Techniques used to produce stained glass have remained virtually unchanged since the 12th century, a tradition which continues today.  Tour the stained glass studioes of the Willet Stained Glass Company to view the actual production of stained glass, from inception of an idea to the completion of the final product.  

The Willet Studio was incorporated in 1898 by William Willet and wife Anne Lee in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  William began his career as a painter and may have seen stained glass in the studio of John LaFarge. He moved to Pittsburgh and in 1898 purchased the studio of Ludwig Grosse. The Studio relocated to Philadelphia in 1913 to work in facilities provided by George Woodward, a Philadelphia area real estate developer and advocate of the Arts and Crafts movement.

When William died in 1921 the Studio moved to another Philadelphia site and his widow assumed management of the firm, followed by their son in 1934. In 1977, Hauser Art Glass Company, Inc. of Winona, Minnesota, joined forces with the Willet Studios.  The companies complemented each other in area of specialization (Willet’s expertise was in new windows, Hauser’s in restoration) and sales territories (Willet serviced the East and South, Hauser the Mid-West). The companies combined names in 2005.

Many distinguished stained glass artists have influenced the Studio’s design tradition, and examples of the Studio’s work are abundant in the Philadelphia area. Sites familiar to members include: Adath Jeshurun, Beth Sholom and Kenneseth Israel Synagogues in Elkins Park, Chestnut Hill Academy, Drexel University, Holy Trinity Church on Rittenhouse Square, The Widener Mausoleum at Laurel Hill Cemetery, the Masonic Temple, Old Original Bookbinder’s, and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, just to mention a few.