When Bobby first contacted Ellenburg & Shaffer, there was a gentle urgency in his voice. "There's this apple tree design in stained glass in my grandmother’s home that I now own and am restoring," he explained. “ The side panels in the apple tree design were destroyed and it's incomplete.
As he shared his story, I could hear the nostalgia in his voice. His grandparents' Edwardian Pebble-dashed home, featured elaborate stained glass windows throughout; the jewel being the apple tree motif that swept through the doorways leading to the gardens that had captivated Bobby’s imagination as a child. Through the years many of the original panels had been damaged or removed.
## Piecing Together the Past
During our initial consultation, Bobby showed me the surviving panels. The rich oranges and greens of the apples and leaves caught the sunlight beautifully, but the design was clearly incomplete. The transom featured the upper canopy of an apple tree, while two of the door panels contained portions of branches laden with fruit. However, the sidelights and remaining panels were either plain glass or broken out and wood was now placed to secure and protect from the elements.
"I want to make it whole again,"Bobby told me. "I want to see the complete tree as I remember it from my childhood."
## Detective Work in Glass
Restoring historic stained glass is always part craftsmanship, part detective work. In Bobby's case, we faced several challenges:
1. Many of the original glasses were no longer manufactured
2. No complete template of the original design existed
3. The existing panels showed wear from over a century of sunlight and weathering
My first step was to create detailed rubbings of the existing panels, carefully tracing each lead line and glass piece. These rubbings served as our foundation, allowing us to understand the original artist's style and technique. The flowing branches, distinctive leaf shapes, and the particular way the apples were rendered all provided clues to how the complete design might have looked.
For the missing sections, I worked with Bobby to recall as much as he could about the original windows from his grandparents' home. We sketched possibilities, using the existing panels as our guide to ensure consistency in the design language.
## Finding the Perfect Match
The search for matching glass was perhaps our greatest challenge. Many of the amber and green variegated glasses in the original panels were produced in the early 1900s using techniques and formulas that have since been modified or discontinued.
To find suitable replacements, I brought dozens of samples to Bobby's home, comparing them against the originals in different lighting conditions. In some cases, we found almost perfect matches from specialty glass houses. For others, we selected contemporary alternatives that captured the spirit of the originals, if not their exact appearance.
For several particularly unique pieces, I employed traditional staining and painting techniques to modify modern glass, layering transparent colors to recreate the depth and variance of the antique pieces.
## Breathing New Life Into History
Over the course of several months, the new panels took shape in our studio. Using the rubbings as guides, we created complementary designs for the sidelights that extended the apple tree motif. Each branch was carefully positioned to create a sense of organic flow between all the panels, as if a single tree spread across the entire installation.
The day we installed the completed ensemble was emotional for Bobby. As morning light filtered through the apple tree design—now complete across transom, door panels, and sidelights—the connection to his childhood memories was palpable.
"It's just like I remember it!,"
## Preservation Through Reinvention
Projects like Bobby's remind us that stained glass restoration isn't merely about technical repair—it's about preserving the emotional connections embedded in these luminous artworks. Even when exact replication isn't possible, thoughtful reinvention can honor the original spirit while creating something new to be cherished for generations to come.
At Ellenburg & Shaffer, we approach each restoration project with this dual mindset: respect for historical accuracy coupled with creative problem-solving. Sometimes, as with Bobby's apple tree, the result becomes a bridge between past and present—a living memory captured in glass and light.
*Do you have a stained glass piece with sentimental value that needs restoration or reimagining? Contact us through the repair link to discuss how we can help preserve your luminous memories.*