Choosing the Right Glass for a Cathedral Candleholder

Glass is more than just a material—it’s the soul of a stained glass candleholder. The color, opacity, and even how it plays with light all shape the finished piece. Over time, I’ve discovered that choosing glass is as much about inspiration as it is about practicality. This post is about that journey.

When I first started making candleholders, I had no idea where to get stained glass. My best guess? A place in Redondo Beach where I’d once had a windshield replaced. I remembered seeing piles of glass in their warehouse, so I went back and asked if they sold stained glass.

The lady behind the counter gave me a look—after all, this was a windshield repair shop. I felt pretty foolish, but she kindly pointed me toward a real stained glass store in town.

That’s how I found a shop up on Artesia Boulevard, Allen Kenoyer Glass Inc

Inside, the walls were lined with the owner’s beautiful stained glass windows—absolutely stunning work. Not what I was trying to make at the time, but inspiring all the same. What really hooked me was her “sample wall”: little cubbyholes with one-foot squares of glass, each with a number. Outside, a sunlit board showed what each color looked like in natural light. Genius. That’s where I started buying my first pieces.

As I got better—and more ambitious—I needed bigger sheets. That’s when I discovered Pacific Art Glass in Gardena, a warehouse-style place with just about everything you can imagine. The owner is now a friend of mine of sorts, and even keeps an eye out for certain glass I love. It’s one of those places where, if glass is your passion, you can go a little crazy (and spend a lot, if you’re not careful).

Over time, I’ve developed go-to favorites. For example, my “Evergreen” candleholder has become one of my most popular designs—I’ve made about 30 of them. To keep it consistent, I always buy the same three shades of green, which Pacific Art Glass usually has in stock.

Of course, I don’t only buy what’s practical. I also pick glass just because I love the color, even if it was originally made for something else, like fusing. That’s part of the fun!

Here are a few examples of some of their more exotic glass, and an example of one of the candleholders I made from the yellow piece, called "Haystack"

So, choosing the right glass is part art, part practicality, and part self-control when you’re standing in front of hundreds of gorgeous options. I also, because of the nature of what I do, can buy scraps of glass that they store in these remnant  boxes that I spend quite a bit of time going through checking whatever they've got they don't want, and they're gonna throw it away, or fuse it into something else. So I buy it for next to nothing ( sort of...) and turn into some pretty nice candles.

Here's an example of one made from pink remnants that I found in a box underneath a table that hadn't been looked at for some time. It's called "Eye of Winter".

Anyway, that's what I've got to say about the right glass for these candleholders, they can be fancy glass or really cheap stuff I find on the beach, it's just a matter of what mood I'm in and what I've got to make!   More later..