York Etched Glass

A little bit about us

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 York area. Almost every panel we manufacture will qualify for free delivery to homes in the York area.

We produce other forms of Decorative Glass for York 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 Etched Glass commissions from the York area:

Leadbitter Glass has supplied many homes in and around York with our beautiful etched glass. Here are just a few examples of local orders…..

Etched Glass Sycamore Leaves Panel – York

A customer in York recently ordered a small panel from our Shadows Of Nature range. They opted for our Sycamore Leaves design with a clear background. We created a proof so the customer could approve or request changes to the layout. You can see the design we created for them here – Etched Glass Leaves York

Etched Glass Gypsophila Doors – York

This following link shows multiple panels we created for one of our regular clients from York. This customer has come back to order with us multiple times and their favoured design is our Gypsophila. You can see their project here – Etched Glass Gypsophila York

Etched Glass Cherry Blossom Window – York

Our Cherry Blossom design is one of the newest designs added to our etched glass galleries. Not long after releasing the range we received an order form a client in York. The image above shows our standard Cherry Blossom design. The client opted to have a clear background with the design being etched as privacy was not an issue. You can view the drawing we created here – Etched Glass Cherry blossom York.

Modern Etched Glass Door & Side – York

We were approached by a property developer from York and they wanted a unique door design. We created the door glass and matching glass for the side panel using a modern design that they selected. The background was etched. The door featured the house number 14 in the centre of the door. You can see the proof we supplied the client before manufacture here – Modern Etched Glass Door & Side

Etched Glass Swan – Filey Yorkshire

A client in Filey spotted a modern etched glass swan that we had supplied to a previous customer. They loved the stylised version of the swan and wanted a panel with that design. The original design was supplied as a clear background but this customer wanted a clear background. You can view the drawing we created for the client here – Etched Glass Swan – Filey

York! 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 York 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.

Leadbitter Glass supplies Etched Glass to all areas of York including:

Leeds – Sheffield – Hull – Doncaster – Harrogate – Wakefield – Scarborough – Huddersfield – Barnsley – Bradford – Rotherham – Halifax – Selby – Bridlington – Ripon – Keighley – Pontefract – Castleford – Knaresborough – Wetherby – Whitby