Repost: USGNN "Explosive Opportunities in Decorative Glass"
I was lucky enough to host a fantastic panel of decorative glass professionals:
- Steve O'Hollaren of ICD High Performance Coatings
- Greg Saroka of Goldray
- Mandy Marxen of Dream Walls
- Patricia Linthicum of lookingatglass.com
http://www.usgnn.com/newsexplosive20110914.htm for the original article.
"There are some amazing new trends--trends that are happening in the marketplace," said Kris Vockler of ICD High Performance Coatings who moderated the session. Vockler noted that attendees would learn about this fast-growing segment of the glass market. Some areas covered by the presenters included the range of applications, from spandrel to countertops, trends, market changes and more.
Patricia Linthicum, a former facade engineer and blogger for Decorative Glass magazine, began by talking about trends in decorative glass.
"What makes a trend ... it's different depending on the area," she said. "You have to adapt to the geographic location of the culture," she said, explaining that what's popular in Atlanta, for example, will be different than what's popular in Phoenix. "Trends are created by consumers; consumers want luxury, quality and bespoke ... you want something that makes your home unique."
Mandy Marxen with Dreamwalls was the next presenter. She spoke on "Putting the 'I' in Customization."
"Customization is huge. Decorative glass is the one bright spot in the glass industry in a lot of ways as seeing positive growth," said Marxen who talked about a few different ways decorative glass can be customized" color, texture, printing and shape.
Marxen said that while many projects may have budget constraints, "One jaw-dropping feature can offset simpler finishes in other areas."
Greg Saroka with Goldray Industries was also a presenter.
"I speak with architects all around North America and have noticed some specific trends in decorative glass," said Saroka, who focused much on printing on glass.
"There are a number of ways to put images on glass, but I think digital imaging will soon outpace many of the others ways," said Saroka, who said public art projects are one application type that seems to be growing rapidly.