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'Jewels' of Glass: Salem Stained Glass, Winston-Salem glass artist create works to tap into upscale residential market
Journal Photo by Jennifer Rotenizer
Brad Brown (left) and Al Priest, the co-owners of Salem Stained Glass in East Bend, show some of their works that feature Biblical themes.
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Published: June 14, 2009
EAST BEND
Al Priest isn't sure whether to credit brainstorming or divine inspiration for a local artistic collaboration that could be worth millions of dollars in annual sales.
Priest, a co-owner of Salem Stained Glass Inc. in East Bend, is just grateful for the opportunity to work with internationally acclaimed artist Jon Kuhn on a high-end collection called Kuhn Sacred Glass.
Kuhn, a Winston-Salem artist, works with cold glass -- so called because no heat is used to create the pieces. His art is featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Carnegie Museum, White House Permanent Collection and National Museum of American Art, as well as international museums.
What makes Kuhn's artwork stand out is that he takes the cold glass and "cuts, polishes and fuses it into a myriad of shapes from the inside out," according to his Web site.
The result is artwork that sparkles as brilliantly as a diamond.
"In the long run, adding Jon Kuhn's brilliant work to stained-glass windows may prove to be as ground-breaking to our industry as John La Farge's invention of opalescent glass," Priest said.
Salem Stained Glass' artwork consists primarily of crosses and other Biblical characters and scenes, typically displayed in window panels.
The artwork can be found in churches throughout the Triad and nationwide. Some churches, such as Ardmore Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, even customize their shape and look of their projects for the panels.
"We've never counted how many pieces we've made," Priest said. "We just know it's in the thousands."
Where Kuhn's artwork comes into play with the collection is through attaching his cold glass "jewels" to the stained glass.
"There really is no end to the possibilities," said Brad Brown, a co-owner of the company, which was founded in 1985 near Old Salem.
"It could be as simple as individual stained-glass window panes arranged in the shape of a religious symbol, or a complex stand-alone Kuhn work. We can shadowbox them in walls, inlay them into church pews -- or even Bösendorfer art-case pianos."
The Bösendorfer piano -- made in collaboration with L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH of Vienna, Austria -- is perhaps Kuhn's most extravagant artwork. The piano, priced at $1.2 million, is inset with more than 40,000 hand-cut, polished jewels arranged in diamond patterns.
Ellen Rogers, an editor with Decorative Glass magazine, said that there is increased interest among upscale residential homeowners in decorative glass, and stained glass in doors and windows.
"High-end builders and homeowners are often looking for the next big thing and what they can add to the home that will differentiate it compared to others," Rogers said. "Jon Kuhn's collaboration with Salem Stained Glass is one way that this can be done."
Kuhn said he has no doubts that the potential market for the collection "is huge."
"But the challenge of marrying my work to stained glass is even more important to me, because it creates a fresh artistic direction," Kuhn said. "That's what my art is all about."
Kuhn said he also was drawn to working with Salem Stained Glass because it gives him an outlet for expressing a "very spiritual vision in glass."
Priest acknowledges that the collection would be a pricey addition for churches and religious groups considering many are struggling to make their financial budgets.
It will cost $20,000 for a 24-foot by 37-foot panel of a cross that contains six or so Kuhn jewels. The price could be higher depending on the size and complexity of the stained glass design.
"Jon's reputation is international, and he gets a price for his art in keeping with that reputation, so that's nothing but good for the stained-glass business," Priest said. Priest expects that many orders will come from people donating the artwork to a church, some in tribute to a loved one.
Although the company and artist had admired each other's work for years, it took a third party's inquiry to get them talking about a collaboration.
Marie Nifong contacted Kuhn to commission him to incorporate the traditional Moravian seal into one of his works for Clemmons Moravian Church.
"Jon suggested to her that we do the work on the Moravian seal because he had no idea how to do stained glass, and he did a cross for her," Priest said.
"Jon, however, said he did want to break into the church market, and we've been in that market for decades, so we began to brainstorm and this is what emerged."
Although churches represent about 90 percent of Salem Stained Glass' business, Priest said that the collection also is aimed at residential and business customers.
"We had been thinking about ways to break out of the price-driven, competitive bid mind-set that limits so many stained-glass studios when Jon Kuhn first approached us," Priest said.
Priest said that the company feels fortunate that business has remained stable through the recession since most projects require lead times of weeks or months. The company also provides repair work.
"About 65 percent of our business is through our catalog or the Web site, and the other 35 percent is custom-ordered," Priest said. "The Internet has given us some buzz and orders from people and churches we couldn't have marketed to.
"Many orders start with something from the catalog, and then they ask us to create something different for a special place in their church, home or public setting."
The company has nine employees, including full-time artists which Priest said gives the company "a differentiating factor that typically sells the order for us." Kuhn has gone from a one-person studio to having 27 artisans assisting with his works.
Both Priest, 59, and Brown, 56, say they have no plans to retire. They joke that they hope the sacred-glass collection will help make them overnight success after nearly 25 years in business.
"As an entrepreneur, we really feel like we're right on the edge of a whole new era," Priest said.
"We know that Jon's cold-glass jewels are the selling point of the collection, but we expect demand for our stained glass to jump as well."
■ Richard Craver can be reached at 727-7376 or at rcraver@wsjournal.com.
■ Salem Stained Glass' artwork can be found at www.salemstainedglass.com. Jon Kuhn's artwork can be found at www.kuhnstudio.com.
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