An Acrylune portrait is a face sculpted in glossy cut glass, shaped into a relief and sealed inside a crystal-clear acrylic frame with polished edges. Four corner standoffs hold it a little off the wall. It is not a print behind plastic. A name or a quote, if you add one, is set under the portrait in raised lettering.
What is the portrait itself made of?
The portrait is glossy cut glass, shaped into a relief. The face is assembled one fragment at a time so that it stands up off the panel rather than lying flat on it, and the eyes are shaped last.
Because the relief has depth, it throws its own small shadow and the light moves across the face as you walk past it. That is the whole point of making it in glass rather than printing it: a print behind a sheet of plastic has one surface, and this has many. The materials and process page lists every part in one table.
What is the frame?
The frame is crystal-clear acrylic with polished edges. The glass relief is sealed inside it, so the portrait sits in a clear block rather than behind a pane.
Clear acrylic is why the piece reads as floating: the wall shows through around the portrait, and the light goes straight through the panel. The edges are polished last, after the sealing, so the four sides catch the light in the same way the relief does.
| Part | What it is | Where it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Portrait | Glossy cut glass, in relief | Every piece made from a photo |
| Frame | Clear acrylic, polished edges | Every piece |
| Fittings | Four corner standoffs, ready to hang | Every piece |
| Name | Raised lettering, up to 20 characters, optional | A piece made from your photo |
| Quote | Glossy black raised lettering, up to 80 characters | A quote panel, or under a portrait |
What holds it on the wall?
Four corner standoffs. The piece arrives fitted with them and ready to hang, and they hold the panel a little off the wall rather than flat against it.
Standing the panel off the wall is what lets the light through the acrylic and puts a shadow behind the relief. The hanging guide goes through where to put it and what to expect on the wall.
Is any of it printed?
No. Nothing on the piece is a print. The portrait is cut glass, the lettering is raised, and the frame is clear acrylic with nothing between it and the relief.
What a print does share with ours is the starting point: a design drawn from your photograph. Here the design is drawn by Tedooo technology, you approve it on screen, and only then is it cut in glass in our studio. The design you approve is the one that gets made; hence the sequence: you say yes on screen, and only then does the card come into it.
What is the lettering made of?
On a ready-made quote panel the words are glossy black raised lettering: they stand up off the panel and the light catches every edge of them. Under a portrait the same raised lettering carries a name (20 characters at most) or a quote (80 at most).
A quote goes under the portrait on two or three centred lines, spelled exactly as written. The guide to names and quotes compares the three kinds of piece, and you can see the lettering drawn on your own photo on the create page before anything is made.
Questions this leaves
Is the glass fragile once it is sealed?
The relief is sealed inside the acrylic, so you never touch the glass itself: only the clear frame and its polished edges. The piece ships with its corners protected and is tracked end to end. Hang it where it will not be knocked, and dust the acrylic with a soft dry microfibre cloth.
Does a ready-made quote panel have a portrait in it?
No. A quote panel is lettering alone: the words are the piece, set in glossy black raised lettering in the same clear acrylic frame with the same four corner standoffs. No photo is needed. If you want a face above a line, start from your photo on the create page and add a quote under it.
Is the piece the same at 30 and 50 cm?
The same materials at both sizes: cut glass in relief, clear acrylic with polished edges, four corner standoffs. Sizes: 30 × 30 cm or 50 × 50 cm; the sizing guide covers which wall suits which. The price for the size you pick is shown before you pay.
