ROCHESTER, N.Y. — If you’ve seen stained glass throughout the state of New York, there’s a high chance it was made or repaired by a family-owned business in Rochester. 

Since 1908, Pike Stained Glass Studios has been at work for those looking for beauty that’ll last a lifetime.

What You Need To Know

  • Pike Stained Glass Studios in Rochester has been in business since 1908

  • Valerie O’Hara learned the trade from her parents, passed down from generations

  • Much of Pike Stained Glass Studios work can be found in churches across upstate New York

“At this point over 50 years, I started when I was a child working for my parents part-time after school, and then started working full-time the day after I graduated from Fine Arts school at RIT,” said Valerie O’Hara, president and designer of Pike Stained Glass Studios, Inc.

Valerie O’Hara learned this craft from her parents when she was young, a unique trade passed on for three generations.

When it comes to making stained glass, O’Hara tells us it’s an eight-part process.

“Each one takes about an hour a square foot, so the windows are about 8 hours per square foot total,” said O’Hara.

The process largely done by hand, and has barely changed over the last 100 years.

“The only thing that has changed is the electricity for the soldering iron, so after this is all assembled, we solder every single joint on both sides,” O’Hara added.

The stained glassed windows last between 100 and 200 years before needing work, so many of the pieces at the studio are easily more than 100 years old, or were damaged.

“I always say you name a church in upstate New York, we probably had something to do with it, because we’ve done hundreds of new designs all over the state, and then also repair work,” said O’Hara.

A few churches with work from Pike Stained Glass Studios include St. John of Rochester Church in Fairport, Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Romulus, First Presbyterian Church in Corning, Villa Maria College Chapel in Buffalo, and the Rochester Public Library to name a few.

The artist says making stained glass requires a lot of skills because of the different materials used to make them. 

"Every design is unique and it’s a challenge to try to match all of the different textures,” O’Hara said. 

O’Hara tells Spectrum News every day is different, so making stained glass keeps her fascinated with creating new masterpieces.