LOCAL

Celebrating a decade of glass creations

Andrew Carter, Reporter

MARION - Sherry Haver has always loved stained glass.

As a young girl sitting in the congregation at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Marion, Haver, owner of Home Again Stained Glass in downtown Marion, was memorized by the beauty of the stained glass windows.

"You can take a piece of glass, even just plain window glass, and you can cut it into different shapes and design it; put it in the kiln and come up with different shapes, like those flower petals," she said, gesturing to one of the custom creations in her shop at 198 W. Center St. "There's so much you can do with it. Your mind doesn't stop. You're always thinking of different things you want to do."

That love soon blossomed into a hobby and then became her life's work after she moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Sherry Haver, owner of Home Again Stained Glass, examines a piece of stained glass she has just finished cutting. Haver, a Marion native, opened her shop a decade ago at 198 W. Center St.

"I'm self taught," Haver said. "It was a hobby for 10 years and then I started a business. I worked for the phone company (in Colorado Springs), but it just got to the point where so many orders were coming in, I just started a business."

Haver's small business flourished in Colorado Springs, where the local economy is fueled by the military, high-tech industry and tourism. In 2006, she and her husband, Rick, decided to move back to Marion.

Sherry Haver puts great care into cutting out pieces of glass for the custom projects she works on for clients. If the glass is too cold it will shatter.
Sherry Haver draws out plans for a custom project for a client in the back of her shop, Home Again Stained Glass, on Thursday morning.

"We had to bring my glass with us," she said. Two 53-foot long tractor trailers hauled the Havers, and Sherry's glass, back to Marion County.

"We were unloading the house and unloading the shop because I had the space (in Marion) rented before we moved back," she said.

Haver has been in business in her hometown for 10 years, opening Home Again in November 2006. While business boomed in Colorado, she said the downturn in the economy and tougher Environmental Protection Agency regulations on glass manufacturers have presented challenges.

"It's different than it was in Colorado," Haver said. "In a military town, you don't feel the recession and the pinch like you do back here."

Despite the challenges, Haver said she is committed to staying in downtown Marion.

"It doesn't matter where you're at when you're a specialty store," she said. "People are going to find you. So, I'm here. I'm going to stay downtown."

Haver said she has has partnered with Redbrick Social Media to enhance Home Again's public presence and hopefully boost business.

"It's worked out great," she said. "They're doing a fantastic job. Everybody kept saying I needed to get on Facebook. It's really helped."

Orders for custom pieces and requests to repair glass items have increased over the past several weeks, Haver said, and she hopes that trend will continue into the new year.

Haver provides instruction in how to make stained glass items at Crosswood United Methodist Church on Richland Road. She offers classes from 6:30 to 9 p.m. each Monday at the church.

"The classes have been filled and booked," she said. "So, we're starting a class again after the first of the year, and that class is full. People would need to call me to get on a list."

Home Again Stained Glass is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. She said during the holiday season, the shop will be open until 6 p.m. on weekdays. For information, call 740-382-4946 or visit the Facebook page.

Email: eacarter@gannett.com

Office: 740-375-5154

Twitter: @AndrewCarterMS

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