One of the things I truly enjoy about my fused glass business is creating custom production pieces for hotels and restaurants. This latest order was for a hotel in California that wanted beautiful blue fused glass soap dishes for its guest rooms. While the finished dishes may look simple and elegant, each one goes through several steps—and a whole lot of hands-on work—before it is ready to make its way to California! Each soap dish begins with two to three individually cut pieces of glass. Once all the glass is cut to size, I carefully wash and clean every single piece by hand before assembling the layers. The dishes then go into the kiln for their first firing, a full fuse, where the separate layers melt together into one smooth piece of glass. Seeing an entire kiln filled with rows and rows of that gorgeous blue glass is always pretty impressive!
But they aren’t dishes yet! After the full fuse, every piece goes back into the kiln a second time. This time, each one is placed on a mold and slumped at a lower temperature, allowing the glass to soften and gently take on its finished curved shape. Once they have cooled completely, I inspect and clean them again. It is definitely a process, but seeing those stacks of finished blue soap dishes makes all the cutting, cleaning, firing, and waiting worthwhile.
I also love including a small handmade gift with my production orders as my way of saying thank you. I truly appreciate the hotels, restaurants, gift shops, and other businesses that choose handcrafted fused glass instead of something mass-produced. Every production order supports my small fused glass business and allows me to continue doing something I absolutely love. Thank you to the hotels and restaurants that support artists and small businesses like mine—I appreciate you more than you know!
Why Fused Glass Amenities are Perfect for Hotels & Resorts. Fused glass is not only beautiful—it is exceptionally well suited for hospitality use. These amenity dishes are:
✨ Durable and long-lasting
✨ Non-porous, easy to sanitize, and hygienic
✨ Heat and moisture resistant
✨ Customizable to match brand identity and color palettes
Scalable Production — From Boutique Inns to Large Resorts Over the years, I’ve created production runs ranging from 20 pieces all the way up to 250+ pieces. This flexibility supports a wide variety of hospitality needs:
🏨 Boutique Inns — small, unique quantities
🧖♀️ Spas & Wellness Retreats — treatment room amenity dishes
🍽 Restaurants & Distilleries — tasting plates, coasters, bar service ware
✨ Luxury Resorts — large matching sets for guest rooms
I’d be delighted to talk with you.
📩 Contact: ElegantFusedGlass@gmail.com
🌐 Production & Commercial Orders: https://elegantfusedglassbykaren.com/production-and-commercial-orders/ Thank you again to all of the incredible businesses who trust my fused glass for their spaces. It is an honor every single time.
If you would like to see more of my fused glass work, please refer to my website Elegant Fused Glass by Karen. If you get a chance, check out all my sites and my Elegant Fused Glass by Karen YouTube. If you would like to stay abreast of what I’m up-to and learn a little more about jewelry, check out our newsletter. It is published the last day of each month
Keeping my kiln warm,
Karen
