Hi everyone! My name is Rachel Dougherty and I own Lucky Cat Glass Works. I've been making stained glass for 3 years and I'm so excited to share my work with you!
I originally learned how to craft stained glass panels at a one day course I decided to take with a few of my friends for my birthday. I lived in Boston where I graduated college and immediately started working in the film industry. I rarely had time off and all my life friends were also my work friends, so we always spent what little time we had outside of work exploring Boston and trying new things. No stranger to crafts and hobbies I was excited to try something new and take a one day course with two of my good friends. That class opened the door for me and my art, and I haven't stopped since.
My stained glass studio started in a covered porch in the back of my Boston apartment, and I'm so thankful to now have a much larger studio space in my hometown of Owasso, Oklahoma. Growing up in such a creative family, I'm so happy to bring this craft home to them now that I'm back in Oklahoma.
You might wonder why I chose the name "Lucky Cat Glass Works" early last year when I decided to launch a stained glass business. In the thick of my time working in film and television in Boston, I decided to adopt a cat. After much tribulation, applications, and disappointments over cats already adopted, I stumbled upon a rescue south of Boston that had just gotten a little calico cat that had been terrifically ill when she was found. They'd spent a few months rehabilitating her from a near terminal flea infestation when she was finally ready to be around the other cats at the rescue. I had decided one Friday afternoon to go look at what cats they had, knowing I'd probably just meet a few cats and make sure my application was approved for a future adoption given the cat I was looking at had already been adopted. Little did I know my girl Ripley was there waiting for me!
Not ten minutes into my visit my scraggly girl was in my lap purring up a storm. I knew then she was my forever cat! A persian mix calico, she's recovered wonderfully from the ailments that she battled early in life. She still has health issues but I feel so lucky to have found her and have such a spunky, spirited cat to come home to every day.
I've always had an appreciation for the Japanese lucky cat (the maneki-neko), and given I have my little calico at home, Lucky Cat Glass Works was a no brainer. I have such tremendous respect for the tradition and I just know my life is so much luckier with my Ripley girl in it.