Featured Sponsor: Mandarin Stained Glass LLC
L-R Caroline Lahman owner, Philippe Tillay, Victorian Glass Painter/instructor, Laura Lynn Office Manager/Artist, Peter Herpst Glass Artist.
Our newest sponsor, Mandarin Stained Glass, LLC is a hidden glass gem nestled on a little over 2.8 acres of land known as “Davisson Square” in Lakewood, a major suburban community, located in the South Puget Sound area between Olympia and Seattle. They carry glass, artist works, tools, books and major brands of sheet glass such as: Bullseye, OGT/Spectrum, GLS, Kokomo, and Wissmach. They offer a diverse selection of glass and supplies that are often difficult to source such as: Uroboros, French and English Glass, Youghiogheny, and Reusche Silver Stain.
Mandarin Front Counter
Stained Glass Panels and tools
The story of this iconic glass treasure spans over half of a century, a longevity rarely found in glass galleries or shops today. It began as Mandarin Gallery, founded by Florence Welborn in 1974, who lived life with passion; as an artist, educator, entrepreneur, traveler, mentor and mother. Two years ago, after Florence passed away, her daughter, Caroline Lahman and her husband, Michael stepped in to take over and continue the legacy her beloved mother had spent a lifetime building as a champion of stained glass and restoration.
Caroline changed the gallery name to “Mandarin Stained Glass LLC” to shine a light on stained glass which remains their primary focus. They also added and work with many other glass forming methods and techniques, providing products to support local artists and hobbyists and classes that range from stained glass to leading, copper foil, fusing/slumping, and mosaics.
They have a wide selection of glass books
Florence successfully ran the business for over 50 years, so Caroline grew up learning how to do stained glass and restoration with her mother as an expert teacher. Later, Caroline spent 30 years in the military with 15 years overseas in Europe. She says, “When I invited my mom and dad to come to Italy, that’s when it kind of exploded. She fell in love with Italy and all the glass that was there: Murano and Rubino with the mosaics which is how they got into doing mosaics. Caroline says, “We still have several of Florences’ mosaics and some of mine on the walls.” Those pieces are not for sale.
Mosaics made by Florence and Caroline. Starry Night mosaic originally made by Caroline for Florence but now redesignated to her daughter, April Lahman.
“We have classrooms upstairs and downstairs with multiple kilns.” Michael explains, “We can accommodate as many as 20 students downstairs and 6-8 upstairs.” They plan to add vitrigraph classes and torchwork once the equipment is set up and they obtain the torches. They sell COE 90, 96, 104 murrine for people who do torchwork. “We have all these wonderful artists who teach these classes along with the traditional painting on glass which is taught by Philippe Tillay, our resident Victorian painter on glass who is actually from France where Reusche enamels originated,” Caroline adds. Their location and size make it easy for them to support artists and their local community by offering classes and sponsoring Art Fairs (see photos of the recent one in the article below).
Downstairs classroom
They look forward to welcoming you to the shop! PNW Glass Guild members can log in and go to About>Our Sponsors to see how to get a discount.