Flickinger Glassworks Newsletter
Our brief newsletter about Red Hook, Brooklyn...
and other people, places & things we think you should know about.

Welcome to the June edition.

This month we spotlight some ornamental approaches to glass and Charles Flickinger makes some new friends in the neighborhood.
What's New at Flickinger Glassworks
Charles Flickinger sharing a glimpse of new wall art.

Video Credit: Randy Duchaine
Lately we’ve been having a lot of fun concocting some lively, geometric-patterned glass wall murals that can be hung indoors or outside.

Playful and decorative, we fabricate these modernist wall hangings by fusing colored glass disks onto pencil-rod steel armatures, allowing for limitless configurations of color, shapes and size. A 2x3 foot unit secured to the wall with our black-smithed patinated hangers looks eye-catching. Or they can be combined as interlocking units and color-coded to suit our client’s palette. Under certain lighting and hanging conditions, the glass casts multi-colored reflections, giving it further dimension.
Charles pictured with new wall art (left); Glass mural (right)
If you’d like to check out some of our other decorative glass forays, we’ve bound one saucy glass wall hanging with leather straps and rivets. Our contemporary antique mirrors — which were kiln-formed on old iron sheets — resemble topographic maps with shimmering hills and valleys and blistering, bubbling surfaces. We’ve embellished tableware with enamels and gold leaf and given some glass vessels an earthenware appearance using glass gravel and threads.

We like to think of Flickinger Glassworks as a glass laboratory. Every day brings opportunities to re-create old glass bending techniques or try something altogether new.
Antique mirror (left); Tableware (right)

Photo Credit: Randy Duchaine
A Paradise for Cyclists
The Paradise crew introducing themselves and their bikes.

Video Credit: Randy Duchaine
Day or evening, the garage door at 130 Pioneer Street in Red Hook is often swung open exposing a handful of people bent over Harley Davidson motorcycles in various states of disrepair. On Friday nights, in particular, there might be 5 or 6 guys tinkering away. Their muted music and friendly banter drifts out, infusing the scene with good vibrations.

Charles Flickinger, who’s been walking past the garage for years, recently stopped in to say hello. He learned that it’s dubbed the Paradise Motorcycle Garage by Jesse Donaldson who rents the space. Jesse grew up in Stillwater, MN where he rebuilt motorcycles with his dad who participated in a form of off-road motorcycle racing called motocross. His mom also rides a 2009 Harley Davidson Sportster which Jesse recently restored. She uses it every Saturday to rumble up to her local farmer’s market.

When Jesse isn’t teaching robotics to teenagers, he is usually found at the Paradise retooling Harleys or welcoming other motorcycle enthusiasts. As he stresses in this video, he considers this a community space. So, if you are interested in motorcycles or need help rebuilding one, you might check it out. Click here and you’ll see — these bikers couldn’t be nicer.
Glass with Panache
Lisa Stimpson explains her technique.

Video Credit: Randy Duchaine
Verre églomisé is a specialized decorative glass technique that involves coating the reverse side of glass with delicate gold or silver metal leaf to give it a mirror finish, then etching patterns and pictures into it. The result can be shimmering, intricate, elegant, mysterious and luxurious looking.

Lisa Stimpson, whose studio is located in Red Hook, is an expert at it. You’ll find her signature verre églomisé creations in hotels in Dubai & London, restaurants in Hong Kong & Berlin, and elsewhere around the world.

Lisa began her career as a clothing designer on Martha’s Vineyard. She owned the couture shop, Artemisia, located in Edgarstown. Lately she’s also become passionate about incorporating hand-dyed silk, printed fabrics and chrome prints into her process — laminating them between glass. Here she explains her process.

Trading Martha’s Vineyard for Red Hook, Lisa finds inspiration in her waterfront studio on the Beard Street pier. When the sun is reflected in the water causing it to sparkle and glitter, it’s not unlike the effect her verre églomisé has on glass.

Go to LisaStimpson.com to learn more. 
Loews New Orleans (left); The Chancery Court Rosewood (right)
If you'd like to learn more about Flickinger Glassworks, visit our website at flickingerglassworks.com.