Repurposing scrap automotive glass for our statement jewelry

Sorting through a mountain of broken automotive glass for the best pieces for Broken Plates glass jewelry

Back in 2017, we were invited to tour the Vitro Architectural Glass Factory in Meadville, PA. We were amazed by the scale at which they produced their glass, but also by how closely their process resembles the one I experience on my own in the hot shop....mix/melt, gather, shape, cool, cut.⁠ ⁠

We were simply overwhelmed by the beauty of their mountains of tinted scrap glass to which they gave us full access equipped with buckets, gloves, and safety goggles to collect as much raw material as we could carry, back to our studio. We sat on our hoard for nearly 5 years before finally finding the perfect way to honor these locally produced industrial scraps.

Gillian Preston