A Tour of Rohlf's Stained and Leaded Glass Studio
Skylands, my home on Mt. Desert Island in Maine, is a massive granite structure that has many, many large and beautiful leaded glass windows. Unfortunately, last October during Hurricane Sandy, one of those windows blew open, breaking two panes of glass. There was a local artisan who used to fix my leaded glass issues from time to time, but I found out that she retired and I knew of no one else in that area to call upon. So, I had the window removed from the house, crated up, and driven to my home in Bedford, New York because we found a place in nearby Mt. Vernon, where it could be fixed. Rohlf's Stained and Leaded Glass Studio has been owned and operated by 3 generations of family members for more than 90 years. It is one of the largest stained glass window firms of its kind and has completed many major window installations worldwide. After touring their studio, I realized that my two broken panes would be absolutely no challenge for the highly skilled craftsmen who work at Rohlf's Studio.
1 Rohlf's Stained and Leaded Glass Studio operates out of this 15,000 square foot, solar powered facility in Mt. Vernon, New York.
2 For three generations, Rohlf's has been creating and conserving stained and leaded glass art worldwide.
3 This is Gregory Rohlf. Greg works alongside his father, Peter, and his brother, Hans, who was named after his grandfather who started this business in 1920.
4 There's a lot going on in this very busy workroom.
5 This is the window from Skylands, which was crated up nicely for the drive down from Maine.
6 Two panes on this large leaded-glass window were broken and in need of repair.
7 Greg showed me the perfect glass for the repair - reproduction glass with slight distortions to match the rest of the window.
8 I was given a little tour of the studio and was told that these restored panels are from the Yale Repertory Theatre on the Yale University campus. Rohlf's has done a lot of glass restoration for Yale's beautiful windows.
9 This is Tony waterproofing a window from the Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
10 The waterproofing putty is a special concoction that also strengthens the window.
11 Another example of waterproofing - All excess putty will be removed and will be undetectable when the project is complete.
12 This craftsman is working on a window for Stickley furniture.
13 Soldering another window for Stickley
14 More Stickley panes ready for delivery
15 This is another fine example of a cabinet door for Stickley.
16 This craftsman is attaching reinforcement bars, or rebars, which are highly recommended on all leaded glass windows that are used in a moving unit, such as doors and windows. Without a rebar, over time the window can bow outward, breaking the glass.
17 This is Patrick who is piecing together a stained glass panel. The metal strips are called lead came, which has an H-shape. The glass sections fit snugly into the grooves of the came. Came comes in many widths.
18 This fellow is soldering and securing the lead.
19 When taking a stained glass window apart for restoration, it's absolutely necessary to have an exact diagram of the original design.
20 These are called cartoons and there are many hanging on the walls from previous jobs. The cartoons are made by laying a sheet of paper over the window before taking it apart and rubbing with a special pencil.
21 There is a large inventory of stained glass.
22 Here is Greg inspecting a piece of glass made by Fremont Glass in Seattle, WA.
23 This is Brian, who has worked at Rohlf's for more than 30 years. He is a historian of stained glass.
24 Brian is working on the Yale Repertory Theatre job.
25 Using a cartoon, Brian knows exactly how the glass fits back together.
26 This stained glass is in obvious need of restoration. The old lead is carefully removed and the glass pieces taken apart.
27 The glass pieces are washed in a soapy solution.
28 After cleaning the glass, Vincent places the pieces on the cartoon to begin the reassembly process.
29 Stained glass was often hand-painted and baked in kilns and Rohlf's has artists who can replicate pieces like this one.
30 Rohlf's Studio restores many church and cathedral windows. Broken glass is either meticulously repaired or replaced with a close match.
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Isn't it good to know that the old artesian skills havn't been forgotten and that they are still being taught and used today.
Posted by: Jude Mayall | February 14th, 2013 at 12:49 am
Martha,
This was a great tour. Thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | February 14th, 2013 at 1:58 am
It struck me that you were not showing any glass being cut.... and then it finally dawned on me that restoration is more about the lead than the glass!!
Wonder about the dark gloves that they are wearing... seem to help with the little cuts that are so hard on hands when working with glass. It has been years and years since I have worked with glass, but instantly can see the last project on the shelf "waiting" to be finished.
Posted by: Susan | February 14th, 2013 at 4:11 am
Thank you so much for this timely post on glass, There is a local business Leaded Glass by Linda Gail that has done works of art that many treasure here. Dakota prairies still have many farmhouses that were delivered from mail order systems and constructed by home owners. Last week, while at my uncles, I took time to enjoy original wood and glass that have stood the test of time here.
Posted by: ann | February 14th, 2013 at 5:31 am
Amazing artistry!
Posted by: Holiday Baker Man | February 14th, 2013 at 6:23 am
Martha, thank you for introducing us to this wonderful studio. In this day and age it's getting rare to find craftsman skills handed down multi generations. The whole process of repairing and restoring leaded and stained glass windows is fascinating. I love the diagrams made of the windows called cartoons, they look like works of art themselves!
Posted by: Cindy F | February 14th, 2013 at 7:42 am
I am always interested when you take us on a tour. I love the places that you explore. I think you should visit the Stickley Factory. Govenor Cuomo should hire you to do the "I Love New York" commercials and you can talk about all the great places you go to. Thank you for always sharing. You are the Greatest!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Leo Stroessenreuther | February 14th, 2013 at 8:55 am
Hi Martha, Happy Valentine's Day to you, your family, your animals, and your MSLO employees plus all of your followers! Certainly enjoyed your fun tweets last night and all of you must have had a wonderful evening! Today's blog is another fascinating subject I have never seen before even where I live! I had all of my windows replaced specially by Sea Tac Airport many years ago to help cut back the loud noise from the planes flying over my house! They even added more to the ceilings and it was all free! So sorry you had 2 of the panes of your leaded glass windows broken by Hurricane Sandy! How great you were able to take them to Rohlf's Stained and Leaded Glass Studio in Mt. Vernon, NY! We have a Mt. Vernon here in Washington north of Seattle! Rohlf's Studio was a perfect place to have your 2 panes repaired and I'll bet they look great! That group who works there sure is fantastic and all of these photos are so nice to see and learn about stained and leaded glass windows! Loved seeing photo #22 with the beautiful blue glass from Fremont Glass in Seattle! Sure do love your blogs, Martha! Hope you have a great day and enjoy Valentine's Day! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | February 14th, 2013 at 9:15 am
Isn't it wonderful that there is a reproduction of the old-style distorted glass. A friend of ours purchased a farm house that still had all its original windows. They kept them all. I love driving past their home to see their window glass twinkling in the sunshine.
Sharon
Posted by: Sharon Weinmann | February 14th, 2013 at 9:36 am
So beautiful, I love seeing inside artists' work spaces. I have always wondered what the process of making stained glass is like.
Posted by: Kristina | February 14th, 2013 at 9:40 am
Loved the tour! So interesting!
Posted by: JenM | February 14th, 2013 at 10:03 am
Hi Martha,
It's always so nice to read about third generation family businesses especiallly when they are like Rohlf's - a one-of-its-kind stained glass window firm. Many thanks for sharing!
Happy Valentines Day
xo
Lisa
Posted by: Lisa Gordon-Miller | February 14th, 2013 at 10:23 am
Martha, happy Valentine's Day. Many people have stopped using the shutters on their windows. This is one of the best ways to protect windows, especially when closing a home up at the end of the season. Love your photographs.
Posted by: Jim North | February 14th, 2013 at 10:55 am
Dear Martha,
Stained glass is such a beautiful art form. My church has many gorgeous stained glass windows and I love to look at them; especially a window that shows Jesus holding a baby sheep. Thank you for another lovely and informative post. And, Happy Valentine's Day!!!
Posted by: Cindy M | February 14th, 2013 at 11:32 am
Hi Martha,
This is a very interesting procedure. It seems similar to the making of a Tiffany lamp except for the metal strips; although I see they are also secured by soldering. I remember a show about your brother’s (Eric), Tiffany lamps. I was impressed with that as well as with his woodworking projects. How nice that you have so many talented people in your family! I'm glad you got your window fixed - you always take good care of Skylands. Trish
Posted by: Trish | February 14th, 2013 at 12:02 pm
Hi, Martha,
How interesting! I enjoyed learning about the craft and seeing the steps to the process; however, what I seem to enjoy most were the cartoons of the previous projects. They were absolutely stunning!
Thank you, Martha, for this blog. I never fail to learn something new and to enjoy where you take us!
Posted by: Bobbie | February 14th, 2013 at 12:29 pm
Thank you for the tour, Martha!
Posted by: Marcia Robin | February 14th, 2013 at 1:02 pm
Wonderful tour!! Looking forward to your next "tour." So informative.
Posted by: Mary M. | February 14th, 2013 at 1:03 pm
Hi Martha,
How wonderful tour. The studio is very interesting, as well as the job...
Posted by: Maria Lúcia | February 14th, 2013 at 2:02 pm
Great blog! It's good to know that there are people here in America still practicing these type of artisan skills. Martha, I miss all the 'tours' of places like this that you used to show on you TV show - the workshops, tours, gardens and farms. I will never forget the episode of your show when you gave us a tour of the Steinway piano factory - really interesting and impressive and should be used in schools as an example of American craftsmanship.
Posted by: Barbara Chasse | February 14th, 2013 at 7:11 pm
I'm late, but Happy Valentine's, anyway.
I've always wanted to make a stained glass piece, and this is very interesting. Thank you for taking us with you on the tour.
Will we see the repaired window when it's finished?
Gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | February 14th, 2013 at 8:52 pm
Thank you for posting these photos. I have shared them on the Stained Glass of America fb page https://www.facebook.com/SGAA1
Rohlf's has been an active and long time supporter of the SGAA.
Posted by: Laura Goff Parham | February 15th, 2013 at 7:44 am
Just great that you were able to find such skilled artisans to assist in your glass restoration. Such interesting work happens there!
Posted by: Sherey | February 15th, 2013 at 2:44 pm
Fascinating piece.....this would be a great story for the magazine. You could feature 2-3 stained glass studios in the US and show howthey restore museums and churches works of art. Love reading about this Thanks Martha!
Posted by: Colleen | February 15th, 2013 at 10:44 pm
Thanks for the photos, its comforting to see these guys keeping the art-from alive
thank you
Posted by: Tasha | February 16th, 2013 at 5:21 pm
I love stained glass windows and have always found them super fascinating. Thanks for sharing the process.
Posted by: Laura Dembowski | February 17th, 2013 at 4:05 pm
I love these kind of posts! I love it when you celebrate rare craftsmanship and small business continuity. Your enthusiasm for finding just the right vendor is so fun.
Posted by: Karen | February 17th, 2013 at 11:21 pm
Martha, Thanks for the interesting photos! If you are ever in Salt Lake City, consider visiting the Union Pacific building in the afternoon to enjoy the stained glass windows. They are amazing!
Posted by: ValerieInSLC | February 26th, 2013 at 10:34 pm