Phone: (510) 995-0477
Website: www.nzilani.com/

Address:
3246 Ettie Street

Nzilani is an award-winning firm known for all facets of stained-glass preservation and architectural art glass fabrication. Nzilani core values, “Be Safe. Have Fun. Do Excellent Work.” guide every project, including: windows and domes for churches, residences, museums, monumental historic buildings and new works. Nzilani focuses on self-empowerment through information: sharing processes, health and safety procedures (particularly lead awareness) and the importance of preserving cultural landscapes and the environment. We are dedicated to making our profession more equitable by being accessible to underserved communities; challenging the notion of who is qualified to work in our profession and what projects deserve preservation. 

Working with stained glass requires following strict protocols regarding environmental safety, the proper handling of hazardous materials such as lead and asbestos, and a profound knowledge of structural integrity during fabrication. As the recognized leader in the field, we adhere to the most current Cal/OSHA Health & Safety standards throughout all processes. It is a cornerstone at Nzilani and our highest priority is to maintain the health and safety of our employees, clients, contractors and all those who come in contact with the windows. This includes but is not exhaustive of: material testing to identify hazards, sealing off of active work areas and work therein by certified contractors, and use of proper personal protection (PPE’s) by our team.

Since 2003, Nzilani Glass Conservation has safely preserved historical art glass windows and objects for museums, cathedrals and private residences. Located in the Bay Area, we are a Kenyan-American, female-owned and operated studio that strives to champion artists and diversity within the field of conservation.  An EPA Lead Safe Certified Firm, we adhere to OSHA safety standards, are certified lead and asbestos workers and believe in safe, sustainable practices for both our clients and team-members.

EXPERTISE

The company is adept at creating custom works of art – both to match existing windows and completely modern pieces that range both in design and technique: painted zinc and leaded windows to fused, silk-screened and slumped glass. We have experience collaborating with outside artists on large-scale public art works projects. The company founder, Ariana Makau, is available for consults, training and speaking engagements in addition to Nzilani’s core business services.

At Nzilani, documentation is at the core of our work and the company is particularly known for its detailed survey reports that include work priority levels linked to timelines, budgets, maps and graphics which have enabled past clients to successfully receive funding for subsequent conservation work. All Nzilani written and hands-on treatments strictly adhere to AIC Code of Ethics as well as The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Preservation.

Our highly skilled team of artists and craftspeople specialize in expert “Old World” glass painting, intricate glazing techniques and structural stabilization. We are highly proficient in project management and have the know-how of architectural construction work to provide one-stop treatments on historical art-glass including window removal, preservation and reinstallation.

REGIONS SERVED

West Coast, United States & International

NOTABLE PROJECTS

  • The National Trust for Historic Preservation
  • Grace Cathedral of San Francisco
  • Winchester Mystery House
  • J. Paul Getty Museum
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
  • California State Parks
  • Archdiocese of San Francisco (preferred vendor)
  • Tiffany, Galle, William Morris, La Farge specialists

OTHER AFFILIATIONS, DESIGNATIONS, SPECIAL CERTIFICATIONS

  • SGAA Board Member Board Member | Health & Safety Chair of Stained Glass Association of America
  • American Institute for Conservation (AIC)
    •  Fellow
    • National Presenter
  • Stained Glass Association of America (SGAA)
    • Board Member
    • Health & Safety Chair
    • National Presenter
  • California Preservation Foundation
    • National Presenter
  • Artistic License
  • Bay Area Art Conservation Guild (BAACG)
    • Board Member
  • Nzilani’s founder has a Masters in Stained Glass Conservation, Royal College of Art
Resurrection Oakland - Inverted “Starfire Dome”, 1902 . Complete preservation including rebuilding all complex curved panels, re-engineering hanging steel structure and rigging system. Winner of 2020 California Preservation Award.
Grace Cathedral - The New and Old Testament (1931 and 1932 respectively) were conserved in the order the original windows were installed. Each window has the identical configuration of 303 panels comprised of lancets and decorative tracery, spanning approximately 570 square feet. Conserving them in the same order and back to back over 2015 – 2017 provided valuable insight to what the original Connick Studios chose to keep or change from one window fabrication to another. Winner of 2018 California Preservation Award.
St. Vincent de Paul - Christ the King window. Century Studios. Complete preservation including rebuilding all panels, partial rebuild of damaged wooden sashes, custom fabrication of new protective glazing (a.k.a. Storm windows).
Emmanuel Church - Marshall Gold State Park. Colma, CA. “I want to pass on a bit of wonderful information regarding the Emmanuel Church. We recently secured approximately 2.5 million in funding through the state’s deferred maintenance program. I truly believe that Nzilani Glass Conservation played an instrumental role in the decision making process. The ability to highlight a finished project builds trust with those allocating funding. Thank you again.” - Barry C. Smith, Chief Ranger
St. Matthew - San Mateo, CA. Vandalism repair matching glass color, texture, painting and glazing style.
Residential Work - Nzilani conserved 13 gridded and quarry panels at a private residence. Aside from more typical restoration procedures, the project required a few custom treatments, incl. grinding and grozing glass pieces to correct prior construction/repair errors, adding stronger reinforcement bars for considerably improved structural integrity, and industrial sandblasting of the steel frames to remove multiple thick layers of paint and restore the functionality of the hardware. A new heraldic medallion was designed and integrated into the center of the staircase window. The design...
Nzilani Studio - In studio soldering with proper PPE’s.
Nzilani Studio - One of two main studio spaces in which we preserve and build stained glass windows. Photo credit: Greg Tuzin.
Odd Fellows Building - Astoria, OR. Ariana Makau presenting about window preservation for National Trust of Historic Preservation where she lead a window repair team for a“Hands on Preservation Experience (HOPE Crew)” Where Women Made History Program. Photo Credit: Shawn Linehan for The Trust.