Blinded by the light: Raleigh studio bends glass to make neon new again
Like driving toward the Las Vegas strip, you can see Glas studio in Raleigh coming from a ways away.
The neon-colored signs are within sight well before you enter the studio.
It’s a bit gaudy and somewhat overwhelming, but there’s plenty of substance in these signs that might otherwise be discarded. There’s some element of advertising but also artistic merit and a little bit of history in these displays – a collection of old logos and insignias that would serve as cool-looking artistic pieces in a man cave today.
A look around makes for a fun afternoon trip. All the signs being plugged in has a way of making you feel unplugged.
This used to be the way of the world.
A Fat Daddy’s sign sits in the lobby from the popular former Raleigh burger joint, as does a Bojangles’ sign. There’s a Cool Valley Motel sign from western North Carolina and a Daryl’s logo in front of the studio. A sign from a Kaiser-Frazer car dealership lines the ground decades after it was probably 20 feet in the air, presumably beside a busy road.
The neon signs are from a time where roadside advertising was designed to grab the attention of passing motorists. Some deem it over-the-top in the modern era, but the signs carry a vintage charm that invokes nostalgia.
One sign hangs above your head when you enter so you don’t see it at first, but it carries the flagship message of the place: “A Shiny Place for Shady People.”
It’s a tongue-in-cheek motto that owner Nate Schaeffer got from a friend and longtime Chapel Hill business owner.
“We welcome everyone and are really looking to be creative and artistic,” said Faith Lanfear, the studio manager who says it’s her favorite sign there.
A staff of five at the studio work on various projects for clients as well as restore older works. Projects range from putting a couple’s names in lights for their wedding to more commercial work, like designing signs with corporate logos. Clients can also rent out pieces from the studio for display at a party or reception.
The process behind making the signs definitely requires full attention and considerable forethought. Creating the glass is largely a solitary act, where the artist is often their fiercest critic and even slight mistakes can throw off the whole project.
“You have to have hand-to-eye coordination and no fear of failure,” Schaffer said. “You have to have tenacity and ability to learn skills that take years to master, so it’s not an easy thing to become a neon glass blower. A tenacity and patience with one’s self is very important.”
The artist uses a flame to bend the glass, which can make swooping motions, good for cursive script. It requires a sense of timing, precision and patience.
“I’m still not good at it,” said Lanfear, who’s been working with glass since college. “The 20,000-hours rule definitely stands true for this.”
“It’s one of those things where practice doesn’t make perfect but it does make it a lot easier,” Lanfear said. “Patience is a big one and persistence is a big one at the end of the day.”
Schaeffer came to North Carolina from Liverpool, Pa., in the 80s on a scholarship to the University of North Carolina. He opened Glas in 2016 and now lives in New Orleans, a vibrant city of its own and probably in a league above Raleigh in terms of the art scene. He has another studio the Big Easy, Big Sexy Neon.
“Raleigh is coming along really nicely,” Schaeffer said. “It’s just the art scene in New Orleans is more mature. If you throw a stone, you’ll hit somebody making art.”
Schaeffer said his love for the craft came from lighting things up and making things by hand. He’s sculpted glass since college and done it professionally since 1986.
Most neon signs are a callback to how advertising was done before social media, but the online platforms have definitely been a godsend for studios like Glas. They can show off their work on venues like Instagram and introduce neon to a new audience.
“It's been a real positive to the industry,” Schaeffer said. “Because we what do is so visually stimulating, it’s become the default backdrop. It has done a lot for us.”
Glas is at Dock 1053 at the corner of East Whitaker Mill Road and Atlantic Avenue. They’re open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays.
