No. 1 - More than an art glass supply store

Hey party people!

Thanks for reading Lucent Glass' first blog post! Lucent Glass is an art glass supply store and so much more! We work with each of our customers to help bring their ideas to life in glass. We opened in December of 2019. You are probably thinking "what a time to open a brand new retail business." We faced a lot of challenges but nonetheless, we persevered through it all and came out stronger than ever! We opened our online retail store and now successfully ship all supplies including glass across Canada and the USA offering flat and free shipping rates.

Check out our art glass on our website to see our ever growing inventory of Oceanside G&T, Paul Wissmach, Youghiogheny, Kokomo and more! Keep reading to find out how we got started and what inspires us…

Who are we?
Lucent Glass is owned by one passionate female entrepreneur, Jessica Simmons.

How did Jessica get started?
“I opened the store after the supply store in my area pulled me aside and told me they were retiring. I bought their work benches, tools, glass racks, and had a vision of what I wanted and how I would make it happen. I was looking for a career change and always saw something more grand for myself. Maybe I didn't realize it at the time, but the idea of being an entrepreneur was pulling me in. Owning a business is very hard but I never feel like I am wasting my days. The possibilities in business are infinite and it is the ultimate opportunity to be creative. I remember it was summer of 2019 when my local supply shop told me they were planning to retire that December. They knew I was interested in starting a business and potentially picking up where they left off when they planned to do so. Starting a business in glass felt natural for me. It didn’t feel hard or forced. I wasn’t scared. Everything just happened so smoothly. I really just let my intuition guide me on this one because I never once questioned what I was doing. The commercial space came up for rent when a tattoo artist wanted to move her practice into her home. So, there it was - a clear-as-day opportunity sitting right in front of me and I took it. I spent every single dollar I had on opening the store. I was, and still am, completely invested.

I created art projects as a form of meditation in motion to foster healing within my own life. Movement of the body is very engaging but when it came to meditation sitting quietly in one spot felt forced. I love the way that creating allows my mind and hands to be immersed in a project where at the end I would have the physical fruits of my labour in addition to a calm mind. In this case the outcome was a gorgeous, colourful and sophisticated stained glass window. Creating art glass windows is where my passion lies. I feel like such a badass every time I build a window. Stained glass is the perfect combination of construction and art. Through creating I feel peace and found purpose. Creating is incredibly healing. I lean into art when I am healing and I want to share this realization I had with others. I believe that all humans are innately creative creatures whether or not we choose to see it. We create everyday. We create our lives and the world around us. Our ability to create channels our focus which connects the mind and body in a meditative state. Our minds are always working tirelessly to bring our visions and desires into the physical world. In a visual art such as stained glass there is a beautiful connection between the mind and body.”

What do we do at Lucent Glass?

At Lucent Glass we are dedicated to helping our customers and students with their projects. There are a lot of different materials and glass styles to choose from when project planning. We are happy to help you think through the design and find the materials that would be best suited for your project so you can feel confident in your pursuit.  It brings us joy to see our customers and students be successful in their projects.

Our store focuses on retail supplies, educational sessions and custom work. We import a lot of our supplies to stock our store from various suppliers all over North America and Europe. We carry supplies to make stained glass windows in both copper foil and lead, fused glass art supplies and mosaic art supplies. Almost all of our inventory is available on our website. We have even more offerings in store such as sheet glass offcuts and assorted crates from various manufacturers. 

We enjoy bringing in supplies that you may not find in another shop. In addition to your stained glass basics we also carry brands like Silberschnitt, Esca Tech d-lead products, Mac Glue, Creative Paradise Inc, trichroic glass and CBS dichroic glass!

We have just started offering studio memberships where you can rent bench space and have access to our stained glass tools. This is how we are working towards our future goal of offering in house studios for artists to work in a space dedicated to glass. The idea is that artists will be able to increase their offerings by expanding their studios outside of their homes, and by being able to bring their clients to a professional space dedicated to glass. Our wide variety of art glass will be available for the artist and their clients to choose from for their project. We want to support our customers in growing their art glass business and by purchasing our memberships you are helping us build towards a bigger vision of the art glass community in Guelph!

If you are interested in getting a custom window done for your home please reach out to us via our contact page on our website to get started. You can view our gallery here. We are known for our attention to detail and have built windows of all sizes and complexities. We are happy to work with you on improving any space with stained glass! We also offer quality art glass repairs.

Where are we located?
Lucent Glass and Art is located at 82 Yarmouth Street in downtown Guelph, Ontario on the corner of Yarmouth and Woolwich. The shop owners and Downtown DGBA designated this area of downtown “Woolwich Village,” a quaint area of downtown with exceptional must visit shops and services. While you are here grab a warm bevie from Sunday General while you explore the shops of Woolwich village. 

While you are here you can also visit:
The Sage Soap Company - All natural body products
Millennium Clothing Company - Women's clothing store
The Wooly - Guelph's favourite pub!
Blue Iris Pottery Studio - Handmade pottery
Outpost Vintage - Vintage clothing
Blooms and Flora - Flowers and home goods

How do you get started?
We offer all of the glass art supplies you will need to get started in stained glass. Lucent Glass is a one stop shop for all your art glass needs! You can purchase your beginners kit here or consider joining one of our workshops (more on that below). Once you have understanding on how to use the tools you can purchase one of our memberships to keep making glass art!

Take one of our workshops!
We suggest taking our one day workshop and a five-week course to get you started. Our workshops are designed to give you all the skills needed to make stained glass on your own. Our one day workshop is geared towards making smaller pieces while our five-week course is geared towards window building. You can see our available workshop offerings here. We have a welcoming atmosphere that accommodates all types of learning styles! We have taught people of all ages and walks of life. Everyone is welcome at Lucent Glass. Thank you for considering taking one of our workshops. We are eager to meet you!

See you at the studio!

With gratitude,

Jessica Simmons
Owner of Lucent Glass and Art