About us: experts in art glass & more! since 1986

Learn about John Wakefield & Artistry in Glass!

About John Wakefield and Artistry in Glass

Stop Press! John has updated his E-E-A-T profile for the New Year with full details on his experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness: follow this link for full details.

EEAT is the newest Google emphasis — **Experience, expertise, authority and trust are Google’s way of evaluating websites**

I was born in England and studied geology at Leeds University before enjoying a fascinating career as an exploration geologist and university professor – working in Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands among other countries.

Admiring the US from childhood, I immigrated in the 1980s, settled in Tucson, and together with Claire founded Artistry in Glass in 1986.

Our original location was a small shop in Plaza Palomino where we specialized in crystal engraving for awards and giftware but I soon realized that it would be necessary to diversify in order to increase sales. The subsequent evolution of Artistry in Glass has been marked by the acquisition of new products and services as we reacted to requests from customers.

We have overcome many difficulties in our small business journey, including the 2008-2009 recession (which decimated our etched and stained glass business). To survive, we reinvented ourselves as specialists in the restoration of antiques and collectibles. A recent, and more serious, challenge was the 2016 announcement that our venerable building on East Grant Road was earmarked for demolition owing to the RTA road widening project. Despite a very stressful 2 years, and with the help of the City of Tucson, we have bounced back with increased vitality in our stylish new location on East Fort Lowell:

Admire the transformation of our new location

From a dilapidated pottery shop (wittily named “Glazed Expressions”) to our custom-designed new Art Glass Center – see the timeline of our voyage through the shoals and reefs of architects’ plans, contractors’ delays, sub-contractors, zoning, and permitting.

Artistry in Glass – Tucson’s Art Glass Center

Over a period of more than 36 years, Artistry in Glass has become an expert in this remarkable list of specialized knowledge: We are truly a unique resource for art glass and restoration in Southern Arizona. Review the headlines below to see how we qualify in the categories of Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness

Experience

John began his long career by obtaining a Ph.D. at the prestigious Leeds University in Northern England in 1974. This qualification lead to an illustrious career as an exploration geologist and university professor during which time he gained experience working in cultures as varied as the Islamic world of Saudi Arabia, the Catholic strongholds of Brazil, Spain & Portugal as well as the Protestant environments of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. John also participated in a small way in the anti-apartheid movement in Southern Africa while employed as a geologist in Botswana and Zambia.

Experience in the Glass Business

John has been a company owner and CEO of Artistry in Glass since 1986 and has accumulated, by hard-won practice, a vast range of experience in all aspects of the glass business.

Following Google’s E-E-A-T protocol

We are dedicated to operating an honest and trustworthy business and, to this end, we have described in detail how using E-E-A-T ensures that we follow Google’s recommendations

Trust

Artistry in Glass goes beyond Google recommendations by understanding that trust consists of three types: competence, honesty, and benevolence

Competence means that you are capable of doing the job – you have the expertise to carry out the required task with professionalism. In the case of the car mechanic, for example, you are technically able to replace worn shock absorbers with new ones.

Honesty means that you do not lie or misrepresent information to your customers. In the case of the auto mechanic: if you promise to use genuine replacement parts (OEM) for the shock absorbers, you do not cheat by using cheaper generic parts.

Benevolent trust is engendered when your customer knows that you are committed to acting in their interest. For an auto mechanic, this means that he will not recommend new shock absorbers unless they are necessary. A benevolent and trusted mechanic will present a careful analysis weighing the danger, the cost, and the long-term consequences.

Customer loyalty

Operating an ethical and trustworthy business will create the vital quality of customer loyalty. Loyal customers are a crucial factor in repeat business. We have identified four degrees of customer loyalty

Price/convenience loyalty

Your customer will shop with you as long as the price is attractive and the transaction is convenient (easy to navigate to for a brick-and-mortar store and efficient for an online shop)

Emotional loyalty

The degree of trust developed by a history of good service means that the customer will continue to patronize your business even if the price changes – just as long as you do not give bad service.

Intravenous loyalty

The ultimate standard of loyalty exists when the customer trusts you to perform without even having to ask you the price. They know that you will act in their interest under all circumstances.

Posthumous loyalty

A unique degree of loyalty occurs when a customer leaves a bequest to continue purchasing your product or service after they pass away. Posthumous loyalty has been achieved several times by Artistry in Glass as grateful and admiring customers have left provisions in their wills to etch crystal and glassware for fund-raising purposes at non-profit institutions.

E-E-A-T

Study our extensive post to see the amazing degrees of expertise, authority, and trustworthiness generated by our hard-earned experience since 1986.

Through my more than 30 years in business, I have used my scientific background to perfect the techniques of art glass and, in the process, to learn insider business secrets. Look out for these logos marking money-saving and safety tips.