- The studio does custom work as well as repair, restoration and conservation of stained glass.
The dream of Andrew Cary Young, Pearl River Glass Studio was founded in 1975.
“I went to LSU to study landscape architecture,” he said. “I graduated top of my class, but never practiced landscape architecture at all.”
Instead, Andrew opened a stained glass studio in Jackson.
“I took several art classes as electives while in school at LSU, and one was a stained glass class,” he said. “I fell in love with it.”
Andrew recruited his college roommate, Reggie DeFreese, to move to Jackson from Louisiana to help him establish the business.
“He stayed a couple of years, and I’ll forever give him credit for helping me get it started. Pearl River Glass has always been a collaborative effort. I have always surrounded myself with talented people.”
From the beginning, they wanted to be artists.
“We did that through the medium of stained glass because it’s cool.”
He purchased his first crate of glass from a company in New York.
“The C.R. Loo family got into importing glass from a German glass company. I started off making stained glass windows.”
Over the years Pearl River Glass Studio has been a leader in expanding the uses of stained glass beyond religious presentation to include abstract as well as more realistic images for architectural installations. Their clients range from churches to architects, designers, and builders. Under Andrew’s guidance, Pearl River Glass Studio has enjoyed steady growth and has established itself as one of the nation’s largest and most highly acclaimed stained glass studios.
Growing Beyond a Garage: A Leap of Faith in the 70’s
Pearl River started as a small stained glass studio in a garage behind an antique store on North State Street. The company relocated in 1976 to 142 Millsaps Avenue, in the historic midtown district of Jackson. They have stayed in that same location, expanding over the years.
“While we were growing our business, we have always promoted the growth and revitalization of the neighborhood,” Andrew said.
The area has become a magnet for other artists. Through the years, Andrew has purchased more buildings on the block and renovated them as his business expanded.
The studio does custom work as well as repair, restoration and conservation of stained glass. Pearl River’s work can be seen in churches, residences, and public and commercial spaces.
Pearl River Glass has worked on many historic projects, including the Mississippi State Capitol building in Jackson. The 1903 building features over seventy leaded stained glass windows that were designed, fabricated, and installed by Louis Millet Studio of Chicago.
From 2013 to 2015, every stained glass window in the exterior elevations of the Capitol were methodically removed and completely restored by the artisans at Pearl River Glass Studio before being reinstalled. Now Pearl River is working on the restoration of the skylight in the House Chamber.
“It’s a painstaking year and a half project,” said Andrew. “We are honored to do it.”
Pearl River Glass continues to grow
With the help of Phil Hardwick (a former business columnist with Magnolia Tribune), who served as a business consultant for Pearl River Glass, Andrew wrote an annual business plan in 2012 for a competition held by Innovate Mississippi.
“We won first place, $3,000,” said Andrew. That helped them to secure a large loan to further expand the business.
Recently, Andrew has received a 501(c)(3) non-profit status for the Pearl River Glass Conservatory.
“That will allow us to further expand our mission. I love to teach, and we are now holding a variety of classes here, from ‘glass in a flash’ fusion classes to a series of leaded stained glass classes. I would also love to teach a class in creativity.”
A lifelong learner himself, Andrew, who recently turned 72, attended the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee this summer.
“I took a course in enameling on steel by Kat Cole. Enameling is glass and I’ve been doing glass-on-glass all this time. But now I can enamel on steel, which opens avenues for public artwork that needs to be more durable. I’m real excited about the possibilities. This fits right in with the principal of innovation we have at Pearl River Glass Studio.”
Andrew has been involved in the Stained Glass Association of America (SGAA), serving two terms as the Association’s president. Pearl River Glass Studio became an accredited member of the SGAA in 1998.
