We are always intrigued when clients come to us with unique commissions. We especially love to create family crests which we know will be in the family well into the future. Here are two stories about opportunities we had to dive into this type of specialty commissioned work linking the family’s historical past, present and future.

McKenzie Crest, Vancouver

Heraldic crests are always an interesting commission because they establish the family legacy in something that will last centuries. This crest is a family heirloom and we were delighted to craft a drawing that was approved by the family and then go to work finding the right tones of mouth blown glass to complete the stained glass window itself. Heraldry tends to include a lot of speciality stained glass techniques. This piece required acid etching (using glass which has a thin “flash” of colour over a clear base) for the stag head to be depicted within the blue shield. We emphasized the strong painted line work and complimentary tonal values, as well as silver staining to produce a pure yellow.

Duchy of Cornwall House, Bath, UK

We were honoured to be asked to produce a piece in a heritage building in Bath, once owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. It was created for a company who operated from this beautiful and rather impressive Georgian building. Prince Charles visited the property regularly from when he was a boy, and his crest has pride of place in the masonry above the front door and in our stained glass in the entrance foyer.

When a lady from English Heritage visited the house, to oversee an application for further renovations, she commented on the wonderful original stained glass crest. The owners were pleased to inform her that it was indeed a new addition that they had commissioned!