Getting a large cow art order ready to ship

One of our most popular and best selling items has been the stained glass box with cow portrait. In early September, a company in North Carolina asked if we could get 56 of them ready for them to give as Christmas gifts. Large orders are always welcome! They can certainly be a challenge, but with some planning, they aren't nearly as difficult. Luckily, we had plenty of time to get this order done and just shipped it this past week directly to the gift recipients.

Mike and Mary Ellen McIntyre, the glass artists, are located close to the Cow Art and More office. I stop in pretty regularly to see what's going on and lend a hand when I can. As they were finishing up this order a couple of weeks ago, I grabbed a few pictures of the pieces in progress.



Mary was busy at her soldering bench getting the lids of the boxes ready. The customer ordered the boxes with an assortment of the "ideal" dairy cattle breed prints by Gary Sauder.















This is a closeup of her using the soldering iron and the metal to attach the pieces together.












The assortment of finished boxes really looked beautiful together! These boxes show the ideal type Milking Shorthorn and ideal type Guernsey.












I personally like the side beaded detailing of the boxes as I think it adds a bit of flair to them as well. They are mirrored on the inside, which helps to give them a bit of "sparkle" as they sit on a desk or coffee table.










Did I mention how Mike and Mary Ellen are fussy about packing them to ship? All the boxes are securely packaged in bubble wrap and other packing materials to make sure they are safe in transit. The stained glass boxes are shipped UPS ground.





While I was there, I also snapped a few pictures of some other Christmas orders in progress.




This beautiful Brown Swiss is going in the lid of a larger size stained glass box. She is "staged" and ready to be soldered.











This ideal Jersey is going to be a part of a stained glass hanging piece, which are customizable with a choice of colors. This person chose a mahogany red with a white accents. The missing piece in the picture is off at the engravers. (We offer engraving for an additional charge.) This one is a surprise for a Christmas gift!





In addition to cow art, the McIntyres also create other custom pieces for businesses, homes and churches.