Email  Print  del.icio.us  digg  yahoo!  Feed

Subscribe to Midwest Home : Web Section MH

Glass Fantastic

Local artisans add a touch of glam to any design

Photo by David J. Turner (3)

Step into the nondescript building just west of downtown Minneapolis’ trendy North Loop neighborhood, and you enter a dazzling world of glass. Home to two showrooms, a warehouse, and a fabrication facility, Glass Art Design can create just about anything you can imagine in glass. From the mundane—tile and shower enclosures—to the fantastic—water walls and fire-molded vanity tops with drop-out sinks—this 24-year-old custom shop tackles it all. The two unassuming guys behind all this glitter and glam, co-owners Bob Guenter and Ron Lemmer, focus on different sides of the business: Lemmer, who once owned a custom furniture store, handles sales and marketing; and Guenter, more of a hands-on glass artisan, focuses on the design side. Together they’ve built a 14-employee custom shop known among builders, architects, designers, and retail customers for its fine, artisan-quality work, and its willingness to take on unique and challenging projects. “Can-do” is part of the fun, says Lemmer. “We never have to say, ‘no.’”

Living color A new showroom displays fire-molded glass doors, backed by Glass-Kote walls created with a special color-matching and coating process.	Rainbow dazzle This fire-molded countertop and drop-out sink reflects iridescent, custom glass tiles.

Glass Art Design, Minneapolis, 427 N. 10th Ave., Minneapolis, 612-870-0247, www.glassartdesign.com