Masterpieces on glass

Innovation is alive and kicking - sometimes in the most unlikely places. George Camilleri learned the traditional techniques of stained glass while living in New York. When he returned to his native Gozo, he realised that there were only one or two others who followed the centuries-old technique. He yearned to set up his own production. It was, however, years until he decided to start creating his masterpieces.Initially working part-time, the order book grew and in 1999, he left his job as a scuba instructor and set up his own company, GMC, named after himself, his wife Marianne and his son Calvin, both of whom help out.It is a very time-consuming process. He first works on the design - either his own inspiration or his client's. Once this was laid out, he used to meticulously cut out each piece of glass, in many cases hand-painting them. Once baked, these are then slotted into the H-sections of lead, putty is packed into the gaps to make the glass waterproof and the whole picture is mounted into a frame for rigidity.But hand-cutting and grinding each piece of glass was far too slow."I have to admit that this is a passion and not a business. If I were to count up all the hours that I spend on a panel, the client would never be able to afford it," he admitted. As it is, a window-sized panel can cost anything from Lm20 to Lm200 depending on the complexity of the design and whether the glass is painted or not.A machine was clearly the answer but while there are numerous ones that cut straight lines, he could not find any that could cope with curves.Mr Camilleri met Joe Grech during a fair, who told him about the Innovation Relay Centre, which forms part of Malta Enterprise.Mr Grech and Pierre Theuma of ME were intrigued by the challenge. They drew up a technology request and circulated it across the IRC network. They put Mr Camilleri in touch with Mitchell Design Engineers who in turn passed it on to a Manchester company called Trucut."It took two years but I eventually found a company that made machines to cut cardboard for frames. I sent them a video of myself at work so they could understand the sort of thing I wanted and they managed to modify existing technology."Everything was done through the IRC. I did not even have to go over there," he said."It is therefore not pure innovation - more's the pity as it meant that I could not get any funding and had to pay Lm17,000. But I figured that I would have had to pay an employee that amount in four or five years anyway. So it is paying for itself," he said.The IRC continues to refer people to Trucut. Marketing and sales director Graham Ride said that Mr Camilleri's work always generated interest when talking to clients."Despite the interest with a few prospects no one has yet been as far-seeing as George. He is really ahead of his time you know; others will catch up in time," Mr Ride said.He was also full of praise for the IRC."It was a very smooth contract when you consider the complexity of the changes we had to make to software; this was eased by the IRC arranging a contract that was suitable and appropriate to both parties," he said.The machine was sent out two years ago and the impact has been phenomenal. Mr Camilleri plots the design onto a computer using AutoCAD (which he learned on his own), and the software then calculates the best way to lay out the design to reduce wastage. The cut is clean and the pieces emerge ready to slot into the lead."This is a considerably time saver, especially when you consider that one panel could have as many as 500 pieces," he explained.Over the years, Mr Camilleri has done work for the Basilica of St George and the Zebbug chapel, as well as for hotels and restaurants and numerous private homes. At present he is working on a domed skylight, made up of six handpainted and airbrushed panels. He has to make a second one by February.Last year, a Swede saw a panel that he sent up to an EU-funded exhibition, loved it and came to Gozo to order one."I am very interested in international markets. The problem is that you have to have enough pieces to display and as it is, I only have enough time to cope with orders," he said."People really appreciate the uniqueness of each item. These are not like standard shades of stained glass - each is different. So far, I have not even needed to advertise as word of mouth has been sufficient. In any case, advertising would never be able to capture the beauty of stained glass."Mr Camilleri's work bears the mark of the perfectionist and yet he is loathe to take on employees."This is an art form and no two artists would paint alike. Can you imagine if two artists were working on pieces for the same panel and their style was different?"If his order books continue to grow, however, he may not have any choice...