Nickel City Glass

Meet Susan Loewen, the fabulous creative mind behind Nickel City Glass, a Northern Ontario based stained glass small business.

Tell our community a little bit about yourself & how you became a maker.

I started making stained glass about 5 years ago. I took lessons from a local glass artist, Lori Wall, and I was hooked.  For the next couple of years, I proceeded to fill most of my windows and my families windows with glass. But stained glass is an expensive hobby, so I decided to start selling my glass pieces in order to fund my glass buying habit!  My very first market was a Makers North market and it went very well. That gave me the confidence to start thinking bigger and consider stained glass as more than a hobby.  I still have a part time day job, but perhaps one day I will glass full time.

What advice would you give to new makers?

For makers just starting out, I would say be yourself!  I am always happiest making pieces that bring me joy. I spend so much time with each piece that I really have to like it or I may not finish!  Stained glass, like many art forms, is a slow detailed process and the finished piece will reflect something of the maker.  So make something that reflects the true you!  

What would be your dream project?

My dream project is to create some stained glass walls for my gazebo using old window frames. I have been thinking about it for years, and it just might be time to start.