Design Options...

There are many options when designing with fused glass tile.

• Size:  We can produce panels up to 24" x 40".  This includes triangles, circles and other geometric shapes.  We can pre-cut tiles to fit around obstacles you may have, such as power outlets, buttons, or faucets.  Our fused glass runs about 1/4" thick, varying as much as 3/32" from that (5/32" to 11/32") depending on design elements and technique required to yield a particular result.  If an exact thickness is a requirement, make sure to let us know.  Note that it is risky to attempt to cut or grind glass tiles without the proper glass-working equipment and that tile-working equipment can all to easily shatter the glass.

• Transparent vs. Opaque: Transparent for back lit applications like windows or glass block wall accents and opaque base glass everywhere else.

• Color:  Fusible art glass is available many colors.  See our galleries to see some of them, if you don't see what you want, let us know, we have a large selection available.  Our studio has over 100 choices of color, and our suppliers are close by.  Dichroic, and iridescent, on clear, black and textured surfaces add interesting possibilities.  If you have a color you'd like us to match, send us a sample and we'll see what we can do.

• Design Elements: Unless a tile is a single color, it has at least one design element.  This can be as simple as a single contrasting square, or numerous different colored and sized rectangles.  We can use glass saws to cut out more complex shapes.  Glass "frit" (essentially broken glass) can be arranged in a mosaic style and dimensionally fused.  And glass powders can be layered to give an entirely different effect.

• Design Element Complexity: Meaning how the design elements are created, whether just simple straight cuts, or whether they require use of our glass ring or band saw, or if we need to outsource the design to have the dichroic laser etched or sand blasted.  These are the factors that generally affect the amount of time and expense required to create each tile.

• Dichroic Glass Design Elements:  Available in patterns limited only by the imagination (and, unfortunately, wallet :) Dichroic glass can be layered to add amazing extra depth.  With laser etching of the dichroic as an available option, your logo, can also be part of the design.  Dichroic glass is commonly used with a black base to maximize impact, but since it transmits a different color then it reflects, a clear base can be interesting too.  Use of dichroic glass, by far, adds the most cost as it is quite expensive for us to buy (about 7x more then other glasses), but it's depth, rich colors, and never diminishing brilliance cannot be duplicated!

• Dimensional vs. Full Fusing:  "Dimensional" fusing temperatures allow design elements to stand in relief against the base.  Depending on how long the glass remains at this temperature determines how rounded the corners of the design elements and how far the elements are driven into the base.  "Full" fusing has occurred if the design elements are driven completely into the base leaving a flat surface.  The corners of full fused tiles are somewhat rounded, so you may want us to grind the tiles to make the corners less round.  Let us know your preference.

• Surface Texture:  Coarse frits, AKA broken glass of almost any color, combined with "dimensional" fusing temperatures, give a bumpy, yet smooth texture to the glass.

• You can go with either the no extra charge "natural / fresh out of the kiln" look or to achieve an almost perfect square edge tile, we can grind each side to a sharp edge & re-fire in the kiln to fire-polish the tiles.  The most commonly used is "natural" as it typically yields tiles ready for grouting, especially when a "dimensional" fusing is performed .  However, if the requested tiles are to be "fully fused" (see above) then the corners will be more rounded. This is something to consider when combining our tiles with the typically square store-bought tiles, so you may want us to grind them "square" and fire polish to achieve the desired result.  Let us know how you'll be using the tiles and we'll make a recommendation.

• Multiple Firings: Some designs may require multiple firing to achieve the desired effect.  We can also create full-fused design elements that are then fused to a base.  See the descriptions in our galleries that mention multiple firings to see the effects achieved.