Bedford Etched Glass

The Leadbitter Glass Studio, established in 1994, produces Etched Glass and Victorian Etched Glass panels for homes. Etched Glass was one of the earliest forms of decorative glass to be developed. Today, it is often used to craft elegant contemporary designs. Etched panels are a very popular choice for homes in the Bedford area. Almost every panel we manufacture will qualify for free delivery to Bedfordshire.

We produce other forms of Decorative Glass for Bedford clients, including Stained Glass, Bevelled Glass, and Fused Glass.

Our services

After placing your order with us, you’ll receive our free design service – known as the Client Pages Service. This is where we create a Computer Generated Proof to show your chosen design in your custom glass sizes. We’ll send you a proof a few days after you place your order. You then have the opportunity to request changes to the layout before we produce the panel, ensuring you’re 100% happy with the final panel(s). You may want to alter a decorative border or increase the size of a central motif. We’ll make these amendments until you’re completely happy with the design and give us the thumbs up to begin production.

Recent commissions for Bedford clients….

We have supplied many homes in Bedford with our beautiful glass. Below are some examples of local orders.

Etched Glass Border Collie Dog – Bedford

A client approached us for a small glass panel for their stable door and they asked if we could etch a Border Collie into the glass. We told the client that it was possible and we pointed them towards our Bespoke Etched Designs page. This page of the website explains what the best type of image to search for and the client was then armed to hunt for a picture. They supplied a good file for us to work with and we created the proof that you can see in the link above. We then manufacture the glass and delivered it to Bedford.

Etched Glass Coffee Bar – Bedford

A customer recently asked us to create an etched glass panel for the door of their personal coffee bar. Think of this is as not so much so a ‘man cave’ but a ‘woman cave’ The customer sent their own design in to us and we used that to create the proof for approval. After the glass was created and delivered to Bedford, the customer sent us a photo of the installed glass. You can see the amazing result in the link above.

Bedford! Your numbers up!

Should you wish to showcase your house name or number in door glass or a fanlight, opting for etched panels proves to be an excellent choice. It’s noteworthy that many homes in Bedford feature top lights (transom lights) positioned above their doors. This particular glazed area offers an ideal location for displaying your etched house name or number. If your door is adorned with a transom window, we stand ready to craft a bespoke etched glass panel specifically showcasing your house name or number.

Given the popularity of this request among our clients, our glass artists diligently produce hundreds of these panels each year. Notably, we can tailor your custom etched panel to your preferences, utilising any font and decorative border of your choice. Furthermore, if desired, we can create etched door glass to seamlessly match the fanlights.

Browse Our Etched Glass Galleries

Our expert glass artists can produce almost any pattern you desire in etched glass. If you’re struggling to find the right design for your home, head over to our extensive Etched Glass Gallery for some inspiration. Within the gallery, there are sub-categories such as Traditional, The Edinburgh Range, Modern and Victorian. We have many more stunning designs in all forms of decorative glass across our various galleries which may also be of interest to you.

How Etched Glass is made

We never use ‘stickers’ on our etched glass panels. We produce our etched glass the right way, by sandblasting the glass to ensure permanent and highest-quality etching. All too often, companies will tell you they offer “Etched Glass” when actually they don’t. They simply place a vinyl sticker onto the glass, so no ‘etching’ has actually taken place. Not only does this result in a poor fake ‘etched effect’, but the stickers can turn yellow. The stickers will shrink on the panel after a few years of exposure to sunlight. Companies may also declare that they use screen-printed glass for their etched glass. This type of glass also suffers from the same dis-colouration issue over time. You should always ensure you’re paying for a true ‘sandblasted‘ etched glass product for quality that lasts. You can see the problems encountered with fake etched glass here.

Our process

To begin, we cut a temporary mask using your chosen pattern and overlay it onto one side of the panel. This initial step ensures that the designated clear areas remain unetched. Subsequently, we place the masked panel inside a specialist sandblasting booth and propel coarse grit/sand at high speed across the panel. Following the completion of the etching process, we carefully remove the temporary mask, revealing the beautifully etched areas.

For single-glazed glass, an additional step involves applying a protective sandblast coating to the etched side. This coating serves to prevent any undesired grease smudges. On the other hand, when it comes to double-glazed glass, we omit the application of a protective coating. This decision is grounded in the fact that the etched side is already safeguarded within the unit.

We supply bespoke etched glass panels to the following towns around Bedford….

Leighton Buzzard – Luton – London – Milton Keynes – Bedford – Northampton – Cambridge – Stevenage – St Albans – Hitchin – Dunstable – Harpenden – Letchworth Garden City – Biggleswade – Bletchley – Buckingham – Newport Pagnell – Sandy – Ampthill – Woburn Sands – Houghton Regis