Around 100 pieces of glass are spread across a low table at Studio du Verre. Each one is a different shape and size, but together they form the image of St. James. Artisan Aiden Reed carefully picks up one of the fragments—no bigger than a deck of cards—lines it with lead and hammers it into place. It’s painstaking work in a fragile medium. “Having to replicate that is a little frustrating,” he said in an interview. “I never thought I would curse out St. James for his toes, but now I am.” Reed is one of five artisans working at Studio du Verre in Old Montreal. The 45-year-old workshop was recently recognized by Heritage Montreal for its restoration work. The studio specializes in restoring and repairing old or damaged stained-glass windows, some dating back to the 1870s. In a city with hundreds of churches and other religious buildings, there’s no shortage of work. “There aren’t really any other cities in North America that have such a deep inventory of churches and amazingly beautiful windows,” said owner Jeff Sheckman. But the studio’s work isn’t limited to religious buildings. It has been commissioned by Bishop’s University, the Pointe-à-Callière Museum, and Westmount City Hall, among others. And not all of its output is historical—the team also creates new pieces. “People often don’t think of stained glass in a contemporary context,” said Sheckman, pointing to a partially completed project. The abstract work features blue circles of spun glass—called rondelles—set against a cloudy background. Sheckman, a former McGill music student, found stained glass while searching for a job that allowed him to work with his hands. “Honestly, I can’t say, ‘Oh, this is something I always wanted to do,’” he said. “But finding the medium lit a spark in me.” Working with a breakable material, though, comes with challenges. “I’ve broken many pieces of stained glass at very crucial moments,” said Reed. “I even broke one in a client’s home. It had been worked on for months and they were so excited to finally get it. I brought it inside, an accident happened, and it completely shattered.” The studio remade the piece, and it was successfully installed the second time. Because stained glass is defined by light, the final result shifts with the time of day, the season, and the weather. “For the past year, we’ve been working on these windows flat on a table,” said Reed. “It looks like nothing—just dark and dull. But when you finally get it in the light, you see the pinks and pale blues… it’s a different experience. There’s something so fulfilling about seeing a finished stained-glass window with the light shining through. It’s quite magical.”
