We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brita Higgins. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brita below.

Brita, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

When starting the business I wanted a fun name that people would remember. All of the names that came to mind just didn’t seem to be right. My sister-in law, Gena, called one day and said, “What about A Pane in the Glass?” Although I thought it might be a bit corny, I still loved it! Looking back on that, I am so glad I didn’t change my mind. People always talk about how much they love it. I have had many people tell me they read it somewhere and years later when they needed my services, they remembered the name.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

As a young child I was always amazed by the beautiful designs and colors in the stained glass in churches. In my senior year in high school at Mandeville High (Louisiana) I was lucky enough to have a great teacher that taught us how to design and build a leaded glass panel. I was hooked! The next year I moved to Ohio to attend University of Cincinnati’s Design, Art, Architecture and Planning School where I studied Industrial Design. While attending college I started a job at Architectural Art Glass in Cincinnati and apprenticed for 3 years under a master stained glass artist. I then moved back home and studied other disciplines like welding, woodworking, and jewelry making and set up a small studio at my house.
A few years later my sister, Siobhan and I were asked by a friend to build several stained glass panels for a restaurant they were opening. It was then that we decided to give it a shot and do stained glass full time! We stumbled across a great retail space in Old Mandeville and started A Pane in the Glass. We worked together for about 3 years and then Siobhan branched out on her own to pursue a different direction.
At A Pane in the Glass I design and build stained glass for homes, businesses and churches. I also do repair and restoration of any type of stained glass like windows, doors, lamps or any other stained glass art. At the shop I also teach stained glass several days each week which I have done since the doors were opened in June of 1998. I have a retail section at the shop where I sell glass, tools and supplies to other artists. There is also completed stained glass art for sale.
It is quite common for clients to come to me with and old or damaged piece of stained glass that they might think is beyond repair. I can almost always bring a piece back from it’s damaged state and restore it to it’s original beauty.
One of the most important things I want clients to know about me is that I will go above and beyond to accomplish whatever it is they are asking of me. Whether or not it is a repair or a custom job, I will work my hardest to make the client happy with the outcome.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I believe the thing that helped build my reputation is how I treat my clients. I always make sure that no matter how easy or hard the job or client is that I treat them the best I can. I make sure I listen to them and give them what they are asking for. I do my work with a smile on my face and treat the client as I would like to be treated.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

My crew is not a large one but no matter how big or small it is I feel it is important to treat your employees with respect. I make sure my employees are comfortable with the work they are doing. I let them know when they are doing a great job and always let them know how much I appreciate their hard work. Just like my clients, I treat my employees the same way I would want to be treated.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.apaneinglass.com
• Instagram: apaneintheglass985
• Facebook: A Pane in the Glass