lowing in their mother’s footsteps. “And maybe I’ve lost a little bit of clientele, but with the price of rent and being so close to home, it was worth it for me,” she said, reflecting on the relocation to Christine. Designing and working with her clients allows Darla a certain amount of leeway. “My job is to try to assess (client’s) needs and their taste. I have a lot of these books (of overlays and past work). We’ll sit down and consult. Some people are sure of what they want. They’ll have a photo to go by. But some need a little guidance, or a little bit of my opinion. But it’s something for them. So everything I do is custom,” she said. Within a week of measuring, Darla said, she’ll have designs for customers. “It kind of depends. I usually have projects in varying degrees of completion going on,” she said. “Normally, I will make two trips, maybe one, to the home and we can work via e-mail and send drawings. Then there will be the visit where I come and we finally have the finished product installed.” While consulting, Darla said, she’s working out potential designs in her mind. “And so, I might present them with
maybe three ideas. It just kind of depends on if they know what they want. I’m working with a customer now, who has a beautiful new home in West Fargo and it’s kind of funny because I’ve done things for her mom who lived out in Page, North Dakota, her sister in North Fargo, her sister that lives in West Fargo and now her. But she initially saw this idea with a kind of simplified daisy and she thought that’s what she would like. And I drew up about eight variations and then she said, ‘My husband doesn’t like that,’ and he would like kind of a family tree thing. They have three children and they would like their names in the design. And I said, ‘That’s how it starts. It’s for you, it’s yours.’ So I’m more than happy to start over,” she said. Darla added that her greatest pleasure is working with clients, “Because people are so thrilled with the final product.” Among Darla’s other clients have been North Dakota State University, where she created a piece for the home of President Dean Bresciani and the Lidgerwood, North Dakota, Library and City Hall. “It’s this old building and beautiful,” she said. “And so they wanted something kind of old-fashioned. They’ve got the American flag and the North Dakota flag and kind of a scroll to make you think of libraries. There’s just been a variety of projects. That’s what makes it fun and interesting.” Darla admits that while her pieces aren’t cheap, they are a quality product that’s affordable, especially in comparison to traditional stained glass. “Just the materials alone for that are so expensive and then the labor cost is really, really high,” she said. “Because I’ve been doing this a long time, I can get these pieces installed quite quickly. And just the process makes it quick, so people aren’t paying for a ton of labor.” To see more of Darla’s work visit www.sgofargo.com Spring 2016 • Southern Valley LIVING | 33