Testimonials
Note: Although some of
these testimonials were requested by me, I have changed nothing but
spelling errors.
Mark
Stine IS the most honest, creative, talented
artist! I found Mark's Transparent Dreams website while researching
stained glass. My husband and I wanted to give our son and his new
bride a unique gift for their wedding that would symbolize the union of
two wonderful, inter-faith people and serve as a family heirloom-a
legacy-for our children's children's children. I read his site
completely, studied his artwork, the craftsmanship, and learned about
the characteristics of quality stained-glass workmanship. I then went
to several local art shows and "studied" their stained glass artistry
and technique utilizing Mark's guidelines for recognizing good quality
stained glass. No one could match his craftsmanship-NO ONE!! So, I
followed the commission process posted online, and emailed Mark. He
followed up immediately, so I called him to discuss the details. He was
so genuine, forthright, and honest. I knew at that moment I wanted only
Mark to create my son's family heirloom! Over the months of creating
the piece, he was very professional. His communications were timely,
detailed, and included step by step pictures of the creative process.
Then, our beautiful masterpiece stained glass window was completed and
shipped. Our son and daughter-in-law were amazed and speechless when
they opened their wedding gift surprise! They said it was the most
beautiful stained glass they had ever seen! They said, "This is such a
magnificent, unique, one-of-a-kind, gift! We LOVE it!" My husband and I
are very pleased with our beautiful stained glass gift, and our entire
experience working with Mark. I highly recommend him!
Mark,
you are such an honest, fabulous, talented artist, and master of your
craft! It's been such a pleasure working with you. Thank you.
Toni Beth K. - Virginia Beach, VA
(the artwork referred to in the testimonial above can be seen here.)
Mark - Just wanted to let
you know that the glass arrived today and it is
truly stunning. The pictures you sent didn't capture the colors at all.
They are just brilliant. I looked at some stained glass work
at art fairs and a studio here in NY and am very glad I found your
web site. After reading on your site, and ESPECIALLY
after seeing the finished work, I now can see the difference that
experienced and precision craftsmanship makes. I've never seen glass
like yours before. The lines are so flowing, so even. Everything looks
so precisely fitted. The curves for the lettering are so
perfect! I can't wait to see what my friend
thinks. We will send pictures when it is established in its
final display place (they are still waiting for new home to pass
inspection). Thank you so much for the work and talent you put
into this piece for me!
Denise B. DVM, Geneva, NY
"Mark
Stine's glass studio was recommended
by a contractor to do the stained glass for our entryway. When we first
spoke by phone, I was a little unsure of this since his studio was so
far from us. He assured me that he was experienced in working for
people who did not live nearby, so I asked him to send me photos of his
work and a bid on our front hall windows. The work appeared to be
better than the stained glass we had seen locally, and the bid was only
a little bit higher than bids we had gotten from studios near us. Mark
explained that the cost of shipping was offset by not having to pay
taxes as we would have had to do with a local stained glass shop. He
guided my husband through taking the right measurements and sent more
than 30 glass samples in the various colors and textures we were
considering. The work arrived on time and in good order, and was easily
installed by a local glass person, as Mark had suggested. We absolutely
love the result and we get many comments on it from visitors to our new
home. I can honestly recommend Mark Stine's studio, even to people who
do not live near him."
LaClita R., Gainsville GA
"My
business partner and I first saw Mark Stine's
stained glass in a gallery in Denver. At the time, we were just getting
our fast food restaurant project off the ground and we were considering
stained glass as part of the decor. Mark designed the windows to be
cost effective; each restaurant had many simple but elegant windows as
transoms and room dividers, with one fancy window by the front door
that included the name of the city in it. Mark's bid was comparable to
the others we got, but his designs seemed to be the most creative so we
gave him the job. For the next 3 1/2 years, Mark's shop created
hundreds of windows for what was eventually 13 restaurants. The quality
of the work was consistently excellent. Mark was the only subcontractor
who was always on time. His
work had to wait for almost every location's construction crew to catch
up. He personally delivered the work to all 13 restaurants in
Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho. I even commissioned a special logo artwork
for my office. Mark was the ultimate professional. Even though he asked
me to write this testimonial, I am glad to do it. I recommend
his studio highly."
Andy R., Main Street 1910
Restaurants, Denver CO
"We manufacture large
scale wood carving
furniture and installations, including many large entryways for both
commercial and residential projects. I had just taken on the most
intricately carved residential entryway that our company had ever been
commissioned to make when I spotted the signs on the side of Mark
Stine's van, and handed him my business card. He came to my office the
next day before heading back to Denver and showed me several stunning
artworks that he had with him. Although his studio is far from Santa
Fe, I wanted to give him a chance to bid against the local studio that
I had used for stained glass in the past. I faxed Mark a design for a 7
foot circle of stained glass that would sit above the door in the
entryway we had been commissioned to make. The next day, Mark faxed me
back that a 7 foot circular window would not be as sound as breaking up
the stained glass into a 4 foot circle with eight surrounding pieces.
His fax included a redrawn version of the original design which
included the internal wood framework that he was proposing we include.
I felt that this effort was way beyond what I usually expected from a
subcontractor! Not only that, but Mark's bid was only slightly higher
than the one I got from the local glass studio, including personally
delivering the stained glass to us. Naturally, the small extra cost was
well worth the superior craftsmanship of this studio's work, and we
were happy to give them the commission. Although we sent templates for
the nine panels, Mark's measurements on a previous occasion convinced
him that the templates were off. He called to tell me this, and we
agreed that he would drive down to Santa Fe to recheck the fit. We
agreed that I would pay him for this trip if the templates were
actually off, but not pay him if the templates were actually okay. They
were indeed off. The few hundred dollars extra was well worth having
the panels made right. Mark also spoke directly with my clients back
East, then sent them glass samples so they could pick out just the
right glasses. Although we began this process months ahead of time,
problems with the clients resulted in my not being able to get the down
payment to Mark until just 3 weeks before I needed the windows
delivered. He rearranged his studio's schedule to get the work to me on
the date promised. The panels were stunning and they fit perfectly into
place. I could not have been more satisfied."
Jeremy M., Santa Fe
NM
"It
has been five years since we built our
home, and I've forgotten just how we met Mark Stine. What I do remember
is the professionalism with which we were treated by Mark and his
studio. He guided us through each of the eight projects he did for our
home. His suggestions were always insightful. Our house is filled with
stained glass and beveled glass windows that continue to get lots of
wonderful comments from people who visit us. Many thanks, Mark, for
being the kind of caring artist that you are."
Bill A., Bel Air CA
"Tony
and I met Mark at an arts and crafts
show about two years ago. I have always liked stained glass, but was
usually disappointed with the quality of the pieces I had seen. I was
immediately very impressed with the quality of Mark's work, which is
still the best I have ever seen. We bought a hanging piece that day,
which we love. About a year later, I called Mark to see if we could
have the piece enlarged to fit our front door. Mark was very
accommodating. He came to our house to look at the door. He
said he would do what we wanted, but pointed out that it wouldn't cost
much more to make a brand new piece than to enlarge the one we already
had. It worked out great because we were able to match the colors of
our front hall carpet runner. Mark did his usual excellent job and
installed the piece within a very short time. Now we love two of his
artworks!"
Shelly N., Denver CO
"I
have recommended Transparent Dreams
Glass Studio to a number of my clients, and I have commissioned their
art for two of my own homes. Mark Stine has always been courteous,
dependable, accommodating, and one of the only contractors I have
worked with who has always finished the work on time. His ability to
design stained glass that is simple, yet original and elegant has made
it easy to convince my clients that getting bids from other stained
glass studios is unnecessary. Anyone who has looked closely at stained
glass in commercial and residential settings will immediately
appreciate the work of this studio. It is the best! Mark has also been
completely open and honest in letting me know what he is doing for my
clients, and in paying me a commission. I will continue to recommend
this studio whenever I can."
Chris H., ASID, Littleton CO
"Transparent
Dreams Glass was recommended
to me by my interior designer. What impressed me most about them was
that Mark Stine never missed a meeting with us and was even on time! He
helped my husband and I through every aspect of the process and he was
never satisfied until we were. The stained glass windows his studio did
for our front hall have gotten more comments than any other thing we
did to decorate our home."
Carol D., Denver CO
"Some
years ago, my husband and I wanted
to donate something to our synagogue in memory of our departed
parents. The Rabbi said that the board had been thinking of
having a stained glass artwork made for the Bimah (the holy Ark that
holds the Hebrew Bible scrolls). We agreed to donate this artwork as
long as our dear friend, Mark Stine, was commissioned to make it. Mark
spoke with us and with the Rabbi, then designed four completely unique
designs. We and the Rabbi liked the same design best, so there was no
doubt as to which one Mark would make. The final piece was mounted in a
beautiful wood frame, which Mark had made by one of his resources, and
back-lit with fluorescent lights. At first, it could only be seen when
the Bimah's drapes were opened to remove or put back one of the Torahs.
About a year later, the synagogue's board decided they liked the
stained glass so much that they had new drapes made which would hang
down starting below the stained glass. After that, Mark's artwork could
be seen all the time. A few years after that, our synagogue merged with
another synagogue, and moved into their buildings. We made sure that
Mark's stained glass was removed and safely stored until it could be
remounted in the other synagogue. It really is a magnificent piece."
Darlene S., Denver CO
"I
love horses and I love stained glass. I
had been looking for a stained glass artist for over three years to
create a horse in stained glass. Until I saw Mark's work, I was
continually disappointed with the quality of the stained glass I saw.
Mark's work was very intricate and very clean looking. I immediately
knew that I had been smart in waiting, and that Mark would be the one
to create my stained glass horse. Mark helped me to decide what I
wanted the piece to look like and how much I wanted to spend. He
created three drawings that were all great. I picked the one I liked
best, and he made some changes to it that I suggested. He helped me to
pick just the right glass to use. He soon had it finished and he hung
it for me. It is so beautiful! I really love it! It is one of my
favorite horse pieces out of all of my collection. You will not go
wrong having Mark make something for you!"
Marla D., Aurora CO
"We
first saw Mark Stine's stained glass
at an arts and craft show. We decided to have him make a window for the
front of our house depicting a flamingo (my wife's favorite subject)
and a zeppelin (my favorite subject). Although this was a very wacky
idea, Mark was eager to do it up right! His first design was perfect,
and the artwork he created is still the talk of our neighborhood. Since
then, I have commissioned Mark to make two stained glass windows of my
favorite aircraft and two windows of eskimo art birds. All of these
artworks hang proudly throughout our home, and I am sure that I will
commission Mark again. His work is the best I have seen, and I'm an old
guy!"
Bill B., Fort Collins CO
"I
first saw Mark's stained glass at
Trimble Court, a craft gallery here in fort Collins. I commissioned
Mark to make a pair of beveled and colored glass windows for two spaces
between my office and our living room. Although I wasn't at all sure of
what I wanted, Mark helped me to see that I had definite wants in terms
of style, privacy, colors, and other factors. He created several
drawings from which I chose one that I liked a lot. We matched the
colored glass border to the color of our fireplace brick. It seemed the
windows were ready almost immediately. Mark installed them himself. I
liked them so much that I commissioned Mark about a year later to make
two stained glass windows for my front hall. I love them too."
Wanda K., Fort Collins CO
"Mark
Stine made two very wonderful
stained glass windows for my master bedroom suite. He helped me to
figure out what type of design I wanted, and he made several drawings
for me to choose from. He was most helpful in the choice of glass,
since my concern was to ensure that the windows would provide the
privacy I needed but still let in a lot of light during the daytime.
The windows are great and I never tire of looking at them. I love
Mark's work and I am already considering letting him create stained
glass for my upper living room windows."
Maria P., Fort
Collins CO
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