Glass and crystal awards have a luxurious look to them. Photo courtesy of SCT Crystal

What is glass? It’s not really a solid, but it’s not a liquid either. It can be transparent or opaque, strong or brittle, sharp or smooth. It is amorphous, melted sand. It is used by artists and industrialists. Glass, in essence, creates the illusion of a shape of air frozen in sculpture, outlined by smooth, slick, shiny boundaries.

Glass is many things. In our world, the sandcarving process is excellent for personalizing high-end artistic awards and gifts created from glass and crystal, but we cannot forget that it is excellent for carving wood, stone and other products as well. We talked to some of the industry’s top sandcarving experts and got their views about the importance of this profitable market segment.

The Value Of Sandcarving

Computerized rotary engraving has been around for 30 years, and computerized laser engraving has been around for 20 years. The critical selling point for each piece of equipment was and still is their ability to be sent jobs and complete them as though they were just another printer hooked up to a computer. Of course, it’s not quite that simple—especially in the case of rotary engraving—but neither is it much more complicated. There are rotary engravers made with attachments specifically made to engrave glass, and there are glass awards engineered to be engraved by laser. With this type of equipment available, what is the value of sandcarving, a process that requires focused hands-on attention?

Barry Dyas of J. Charles Crystalworks in Erlanger, Kentucky, puts it simply, “If one wants to decorate glass, this is the best way to go based on current technology.”

To some, the process itself is the value. “What I enjoy most about sandcarving is the creative license sandcarving affords,” says Billy Willis of Rayzist Photomask in Vista, California. “You do not have to be a highly creative person to sandcarve, but the process and a few techniques allow you to be absolutely unique to anything that would typically be automated.”

According to some, one need only look to see the difference. Chung-In Park of CIP Creation Corp. in Irvine, California, says, “Sandblasting provides a different effect with more depth, a better result, and it is a more suitable engraving method on crystals. Unlike laser engraving, the edges come out clean and sharp. The final product looks much better with more depth and cleaner edges. In addition, the nature of the engraving itself adds more perceived value.”

Sandcarving gives a very high level of detail to an imprint.  Photo courtesy of Crystal D

That opinion is shared by others. According to Bridget Dahlgren of Crystal D Creations in St. Paul, Minnesota, “It is important for an awards shop to use sandcarving, or etching, as an imprint technique, because etching with sand gives a very high level of detail to an imprint. In addition, an etched crystal imprint adds beauty to an award without compromising the inherent sparkle of the crystal itself.”

Dyas agrees, adding that lasers are not compatible with any crystal that contains lead.

“It’s important for retailers to offer sandcarved products, not only for diversity but also for profitability. Sandcarving products today are more widely available, so much so, trophy suppliers are now offering engraving blanks. Whether it’s recognition products or personalization products, sandcarving gives awards retailers a more affordable alternative yet offers tremendous versatility to profiting in this slower economy,” says Willis.

Eric Chen of Crystal By Design in El Monte, California, points out that sandcarving equipment is not as expensive an investment as computerized engravers, yet they still provide shops with the ability to deliver beautiful pieces that are worth a million words. He adds, “Even though abrasive etching is a very labor-intensive process, it allows for a deeper etch which produces much cleaner and more beautiful results.”

Craig Kubasta of Ikonics Imaging in Duluth, Minnesota, notes that, “Sandcarving offers a wide variety of products that can be etched, allowing for an award shop to easily expand and diversify their product offering. Decorative etching also can accommodate engraving on compound curves, spheres, crescents or any other challenging shapes.”

The ability to personalize items of odd shape without the use of jigs is a definite advantage of sandcarving. Kubasta adds that abrasive etching also creates a very crisp etch and can easily carve into many materials while retaining a sharp image. He adds, “Multi-level stage carving and shading can also be accomplished using abrasive etching.”

Progression Of Skills

The history of glass is vague, and there are a variety of different accounts, but most agree that its past travels back quite some time; the earliest references date it to 3,500 B.C., in Mesopotamia. They made glass beads and used glass glazes. The creation of “hollow glass,” such as a vase, and “blown glass,” took another three-and-a-half thousand years. Glass products and the craft was spread throughout the region by Phoenicians, and it was a trade supported by the Roman Empire, one that declined with the Empire in Europe in the 4th and 5th centuries, leaving glassmaking to craftsmen in Egypt, Iraq and Iran. However, glass making remained a trade in Venice, which traded heavily with those regions.

Around the 12th and 13th centuries, glass saw a revival in Europe, indicated by the stained glass in churches and cathedrals, the art and trade most likely revived by the Crusades. At one point, the trade was considered valuable enough by Venice that glass makers were moved to Murano and discouraged from leaving in order to keep their secrets safe. Venice became the primary producers of glass for Europe by the 15th century. Lead crystal was not discovered until 1676, by George Ravenscroft, adding clarity and brilliance to the glass while also making it softer. Today, glass is an important part of our lives.

Accentuation crystals give awards a unique touch and striking features. Photo courtesy of Topmost

Why the history lesson? It shows that glass took a long time to develop into the medium that we take for granted today. However, once the basics of the science and craft were learned, its development leapt forward in great bounds. Keeping that in mind, one should be patient when learning to sandcarve glass, but with persistence, one should also expect vast improvement very quickly.

Sandcarving, or abrasive etching, is a form of personalization that requires a certain level of craftsmanship and experience to use effectively, but it is also a process that allows newcomers to personalize a wide variety of products with skills learned in a short period of time, skills that will continue to grow.
Abrasive etching is a technique that can easily be learned by first-time users, says Kubasta. “Typically, the best way to learn is hands-on. As you work with the equipment and photo-resist films, you develop your technique and learn their capabilities. Ikonics Imaging offers free technical support and free training seminars at The NBM Shows to help a new sandcarver get started. We also offer multiple Schools of Photo Resist Sandcarving for more in-depth training.”

“There is very little skill or craftsmanship required to effectively sandcarve onto many surfaces. Newcomers love our sandcarving systems because of their quality and superior wear-resist parts; maintenance is simple, and the machines are simple to use. There are certainly techniques that are acquired and effectively taught. There are few limits to the art of creative sandcarving and the versatility to etching products that are available; this is more an expertise that is taught,” says Willis.

Chen agrees, saying that with the recent developments with photomasks and sandblasters, it is very easy to get started, and it does not take that long to master the skills. “Of course, you will gain a certain level of skill with experience, but it is not difficult to learn. It is all about practice.”

Of course, not everyone agrees that sandcarving can be picked up quickly or easily. Dyas cautions that what looks easy at first glance is actually not. There are several steps involved in the process, starting with preparing the glass. If this is not done correctly, the blasting of the glass will not go well. It takes time to get good at this job and to get fast at it.

Help!

As Chen infers, nothing can replace practice to help develop a skill. However, there are a number of tools available to beginners to help their sandcarving business get going as quickly as possible.

Kubasta notes again that Ikonics Imaging offers free technical support, free sandcarving seminars at The NBM Shows and multiple Photo Resist Sandcarving Schools to help lower the learning curve. Kubasta adds that Ikonics Imaging offers an extensive line of sandcarvers to fit anyone’s individual needs. “Our most popular machine is the newly redesigned CrystalBlast Elite.”

In addition, they have a couple of products made to accelerate the learning process further. “The best and easiest product for new and existing users is RapidMask, the only dry-processing photo-resist film. RapidMask eliminates steps in the standard photo-resist development process, and creating a sandcarved piece is as easy as expose, apply, and blast. Ikonics Imaging also offers innovative washout photo-resist films called R3 and R5. The R3 and R5 have very fast washouts, reposition easily, and remove quickly for an easy sandcarving experience,” says Kubasta.

Of course, they are not the only ones who offer sandcarving education. “Rayzist’s belief is that education is priceless. We offer very extensive sandcarving classes in our state-of-the-art workshop, where we teach by hands-on demonstrations. If you cannot make it to a workshop, visit our booth at a city near you; we offer free seminars on several processes. Invest in yourself and learn from sandcarving experts,” says Willis. He adds that Rayzist has training and how-to videos on their YouTube sandcarving channel.

A&E writer Ruth Dobbins also runs the Aliento School in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where many shop owners and artists have learned sandcarving for many years.

Prices & Profits

Given the hands-on approach to personalization done with abrasive etching (users cannot simply start a job and then walk away, as with a laser), pricing sandcarved gifts and awards presents a challenge to shops, especially those who are just learning the process and therefore take longer to perform the personalization.

Willis notes that sandcarving is not an automated process, like a laser, but the benefit is the hands-on approach of a handcrafted product.

Sandcarving offers a wide variety of products that can be etched, allowing an award shop to easily expand and diversify their product offering. Photo courtesy of Ikonics

“In today’s world of cookie-cutter products, you can sell the talent of your facility. Glass and cut crystal years ago had been reserved for kings and heads of state. Today, the product is more widely available, although the process has been greatly simplified from the true artisans of old,” says Willis. He adds that the sandcarver is a modern-day artisan, and that the perceived quality of the workmanship needs to be sold as well as the piece itself.

“This is a form of art. It’s time consuming and very involved. When people ask for discounts for multiple pieces, it will work for laser engraving, but for etching, discounts can’t be applied on multiple pieces. How many pieces they can manage a day on average and how much they cost (material + labor) should be good factors to measure,” says Park.

Although it is not difficult to enter the abrasive-etching business, says Chen, it does require a detail-oriented and patient personality to produce a perfect piece. Shops will need to factor in the time it takes to complete the piece from beginning to end.

“As they gain experience and are able to etch more quickly and efficiently, they will be able to see a larger profit. Then they must factor in the cost of their materials. Depending on a variety of markets, we recommend to at least triple the price of your cost of the piece,” says Chen.

Dyas says price will depend on the piece, and he adds some guidelines. For smaller items such as barware, a shop should be spending two to three minutes per piece. For larger award-type pieces, you are probably looking at five to ten minutes.

Since personalized sandcarved products have a high perceived value, notes Kubasta, they can yield healthy profit margins. He adds, “That said, it should be understood that perceived value is, by nature, subjective, since individuals perceive value differently. Therefore, every market is different, and conducting pricing research will help determine the price your market can bear while maximizing profitability.”

Gifts & Awards

Each year, there are new designs and styles in glass and crystal awards. We asked the sources for this article what new pieces they are most excited about.

Bruce Wang of Topmost World in Montclair, California, notes that, “We continue to focus our glass and crystal products to maximize the personalization area. For our new 2011 collection, our Teacher’s Pet Apple and the Goddess Award series are designed with large flat surfaces to include the recipient’s name, title, accomplishment, and/or logo.”

“The Vision Diamond Award,” says Kubasta. “It is designed with four tapered bevels, and it is available in 3/8”-thick Crystal Clear and Jade glass. Three sizes with overall heights of 6”, 7 3/8” and 8 5/8” are available. The Vision Diamond is a great value and is 100% American made.”

Many glass and crystal products are designed to maximize the personalization area. Photo courtesy of SCT Crystal

Park notes that CIP Creation Corp. showed a few new pieces that will be featured in their new catalog coming up late this year. “Some pieces are variations of our current pieces. We’ve collaborated metal with crystals: blue, black and clear. We added more variety of metal parts, not just chrome-plated metal, but also matched copper and aluminum. Of course, all these new pieces have large engraving areas, and on black optic or even blue optic, you can actually do color fill to make the artwork look more stunning and pop.”

Willis is excited about improvements made to Rayzist’s sandcarving film, SR3000™ Self Stick film. “SR3000™ films have been engineered with superior wear resistance; total repositioning of the stencil for easy placement of your design and unmatched flexibility of the film provide tremendous ease of use to a wide variety of skill sets,” says Willis. He adds that Rayzist distributes a wonderful and affordable crystal blanks line with excellent quality and customer service.

Dahlgren notes that in 2011, Crystal D Creations introduced a number of new award designs that were created to incorporate an etched imprint. “In total, we offer 1,200 award designs to trophy retailers,” says Dahlgren.

Chen notes that one of Crystal By Design’s newest designs, the Blue Diamond award, has a very unique design and requires extreme precision to finish. “We pride ourselves in designing all of our own awards ourselves to maintain the integrity of our company.”

Customers Of Glass & Crystal

Glass and crystal gifts and awards have long been thought of as the purchasing domain of corporations and businesses. But is this still the case, or have other customers been brought into this arena?

“Yes, this is still the case. The glass and crystal gift awards have been a favorite of our customers. They have a luxurious look to them, but they are quite affordable and friendly to the wallet,” says Mark Zhu of SCT Crystal in South El Monte, California.

The corporate recognition and awards market, Willis believes, is still the largest part of the sandcarving market. The gift market has exploded in the past 10 years with the introduction and flood of the marketplace of optic crystal products. The personalization and ad specialty markets contribute to sandcarving’s popularity. There are many other markets that sandcarving is used for: memorial products of every sort, pet remembrances, the bridal market, wayfinding signage, donor recognition, art glass, stained glass, identification marking, bottle decoration and personalization, home décor, etc.

“The market has definitely widened to include local association award ceremonies, sporting award events, and last but not least, schools districts recognizing teachers and staff,” says Wang.

This Teacher’s Pet Apple is designed with a large flat surface to include the recipient’s name, title, and accomplishment. Photo courtesy of Topmost

Park has observed other customers (non-corporate) coming to purchase crystal. Crystal is used for other occasions that people didn’t use it for before. “Still, quite a big part of the market sells to corporations, but there are more of the others now than before. In the past, the price of optic crystal was much higher, but it has now come down quite a bit. It became more affordable and available to more people.”

“Glass and crystal products have become popular in markets other than corporate customers,” says Kubasta. “Ikonics Imaging offers a very broad line of CrystalEdge engravable glass and optic crystal blanks for a wide variety of occasions. Popular applications include weddings, anniversaries, graduations, holidays, hobby clubs, collectibles, signage and many other special occasions.”

Dyas agrees, noting that there are opportunities out there with other markets such as signage, though based on the equipment most dealers have, the size of the sign is limited.

“Glass and crystal gifts are still mainly for corporate awards and will account for much of the larger orders,” says Chen. However, he adds that it is getting more popular for memorable items for personal occasions.

Trends

The recent trends for glass and crystal blanks have been the purchase of smaller, economically priced items in place of the larger pieces favored years ago. However, recently, others have noticed new trends.

Dahlgren insists, “We continue to see a trend toward the larger pieces. Businesses are willing to invest in employee recognition again and are looking for awards that will make a big impact. They can find what they are looking for in a crystal award.”

Others have seen that trend as well. “Due to the economic situation, the buying trend has steered toward more economical items. However, starting the beginning of this year, we have been experiencing a comeback for the demand of larger pieces and more premium items,” says Chen.

While some are optimistic about a return to larger items, some see the market as having shifted more deeply.

Park notes that this is not really a new trend. “Since we came out with CIP’s Econo Line, which is a range of simple crystal pieces with friendly prices, they have become quite popular. Our expensive items still do move, but quite a few customers do enjoy purchasing our Econo Line to accommodate their customers’ budget.”

Barry Slee, President and CEO of the Slee Corporation/CrystalEdge, says that, “With so many award and recognition budgets being cut (and unfortunately in many cases eliminated altogether), the $5 to $10 products have replaced the $15 to $25 range products that were common for glass and crystal prior to 2007. For the larger-priced products, the volumes have been reduced by at least 50% during the recession. The focus now is on the very best value for the price. This is where our design and product development efforts are being focused. We are also finding that customers are specifically asking more and more for American-made products within a set price range.”

The slower economy has indeed led customers to spend more conservatively, acknowledges Wang. “However, this is also an opportunity for us to redesign some awards to either meet their decreased budget or create more unique pieces that will justify their cost.”

“The large pieces of crystal blanks have still been favored over the smaller pieces, because the larger pieces provide a larger space for etchings, logos, and messages. One of the newest trends on the market are the awards that are clear with dark blue, or black, crystal. These accentuation crystals give the awards a unique touch and striking features,” says Zhu.

Fortunately, price has not been the only trend in the world of glass and crystal personalization.

“One trend that I am seeing a lot of is donor recognition products, walkways, walls and gardens. They are very affordable products and rather lucrative profits,” says Willis.

Another recent trend reported was the incorporation of color into awards personalized by abrasive etching. Chen says that color-filled awards are a good way to incorporate color in logos or have the engraving stand out, especially against a dark background.

“Colored crystal awards are a recent trend that is slowly growing. The challenge is pinpointing the colors customers prefer to use for their events on the right awards. The next logical step is to create custom colors on any award piece in our catalog. Oftentimes, the engraver can also use color paint on the etched logos or letters to accommodate the customer’s preferred color scheme,” says Wang.

In recent years, the market for glass and crystal awards has widened. Photo courtesy of Topmost

“We cannot speak for adding color to awards that are personalized with abrasive etching,” says Dahlgren. “However, we can comment on the utilization of color and sandcarving. Color can be added to an etched design using color-fill or our exclusive four-color imprint process called Illumachrome™. Adding color, using these imprint techniques or by purchasing an award that includes colored crystal, continues to be a growing trend!”

While many awards retailers are finding success with color-fill, not everyone is a fan. Dyas notes that color in crystal awards is driven by corporations who want their corporate colors as part of their award. “I am not a big fan of color-fill. It has a tendency to cheapen the product and make it look like plastic. We have worked the last few years in developing products that incorporate colored glass into the mix. These colors are transparent and brilliant as opposed to color-fill which is opaque. It introduces color without cheapening the look or taking the magic out of crystal.”

Diversifying With Sandcarving

Over the last three years, many awards retailers have sought ways to diversify their businesses to introduce new revenue streams, but they did not want to invest a large amount of money. It was reported that many of them chose abrasive etching.

“This slow, unstable economy has really been the perfect storm for my business. We have increased sales through a down market, because sandcarving is a no-risk market to increasing profit potential, with an amazingly diverse product pool,” says Willis.

Kubasta has observed that a lot of businesses have recognized how decorative etching can expand their capabilities and product offerings. “They have also acknowledged that abrasive etching can be used in conjunction with their laser engravers. This is accomplished by using their laser engraver and LaserTape to create the sandblast stencil and then using the sandcarver to achieve the refined look of abrasive etching.”

Final Thoughts

If you are worried about learning sandcarving, don’t be. Attend a seminar, and you will be amazed at how quickly you learn. Who knows, you may enjoy it, as well as finding it profitable.

“Sandcarving is still a mystery to most; look inside and explore the wide world of this amazing and creative market. Rayzist has made sandcarving films so simple; specifically manufactured equipment has shattered the notion that this industry is dirty. The designs are appealing, and in my personal opinion, sandcarving is therapeutic. I am not a creative person; sandcarving allows me to be creative, because there are no rules in sandcarving; you are only limited by your own imagination,” says Willis.