Allentown stained glass artist turns love of fantasy books into viral success

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — In the basement of her Allentown home, Liz Prestia spends hours shaping glass into colorful, intricate works of art, each one inspired by the fantasy novels she loves.

Prestia, who works full-time as a software developer at Shift4 Payments in Center Valley, started her stained glass business in October 2022 after stumbling across the craft on TikTok.

“I was on TikTok and I kept getting stained glass videos randomly. And I was like, this looks so cool,” she said. “I went to someone’s page that was selling it. I was like, okay. I can’t afford to do this right now, but I wanna learn how to do it. So I started watching a bunch of videos and saved up for a starter kit, and that pretty much started everything.”

Her pieces — usually small-scale sun catchers between 10 inches and 2 feet — often feature imagery from popular fantasy series.

“I kind of had the idea of, like, well, what if I combine books because I love reading with the stained glass? And then it kind of took off from there, which was really cool,” Prestia said.

The demand for her work is high. Prestia said her product drops typically sell out within two minutes.

Prestia’s art has also intersected with the business side of book-related merchandise. She previously held an official license to incorporate quotes from bestselling fantasy author Sarah J. Maas’ books in her designs, which she obtained through a program that worked with small businesses.

Maas has since switched to a larger licensing agency that does not license to small businesses.

Prestia said she continues to create fantasy-inspired work drawn from other authors and original designs. She has made pieces inspired by Red Rising, Quicksilver, and other series, sometimes sending them directly to the authors.

“I did a piece for Cali Hart, and I sent her one, which was really cool,” Prestia said. “I might be sending a piece to Pierce Brown too, which is really cool.”

The craft is time-intensive. Smaller designs take about eight hours, while larger works can require 24 to 72 hours to complete. Prestia said it’s worth every minute and hopes to one day make it her full-time career.

Lehigh Glass’ next product drop is Aug. 29 at 5 p.m.

“I just keep making stuff,” she said. “Hopefully, people will keep buying it, and I’ll keep going.”