interior design architecture art gallery architect interior designer gallery owner architectural interior decoration art gallery craft gallery Transparent Dreams Stained Glass & Beveled Glass

At Last! A Stained Glass Artist Who Wants to Work with Trade Professionals!

Welcome to my "To The Trade" Page. The purpose of this page is to:

  1. I'm an Architect, Interior Designer, or Gallery Owner. Will you "work" with me? I'm not only willing... I'm eager! I have collaborated with many architects, interior designers, and gallery owners in creating top-quality stained glass and beveled glass for homes, offices, places of worship, and commercial environments. Sometimes, trade professionals will turn a client over to me and choose to be uninvolved with the art-glass process; other times they will remain involved in the decision making process throughout part or even all of a project.  I am comfortable with any amount of participation by trade professionals.

  2. Will you pay me a commission? I will, and I'm usually willing to add on whatever percent commission you think fits the particular client and situation. Although this usually goes without a hitch with business and commercial clients, we may lose a few residential jobs. This is because most of my competitors in stained glass are listed in the phonebook and sell much (or all) of their product directly to the public. I, on the other hand, market my work to interior designers, architects, and builders (besides hanging my artworks in galleries, gift shops, and just about anywhere the luxury-buying public might come into contact with it). Most of my commissions come from interior designers or through gallery referrals. As such, my clients usually recognize and want the best, and they are willing to pay a bit more for it. My wholesale prices (i.e., to the trade) are very competitive, particularly when the level of the craftsmanship and the innovation of the design are factored in.

  3. Why do some residential jobs fall through? Some clients (especially residential ones) will seek bids from other glass studios, and some of those will opt for the cheapest pricetag even though it means settling for inferior craftsmanship or design. For this reason, I often encourage professionals to accept a modest mark-up and, in fact, most often I end up paying trade professionals 5% to 10% commission. For most of them, that's five or ten percent on something they used to make NO money on because they would just send their clients to the phone book when the subject of stained or beveled glass came up. Now they recommend someone good, and get a samll commission too. Other professionals feel they earn a greater percentage of the client's money. If that's you... fine! I trust that you know your clients best, so I'll mark up my ready-made or custom artworks any amount you specify. Or you can quote prices to the client yourself, have them pay you, and then pay me my share. I've done it that way, too. I'm very flexible! After all, the point is that you and I [1] obtain the commission and [2] both come out looking good with the client... me for doing great work and you for recommending such an exceptional glass artist!

  4. I'm a gallery owner... What about when your artworks sell through my gallery? I think a gallery has the right to mark up my speculative artworks as they see fit. I trust that they know their clientele and location better than I do. The pieces in my Gallery that are for sale are listed at their retail prices. Gallery owners and other professionals may purchase any of those artworks for 40% off the listed retail price.

    I will also consider showing my work on consignment, depending on the location of the gallery and the deal that I am able to work out with the gallery owner. When I sign a contract with a gallery to show my works on consignment there, the gallery most often keeps 40% of the retail price on artworks that hang in the gallery and up to 10% on custom work. Again, I'll add any mark-up the gallery wishes to custom commissions, I just hate losing commissions to other glass studios because gallery owners or other trade professionals have wanted a commission on a custom stained glass project that has caused the price to be uncompetitive in comparison to the many glass studios and artisans that sell directly to the public. Most galleries that I work with have been happy with a 40% mark-up on speculative work hanging in their gallery, a 5% commission on large commissions, and a10% commission on small commissions.

  5. What is the minimum amount for which you will take on a commission? Commissions are no different than items I make for people to keep for themselves or to give as gifts. I will make gift items for as little as $200 - $300, so I'm willing to consider commissions starting at that amount too. Obviously, $200 won't buy even a full day of my time, and most of the commissions I do for homes, offices, etc. end up costing significantly more than that. However, I have a lot of experience at saving clients money by designing simple, original, elegant designs in any stylistic genre.

  6. Do you take on big commissions? Every time I get the chance! I have created artworks for hotels, churches, synagogues, a private chapel, numerous restaurants, several offices, and hundreds of large homes. I look forward to working on large projects. They offer me the opportunity to learn and grow in both my art and my craft. I also get to show off the talent that I have for combining captivating design with unparalleled craftsmanship!

    Large commissions usually mean that you or your client get a better value for the amount invested... This is because certain aspects of a commission cost the same whether the design is small and simple or large and complex (such as the time spent dealing with the client, the material costs of a specific number of square feet of stained glass, the time required for installing the artwork, etc.). As a commission gets larger and/or more intricate, these "fixed" costs are paid for early on, with additional investment dollars going entirely toward the increased size or complexity of the design.

  7. Why should I have you make this artwork in glass instead of someone else? Because you'll look like the consumate professional every time you recommend the very best studio or artist in any particular medium. In stained glass, there is no better combination of artist and craftsperson than in me! As a small studio, I have sometimes lost commissions to bigger glass studios that seemed a "safer" option. To overcome this, I rely on recommendations from professionals such as you. That's why you'll find me so eager to work with you and to provide you with such great service that you'll want to utilize my talents again and again. Remember that you'll get the following every time you deal with Transparent Dreams Glass Studio:

[testimonial]

"I first spoke to Mark Stine when he called to see if I had gotten any response from my ad in a designer's resource magazine that he was considering advertising in. Soon after that we met in person at a holiday decorating seminar that I was co-hosting. Mark sent me a brochure of his studio's work, which I thought was very good. I called him when we were about to move our interior design offices into a new space that had a pair of French doors for which I wanted beveled glass inserts made. Mark was very quick in setting up a meeting, and in providing me with complete scale drawings of the bevel designs I selected from one of his supply catalogs. The inserts are lovely. We get a lot more comments about using stained glass since we incorporated these doors into our showroom. I know we will have more work for Mark's studio in the future."

Gail D., ASID, Denver CO

 I'm ready to order of one of your fantastic stained glass artworks or make a referral!

 I want to visit the Gallery for some design ideas and to see again how great your work really is!

 I've scoured your site, but still have a specific question for which I have found no answer.

 I'd like to return to the Main Menu on your Home Page.

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