Introducing Lumiere Lusters!

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We are very excited to be carrying Lumiere Lusters ™ – high temp flakes and powders, by Jet Age Studios! Available now in a huge range of colours at a fantastic price point.

Lumiere Lusters™ by JetAge Studio are specialty color shifting, heat resistant metal oxide powders and flakes that work glittery magic in lampworked glass, and a multitude of other mediums. These flakes are rated to resist heat up to about 1400F, and don’t have a specific coefficent. Similar to Dichroic Extract powder, they throw off a lot of color-shifting sparkle depending on the angle viewed. The larger particle sizes create a lot of shine that you cannot get from micas, and give quite a different effect from powdered extract. They’re also a great cost effective alternative to dichroic coatings and are more heat tolerant than regular powdered micas.

Lumiere Lusters Tutorial JetAge StudioDownload

 

Be sure to visit our shop section for the full list of available Lumiere Lusters!

Nortel Bead Liner

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Currently unavailable. We are unable to produce our Bead Core liners at this time. We hope to be able to continue to produce them once supply issues are resolved enough to produce them at a reasonable cost.

Our bead press made it’s major public debut at Bead and Button in Milwaukee. It was also featured by many vendors at the Glass Artists’ Society Conference in Corning and again at the International Society of Glass Beadmakers’ annual conference in Florida.

This new bead core lining tool has innovative and unique features to enable quick and easy tool changes for a large range of liner sizes. The machine comes complete with a variety of sizes of ball-style forming tools for core liner sizes 1/8 up to 1/2 inch diameter. Larger sizes also available soon.

Nortel Bead Liner

Useful stuff to know:

Uses Brass, Copper, Sterling or Fine Silver tubing. Cut and anneal the tubing first

Cut tubing approximately 1/8 longer than the width of the bead hole – but beads with a more pronounced “dimple” will take longer tubes. A little experimenting will show you show you how much you can vary this. It is quite forgiving.

The tube or liner can be removed if you need to (i.e. wrong length) by gently cutting through it with a jeweler’s saw (small hacksaw with a very fine blade).

Also forgiving of less than perfect bead holes. Holes with raised areas can also be smoothed with a tapered grindstone.

Should be bolted to the bench/table for stabilty.

Built-in Tool holder – can also be switched to the other side.

Adjustable handle.

Download a copy of the Bead Liner Information Sheet.Download

For Orders, Inquiries: service@nortelmfg.com

US Shipping Options and Charges

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Note: This post is intended mainly for our customers who are buying relatively small quantities of glass rods. For larger distributor orders or industrial products, please reach out to your sales rep.

We understand that you may have noticed our shopping cart does not automatically estimate shipping charges, and we want to assure you that we offer reasonable rates – especially for cross-border shipments!

For smaller shipments to the US and Canada, we use a service called ChitChats. They cross the border daily, and all packages are shipped via USPS. USPS charges vary based on location, and our pricing is determined from Niagara Falls to your specific state. We have found that shipments going from our location to the most northeastern states are the least expensive, with shipping costs increasing the further south and west we go.

We aim to keep our shipping charges only slightly higher than what you would pay in the US, as ChitChats does charge a service fee. To give you an idea of our rates, here are a few recent examples:

  • An 18 x 6 x 4 inch, 8-pound shipment to Ashland, OR cost $19.52 US.
  • An 18 x 6 x 4 inch, 9-pound shipment to Florida cost $18.06 US.
  • An 18 x 4 x 4 inch, 4-pound shipment to Atlanta, GA cost $11.30 US.
  • An 18 x 10 x 6 inch, 19.5-pound shipment to Florida cost $23.50 US.

Please note that the items you order may affect how we package and estimate shipping costs. For example, delicate items like stringer or dichroic glass/ribbons take up more space in a box than 1lb of regular rod. Additionally, including tools and bead release can also impact the packaging and shipping cost. If you have any concerns or questions about shipping charges, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us via email or phone. We’ll do our best to provide you with a rough estimate before you place your order.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support. We look forward to serving you soon.

Online Shopping and Curbside Pickup

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Yes, we are open for online shopping and curbside pickup! Orders can be placed through our website, phone, or email – Monday through Friday – 9am to 4:30 pm.

While it may be a while before we can safely let everyone in to shop in person, we can still help you get the glass you need and want!

Most orders can be ready to be shipped or picked up within one to two days depending on volume.

Email to service@nortelmfg.com or give us a call 416.438.3325

Thank you!

Covid-19 Update

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Covid-19 Update

As the case numbers continue to rise, we have decided to continue with offering curb side pickup rather than allowing warehouse shopping. We are shipping daily, and our staff are available Monday to Friday 8:30 to 5pm via phone and email. 

Glass Sales: We understand that for some it’s very hard to shop without being able to see the colour in person, we’ll certainly try to arrange as much help with orders as possible. 

Torch and Industrial Manufacturing: We are mostly at full production levels, with a few remaining backlogged orders that we are working diligently to clear. Staff are limited due to spacing and safety concerns, as well there are occasional delays in restocking parts and components. Covid has affected almost every supplier and manufacturer we work with, and they are also working as quickly as possible to clear backlogs. 

Thank you for all of the support and patience – we truly appreciate your business!

Temporarily Closed Due to Covid-19

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COVID-19 CLOSURE NOTICE
We have closure directives from both our Canadian Federal and Ontario Provincial leaders. Yes, this situation causes great hardship to many businesses and families and Nortel is no exception. Nortel must make the difficult decision to remain shuttered. I have struggled, and we could search between the lines of ESSENTIAL services to give an opportunity to open with skeleton crew but in all moral conscience that would not be the Nortel way. It is with great commitment and determination that Nortel staff feel we must heed the message “STAY HOME, STAY SAFE, and STOP the SPREAD” We too must do our part for our staff, families and our community during this unprecedented time. We will continue to work from home responding to emails etc.

This is one of the most challenging yet most important Nortel announcements I have ever written. The support of our customers has always been the strongest part of Nortel. Nortel will most certainly treasure each and every order and look forward and commit to hard work and pushing to swiftly ship all orders as soon as we are able. Our website will remain active with updates and the shopping cart is ready to take your orders. Each order awaiting our return will bring a welcome smile and our Nortel signature sample with every order will be stepped up a notch to show our appreciation for your patience and support.

Thank you – Please STAY SAFE
Jean Robichaud
Nortel Mfg. Ltd

2019 Holiday Hours

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Happy Holidays from all of us here at Nortel! Thank you for all of your support over the years. We would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your families a happy and healthy holiday season.

Online orders: If you place an online order while we are closed, we will respond and ship as soon as we are back in the office. Emails will be responded to on the next business day that we are open. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

Holiday Hours:
Dec 23: 8:30 to 5pm
Dec 24: 8:30 to 2pm
Dec 25 through to 29th – Closed
Dec 30th: 8:30 to 5pm
Dec 31st: 8:30 to 2pm
Jan 1st: Closed
Jan 2nd: Back to regular hours.

Creation is Messy Sample Packs

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Our Creation is Messy (COE 104) Sampler packs are now available for purchase online!

Our Creation is Messy sample packs were created for our customers who were hoping to test individual CiM colours. Jean thoroughly enjoys pulling the colours to create these little samplers in themed colour packs. 

Each sampler pack contains one working length rod (approx 13″) of each colour shown. 

We try to create a new pack every month or so, so be sure to check back often for any new packs available. 

Jean and I would love to see what you make with our sampler packs – tag #cimsampler on Facebook and Instagram!

 

Welcome to our new website!

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We are very pleased to announce the launch of our newly updated website. We’ve made lots of little changes that will enable us to more easily update both the content and our product offerings. The biggest change of course is the addition of an online shopping cart. We currently have a wide selection of borosilicate, soft glass, and frits now available online for purchase. Torches, tools, and other product categories are being added as quickly as possible. 

We still have quite a bit of work to do on the site in terms of products and functionality. Please let us know if you come across any issues with using the site, or are confused with how to place an order. 

At this time, we are not accepting online payments. Payment can be made using Visa, Mastercard, or Interac E-transfer.  We accept payments in both Canadian or US dollars. US payments are processed through our US credit card processor. No exchange fees are charged. 

Shipping: 

In Canada: We use FedEX Ground for all high value shipments.  For any purchases under $800 we can also offer shipping through a distribution service that can sometimes offer a better rate. We will always search out the best deal for you.

US Orders:

We can now ship via USPS at very reasonable rates.

Once we have picked and sorted your order, we will contact you with your shipping quote and purchase total.

On behalf of everyone here at Nortel – thank you for sticking with us all of these years. Purchasing from us in the past has not always been easy for those who are not local. We are working hard to bring you the products you are most interested in. Look for new product lines coming in the coming months and into next year!