Meet the Maker is a new series featuring incredible artists, makers, dreamers and creators. Once a month an exciting shop will be featured in depth so we can all experience the magic. Learn about Stacie, the creator of Forest City Stained Glass, based out of London, Ontario and her process when creating beautiful pieces of art.
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1. What is your morning routine?
My first priorities are always coffee and cats, then I catch up on news and scroll through Instagram. At times I want to be a bit more meditative in my approach to starting a day, and ditch the screens for a couple hours. Of course I would still allow myself to snap photos of my cats doing cute stuff because I clearly need more than the 10,000 I already have.
2. What made you want to open a shop?
I’ve had a shop in one form or another for the last 20 years. I used to sell handmade clothes on eBay in the late 90s, then moved to Etsy with various smaller handmade knick-knacks. It was 2015 when I fell in love with glass and sold on Etsy until eventually moving to my own website earlier this year.
3. What does it feel like to be in the middle of a creative burst?
Like I hold the secret to something big. Giddy. Alive. In those moments, my hands move too fast for my brain and that can be dangerous in glass.
4. Do you have any advice for other makers?
Be original in your work, stay true to your aesthetic, embrace that not everyone will love what you make, and be grateful for those that do. Always, always keep making. Some of my best creative moments have occurred when I doubted myself and wanted to walk away.
5. Do you have a playlist or podcast you listen to in the studio?
I have an ever-expanding list of both that are always on in the background. Current podcast favorites are On Being, This American Life, TED Radio Hour, How I Built This, Hidden Brain, Radiolab, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, The Memory Palace, and Freakonomics Radio. One of my all-time favorite radio shows is American Routes. Music is always a mix of genres and decades, peppered with moments of shameless singing and dancing.
6. Do you prefer coffee, tea, or energy drink?
Black coffee forever.
7. Who is your creative inspiration?
My grandfather, one of many, who practiced the art of glass before me, but was also a mechanical engineer who invented stuff, took meticulous notes about everything in his life, and loved Frosted Flakes.
I hope you enjoy learning more about these beautiful pieces and their creator!
Arrival+Departure
