Noa Perez

Journal —

My first stained glass: from a lemon to lily of the valley

How I got into stained glass — from a little lemon discovered in a workshop to a sprig of lily of the valley in glass.

A stained-glass sprig of lily of the valley, pink bells and green leaves, in a green vase

Stained glass had been calling to me for a long time. I had read a great deal about the technique — but before investing in all the equipment to work at home, I wanted to handle the glass for real. So, in early 2025, I started with a discovery workshop in the art of Tiffany stained glass, via Wecandoo, which I really recommend.

The lemon, to learn

For this first lemon, the craftswoman first had me draw the design on paper — that’s the pattern you see in the first image. I traced it onto another sheet, then cut out each piece, numbering them. Those templates let me cut the glass with the glass cutter, piece by piece. Then, thanks to the numbers, I put each piece back in its place on the pattern.

Glass pieces laid on the drawn pattern
1. The glass cut piece by piece, over the pattern
Wrapping copper foil around a glass piece
2. Each piece is wrapped in its copper foil
Glass grinder and pieces of glass
3. The grinder trims the edges so everything fits
Soldering iron on the workbench
4. Then the soldering, over the copper
Finished stained-glass lemon, yellow glass with green leaves
And the finished piece.

That workshop won me over. I asked the craftswoman for advice on the tools she recommended, then invested in the equipment and got started at home.

The lily of the valley, a gift

Lily of the valley is my favourite flower. At first I thought of it as a gift: a friend was hosting me in Berlin in early May, and since it’s a French custom to give lily of the valley, the idea felt lovely. Once the sprig was finished, I loved it so much that I kept it — and decided to make a second. So I made two versions, one for him, one for me.

Cutting the small glass pieces
1. Cutting each little bell and each leaf
Glass bells wrapped in copper
2. Grinding to round them off, then the copper foil
Assembling the glass sprig of lily of the valley
3. Soldering the bells onto the stem, one by one
The stained-glass lily of the valley on a balcony, in full light
The finished sprig, in the sun.

This is the kind of stained glass I really love: I find it modern and easy to keep in a flat, without having to replace a window. It still catches the light — and it’s this kind of piece I’d like to keep making.

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