Sandy's Designs

Orlando, WV

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Sandra Conrad ~ Glass Engraving

Sandra Conrad grew up in Madison Heights, Michigan. Upon graduating from high school she and her family moved to Orlando, West Virginia. In 1971 she began working at the West Virginia Glass Company in Weston and worked there until 1975. In 1978 she was hired at the Louie Glass Company where she worked in the cutting shop on the cutting wheel machine, in the blow room where she cracked the glass off the pipe, in the finishing department where she did multiple duties such as sand blasting, lustered the glass (sprayed color on the glass), was a packer, polisher, grinder, and inspected the glass before packing for flaws. In 1980 she took a job at the Stonewall Jackson Hospital, but returned to Louie Glass a year later and remained with the factory.

Over the years the Louie Glass Company was sold to Princess House and finally the Glassworks Factory. Sandy continued to work at the factory until it closed in April 2004. In July 2004 the Capredoni Company bought the factory and began work on a different kind of glass. This company made glass sculptures. Sandy would add her own mark to these pieces by engraving branches and grass to each of the sculptures. In addition she would sign each piece with the Capredoni signature, sand blast, buff, and grind the pieces.

In the early 1990’s Sandy was approached by a co-worker who knew of her ability to draw. He asked her to engrave a design on a piece of glass with a tool that he had. This is how she discovered this new art form. Over the years she would engrave glass for family and friends. She soon discovered that she could profit from her talent by going to arts and crafts shows and selling her pieces.

Sandy has a variety of glass from mugs to large vases. Some of the glass was made in the Glassworks factory in Weston. However, since the factory has been closed, the supply of West Virginia glass is almost non-existent and very difficult to come by. Sandy has had to begin to purchase glass through a variety of different stores and other factories outside of West Virginia. However, the designs on these pieces makes each piece a work of art and a piece of West Virginia. In addition, Sandy also buys novelty items such as glass eggs, candy kisses, apples, ornaments, etc. from former co-workers who create their own glass. She then takes these items and makes them her own by engraving designs on them.