Stained glass for the modern world
- The workshop restores stained glass and makes new pieces
- Katrien followed her grandfather and parents into the business
- She believes in modern applications of stained glass
Katrien Mestdagh is a stained glass artisan who also holds a master’s in stained glass conservation and heritage management. She represents the third generation of Atelier Mestdagh, which was founded in 1947 by her grandfather Albert, who had trained in one of the most important Neo-Gothic workshops in Ghent. After Albert passed away in 1972, his son Luc took over the business, preserving the same techniques and knowledge that his father and his master craftsmen had taught him. Luc’s wife Ingrid Meyvaert, who specialises in designing stained glass windows, was always at his side. Thanks to her, the workshop started to use stained glass in modern architecture, thus matching traditional craftsmanship with contemporary innovation.
Discover her work
INTERVIEW
As a child I was very fascinated by my father’s job, and I spent hours and hours in the workshop, learning with my eyes. But my father always refused to teach me because he didn’t want to push me into it, so I ended up getting a master’s in musicology.
Precisely. I went back to my father and told him that I wanted to be involved in the workshop. I had to insist, but I did not want all this knowledge and history to be lost. So in the end he agreed to train me, and he taught me every aspect of the craft.
We are not just a conservation workshop, but we produce our own pieces and this to me is very important. In Belgium, most of the stained glass workshops choose either to do conservation or art, but I strongly believe that the two aspects really reinforce each other.
Very. Sometimes we have to think out of the box, because many people consider stained glass as either religious or old-fashioned. In fact, because of the way it can transform the atmosphere of a home, I truly believe that stained glass can make people happy!
2 EXPERIENCES
