties.

CATHEDRAL GLASS – This is the name given to glass that is basically transparent. It is usually colored. This is the most common type of art glass used in stained glass.

OBSCURE GLASS – This is the name given to glass that is opaque. It has various sub-categories, ranging from completely opaque to relatively translucent. It too is usually colored.

TEXTURED GLASS – This is the name given to glass that has a texture to it, whether tactile or only visual. It can be transparent or opaque. Some are not even colored but clear. Some textured glass is smooth to the touch with the texture being only visual, some you can feel the texture with your hand.

An interesting fact: Did you know that actual gold is used in most warm colored (i.e., red, yellow, etc.) glass to give it its color?

We possess samples of all sorts of cathedral, obscure and textured glass and can show these to prospective clients, as well as replicate them in renderings for commissioned projects.