I'm making a collectible limited-edition Ruby stained glass
After talking with Jeremy Smith and Jess Brown on the IndieRails podcast about stained glass and how I transitioned to programming in Ruby, I’ve had this crazy idea that I could tie the two together in a weird project.
It started with a joke
I’ve joked with people at Rubycon Italy about building a collectible, limited-edition stained-glass panel that would honor Ruby. All the people I met during that conference showed a deep appreciation and a strong emotional connection to Ruby. So when I joked about the stained glass, many of them were quite excited about it. Then I talked about it some more with more people when I got back in France, and they too were excited.
So I’ve decided to promote this as a valid side quest for 2026 and build it! An actual Ruby-inspired stained glass!! How cool is that?
I’ll work through the entire process in public and document it as I go.
The current plan
My goal is to make a super limited-edition memorabilia, not to go back to stained glass full time. So I need to work out the feasability of this project first.
To do that, I’ll need to:
- Find a cool design.
- Buy materials and tools.
- Build a test panel to get a better grasp of the difficulty and the time required to build it.
- Price it (including materials, time, shipping).
Want some physical pixels to show the world you love Ruby?
If that’s something you’d like to see in the world, I’ve set up a dedicated mailing list – think pop-up newsletter – so you can follow along (and you’ll be the first to know if/when the sale officially opens).
A quick FAQ
When would this be available?
I don’t have a firm date yet, but Q3 or Q4 2026 seems like a reasonable timeline.
Would you make them yourself?
Every panel would be handcrafted by me. I’ve been working with stained glass for years and this project is a direct extension of that craft.
Would you ship internationally?
I’d love to. Shipping comes with challenges though, so I’ll be as upfront as possible if any restrictions arise.
How much would it cost? No ideas for now. It’d depends on materials, production and shipping. But I’d expect it to be on the collectible side of prices rather than cheap.
How many panels will be made?
No hard number yet, but probably 20-ish top! The edition will be strictly limited. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. No second print run.
That’s it for today! See you in the next exciting episode.
Cheers,
Rémi - @remi@ruby.social