Lindsey and Mickey Riecken always have been creative people who loved stained glass. Their online marketplace, Adventure Glassworks, allows their artistic visions to run wild.
The couple started the business in 2022, operating it out of a combined home and shop at the former Washington Avenue Church Camp in Elberfeld, Indiana, which they bought about eight years ago.
Inspired by an aunt who created a stained-glass piece, Lindsey decided to give it a try โ she bought a church window and has since branched out to other projects. The Rieckens started using only a dremel. Their techniques have been refined to incorporate a grinder, soldering iron, and copper foiling.
โWe learned from YouTube and trial and error,โ Lindsey says.
Colorful glass creations currently featured on the Adventure Glassworks website include an art deco candleholder, a sun catcher made from hang- ing shapes, and a stained-glass Rubikโs Cube lamp.
The Rieckens produce sun and moon transom panels, and Christmas trees are popular items. Besides a glowy one with the traditional red and green, the Rieckens are working this year on a sugar plum-themed tree, with lighter hues. Trees range from 28 inches to six feet.
The Evansville natives have taken their work โ particularly the trees โ to big area craft shows in the last couple of years, such as the Vanderburgh County 4-H Fair, Castle Band Craft Show, and Montgomery, Indianaโs Chandelier Barn Market.
Their instincts play off one another โ Mickey likes straight lines, while Lindsey prefers crazy, curvy ones. Besides creating their own wares, they also do repair work, if they can find the glass. Mickey enjoys doing that, Lindsey says, because โitโs a puzzle.โ
Mickey works in his familyโs construction business, and Lindsey is with eXp Realty. Adventure Glassworks is a side job, but Lindsey describes it as a passion project, and she hopes it could become a full-time business in the future.
โWhen you love it, you love it,โ she says.
REAL GLASSY
