A Bug's Life

As with the viola-fixing, once I started to look for people who could mend stained glass I found one 10 minutes walk away.

The history is that my father had a piece of stained glass commissioned, a nice riverside scene with dragonflies and bulrushes and a somewhat rude whimsy. I've moved house several times since he died, with the glass, and unfortunately a couple of the pieces have got cracked. I'd like to get it fixed and cleaned and mounted, so I can hang it in the house.

A chap from CSG came round, and gave me good and bad news. I can get it fixed! This involves dismantling it and reassembling with new lead (it's copper foil at the moment), one of the glass types is no longer made but he can find a good match in colour though not texture. Framing comes free! He could probably recut the whimsy if he would be prepared to admit that he can see it. But he quoted a high three figure sum, the same cost as getting a similar sized piece designed and built from scratch.

So then I find myself thinking "Maybe I could get a new piece, something that I like (they do lovely, lovely stuff), half the size, for half the cost, and leave Dad's propping up the hall cupboard for years to come. I, er, guess I've found the price point between "I'm very fond of it" and "I like it"... But it is nice, and I wish it could be repaired for less :-(