After a two-decade transformation, the stained glass industry has found the delicate balance between making art and making money
Twenty years ago business partners Alia Youssef and Aleya Montasser began importing sheets of colored glass, the material for what had become something of a lost art form in Egypt: stained glass. People in Egypt knew about stained glass, having admired it in monuments all over Cairo, but few understood how to make the glass or use the specialized equipment required for modern manufacturing.
In 1987, Youssef and Montasser founded Universal Arts and Crafts, the beginnings of a niche industry in Egypt for stained glass products, as well as the larger pieces used in public, private and religious establishments across Egypt.
Prior to the establishment of Universal, colored glass was only available from markets selling the remains of demolished buildings. There were no whole pieces of glass, just broken sheets for salvage. Two decades later, after establishing production facilities and utilizing careful marketing strategies, the stained glass market has significantly expanded and, while remaining a niche, employs as many as 1,500 people, according to Youssef.
What can now be called the modern stained glass industry began with the establishment of Universal, which imports the material and equipment to supply the workshops and craftsmen based in Cairo, Alexandria and Upper Egypt who make the stained glass products. Universal does not deal directly with the customer. Instead, workshops receive commissions that range from lamps, doors and windows to large projects like domes and ceilings for clients including hotels, churches and mosques, as well as individuals looking for something unique for their homes. Glass supplied by Universal has graced the windows of the Four Seasons Hotel in Giza, the GW Marriot dome (an imitation of Les Galeries La Fayette in Paris), the Sofitel Heliopolis and Al-Nur mosque and the Coptic Orthodox Church, both in Abassiya.
Universal's job not only involves importing sheets of colored glass and equipment to supply the workshops, but also helping the craftsmen learn more about their art. It is this professional knowledge that endears Universal to its clients, says Youssef.
"[Workshops] come to me for advice, so I must be educated about what I am selling. I must give honest and professional opinions because it is a building material and should last a long time," she says.
Working with Color and Light
Creating a stained glass object is time-consuming and labor intensive because every piece is handmade. The price of an object depends on the number of glass pieces and amount of detail in it. The price of a sheet of glass, which is sold by the square meter, ranges from LE 300-600, though size gives no indication of the final price a small object could be more expensive than a big one.
Hazem Shoukry, owner of Hazem Shoukry Designs, which buys supplies from Universal to manufacture stained glass products, explains that an expensive 'Tiffany' lamp (see box text, page 64) made of 2,000 pieces and a 24-inch diameter could cost LE 7,000, whereas a 10-inch lamp with 50 or 60 pieces would cost around LE 600.
In the stained glass industry, a high level of expertise is vital. This is especially the case for larger, functional stained glass projects such as domes or large windows that must withstand the elements and time. Correct techniques, materials and reinforcements must be used to ensure that the glass doesn't collapse, which has happened on a number of occasions in private homes, according to Youssef.
Correct procedure begins with choosing the right design, which must have well-proportioned and accurately-drawn lines. If it is a landscape design for example, lines should not be stiff but curved and soft. Once the design is finished, two patterns are made. One is kept whole for reference while the other is cut into small pieces, with each assigned a color, number and letter.
Then comes selection of the glass. There are several types of glass, some made particularly for the popular Tiffany designs. Shoukry explains that specialized stained glass companies manufacture different types of glass sheets. There are only a few of these companies, mainly in the United States, France and Germany, with a scattering in the Far East. According to Shoukry, the older, more established companies are usually a family business with secrets of the trade handed down through generations.
Not all glass sheets are the same quality, however. Shoukry explains that no single glass sheet is like any other, even though they may be the same color and manufactured at the same time. A good sheet, he says, shows that it is handmade by the translucent quality it has when held up to the light.
Some sheets are still made using an old mouth-blowing method and contain oval bubbles known as seeds. A poorer quality sheet would have more repeated patterns in its streaks giving the impression of being machine rather than handmade.
Shoukry says that even though some companies offer guidance by selecting certain sheets for certain subjects, experience and personal taste on the part of the artist are crucial ingredients in the manufacturing process.
For example, for a Tiffany design that includes roses, choosing the light and dark streaks in a single small piece to be cut out of the larger glass sheet impacts on the final image of the rose. To achieve a three-dimensional effect, pieces with light and dark shades in the center or lower part of the rose must be carefully placed. Once in place the final image should let different amounts of light through giving depth to the different pieces of glass and to the final overall image.
For larger projects the procedure becomes trickier. To produce the GW Marriot dome in the hotel's clubhouse, Shoukry explains that he used a mold. The glass was then cut to smaller pieces to take the curved shape of the dome as opposed to being cut into larger pieces, which would have given sharp angles. Molds are also used with smaller objects such as lamps to give different kinds of shapes and effects.
To install the dome, which measured 230 x 130 centimetres, Shoukry explains that he had to make reinforcements with steel bars from the outside. He says that this technique does not interfere with the design or final look of the dome. It is actually a sixteenth century technique that was used in churches with long, high windows.
Shoukry is also credited with the stained glass work in the Sonesta Hotel VIP lounge and the large round stained glass medallion of the Four Seasons in Giza, which measures five meters in diameter.
Fine Cracks in the Industry
Shoukry, who began his stained glass career 20 years ago under Youssef's wing, says the industry back then was a collection of "unnamed businesses." Now, instead of picking up broken pieces from markets, he runs a stained glass workshop, buying equipment and glass from Universal. In fact, it was through Youssef that he got his first break with the commission of a Tiffany stained glass window.
Reflecting on the industry, Shoukry says he has met plenty of challenges over the last two decades. At one point he even sold his car and first workshop to buy a retail space. "Having a shop provided a quicker turnover, by making Tiffany lamps and displaying them as opposed to windows or other projects that can be commissioned but not displayed," he says.
However, despite the two-decade expansion of the industry, Shoukry sees stained glass as a limited field. The high price of stained glass means that it remains a product for the wealthy, with restricted demand in Egypt. Also, the range of objects that can be produced is limited, with cash flow remaining slow as commissions take a long time to finish.
In direct contact with clients, Shoukry says that "one of the ongoing challenges is dealing with the mindset of others." What he means is that sometimes clients ask for commissions that are not architecturally appropriate for their houses and need to be convinced to change some of their ideas.
He also believes that as much as the public needs a better understanding of stained glass, one of the biggest challenges is combining art and business it is the designers and artists that need to be educated about the business.
"When I started making stained glass objects it was a one man show but as the business started to grow and commissions became larger I needed to run it as a business with proper management. That meant hiring the right people, not just with the know-how but with the right personality," says Shoukry. "I must upgrade the mindset of my employees so they proceed on professional levels. They must commit to a system, respect deadlines, and value teamwork."
It is also these employees especially his designers that are the strength of Shoukry's business. Even though he hires fine arts graduates, he trains them in all steps of production, which includes cutting, drawing and picking the glass. Not surprisingly he explains, "[my designers] are the pillars of my production. They not only understand me from a glance but could also understand my unfinished scribbles."
Beauty with a Price
Both Universal and Shoukry Designs have reached a plateau after a peak in sales during the 1990s. Despite running at full capacity, neither of the companies wish to expand due to increasing costs, yet at the same time they continue to invest in marketing.
Youssef initially began marketing efforts by putting on demonstrations about how to make objects from colored glass at colleges of applied arts, clubs, community centers such as the Community Service Association in Maadi and charities such as the Lions Club. Now marketing is more focused on participation in glass exhibitions and Interbuild, an annual trade show for building materials held in Egypt.
Universal has also seen its fair share of competition over two decades. Youssef believes that in a market where the book of clients remains as thin as the sheets of glass her company is selling, she and her partner must work hard to keep ahead and ward off competitors by following a strict policy of discretion about resources and business procedures.
She also keeps an eye on the market and what it needs. "A balance of colored glass sheets must be maintained so diligence and long term planning are vital," she says. This means that, for example, if a certain color of glass is missing the commission stops and work is delayed until the correct color is imported.
Shoukry Designs, on the other hand, markets in major interior decoration magazines in Egypt and international publications such as Selection and Image. Shoukry says that after advertising in American interior design magazines, "people approached me from the US because I offer quality for half the price."
Shoukry's strategy to address the limited customer base and remedy cash flow issues was to start a side business in marble by saving money made from stained glass commissions. Moving past stained glass and marble, Shoukry has also started working with fired glass. Using plain white glass and powdered oxides, fired glass costs much more than stained glass. The oxides are expensive and each color is fired differently. Also artists painting on the glass must be highly trained to obtain quality results.
Working in a free zone, Shoukry does not pay taxes or customs, helping to keep costs down. He also exports stained glass lamps to the US, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and is working on extending his exports to France, a strategy that allows him to bypass the demand limitations of the Egyptian market. However his real vision for the future is mass-producing Tiffany lamps to make them affordable for all.
Shoukry, however, does not measure his success by the size of his expansions or financial gains. "When I walk into a house, people trust my judgment to the extent that I could change their architectural plans completely," says Shoukry, who believes that working with appreciative clients who would trust and pay for his services remains the most fulfilling part of his job.
A Glimpse at the Glass
There are two types of stained glass: Lead and resin. Lead glass is made of glass from cathedrals or antique glass. Using old-world techniques that are only imitated today retains some of the glass's qualities. Resin glass as its name indicates is made by mixing resins with different oxides to attain certain colors to look like lead glass. Resin glass is often used for the production of larger stained glass projects.
Different companies have different ways of making glass. Whereas some may stick to old techniques that depend on blowing and a physical effort, others have combined old techniques with modern ones to attain new dimensions.
One piece of glass absorbs different amounts of light because of the different color streaks in it. Adjusting the density of the glass attains the translucent quality of stained glass.
Tiffany's Lamps
Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848 -1933) started out as a painter with an interest in glass making. Not satisfied with the fine glass in the market, he started making his own glass from cheap jelly jars and bottles leaving impurities in. Best known for his windows and lamps, he also designed glass mosaics, blown glass, ceramics, jewelry, enamels and metal works. Tiffany established a factory in Queens, New York, in 1893 and produced his trademark favrile, a term derived from French meaning handmade. Tiffany in his own words describes favrile glass as deeply toned colors like the wings of certain American butterflies, the necks of pigeons and peacocks and the wing covers of various beetles. The Tiffany studios remained in business until 1932.
By May Kaddah
© Business Today Egypt 2008
