Glassing Up The Place
John Petchonka and Rob Sassone owners of Ridgefield Glass
Ridgefield Glass is opening a new storage facility, conducting a symposium featuring international artisans and is turning its attention to three new products made possible by recent technological innovations.
The company has been in business for more than 30 years on Rte. 33.
“We”™re expanding and modernizing, bringing the business up to 21st-century standards,” said Rob Sassone, co-owner.
Owners, John Petchonka of Ridgefield and Sassone of Wilton, met through their sons”™ hockey team and bought Ridgefield Glass from the original owners four years ago.
According to Petchonka, frameless shower doors constitute 60 percent of the company”™s business.
“We grew that part of the business a bit more,” said Petchonka. “But the up-and-coming trends are what we”™re really interested in. We”™re trying to inform our clients as to what”™s out there. This isn”™t something just in theory, these are ideas that are applied more typically out in California and in Europe and New York City. We have clients who live in the city and come up here and want to use that same kind of design philosophy when they”™re doing their home in this area.”
Ridgefield Glass will be holding its first “Innovations in Glass” symposium Feb.26 for builders, contractors, architects, interior designers and home enthusiasts at Le Château Banquet Facility in South Salem, N.Y. The company has invited glass craftsmen from around the world.
“Glass accents command your attention by creating a dramatic look, while offering sleek and sturdy functionality.” said Petchonka. “Creative glass treatments are at the top of the list for new home design features for both existing homes and new construction.”
According to Petchonka, glass is a cost-effective and an increasingly popular way to reinvent an interior.
“As the architects and designers come on board with these capabilities, they can recommend them to their customers,” said Sassone. “That”™s the reason for this whole symposium, to bring the designers and architects up to speed on what”™s going on out there, what”™s available to them, and how it”™s much more cost competitive.”
According to Petchonka, technological breakthroughs have allowed for glass to be colored and seamlessly fused together.
“They fuse three pieces of half inch glass together but make it look like one continuous piece of inch and a half,” said Petchonka.
According to Sassone, previous to this innovation the maximum thickness of glass that you could buy at retail was three quarters of an inch.
Petchonka said the glass fusing is ideal for the kitchen because it is sanitary and highly resistant to heat.
“The other advantage is the aesthetics,” said Petchonka. “It gives you a clean, different, more modern look. There are not only residential applications, but commercial applications. It adds to the personality of the home.”
The company is also looking to create a market for is painted glass that is baked preventing chipping and deterioration. Ridgefuield Glass has recently undertaken this process in actor Harvey Fierstein”™s bathroom.
“There used to be only one company that could do that,” said Sassone. “Now it”™s becoming more and more accessible to the common homeowner as well.”
Switch-light glass, or privacy glass, represents the third specialty glass that the owners see becoming more feasible in the home.
“By the flip of a light switch you can change a piece of glass from being transparent to opaque,” said Petchonka. “This is great for conference rooms, bathrooms and spa rooms in the house.”
According to Petchonka the premium continues to narrow on each of the three processes.
“I think the trend”™s going there but what we”™d like to do is give that trend a bit of a shove, because again I think it”™s people not knowing what”™s available,” said Sassone. “It”™s always easy to do the same old. From our designer and builders standpoints, it”™s a very competitive market place. If they can propose something that differentiates them from their competitors, then it”™s great.”
According to Petchonka, each of the new processes offers longevity over their conventional counterparts and offers equal or less environmental impact
“From the sustainability standpoint, it”™s definitely a step in the right direction,” said Petchonka.
Ridgefield Glass is also expanding its operation to a warehouse in Danbury.
“That”™s going to help us grow,” said Petchonka. “We need the space to grow, especially with glass; it”™s not a product you want to stack on top of one another.”