Honoring Craftsmanship: A Visit to Heimer & Co. and the Art of Restoring Sacred Glass
This week, we visited Heimer & Company Stained Glass Studio in Clifton, New Jersey, to review the restored stained-glass panel from Sacred Heart Church that had been shattered during a recent windstorm. Standing in that studio — surrounded by light, color, and quiet focus — it was impossible not to feel the weight of history.
What happens inside Heimer’s workshop is not simply restoration work; it’s a living dialogue between generations of craftsmen. Watching the artisans reassemble the shattered pieces — every curve and pigment matched by eye, every lead line reset with precision — reminded us why we devote so much time and care to historic rehabilitation. This is what “doing it right” looks like – best not left to hobbyist or arm chair historians role playing at the local club house.
A Studio Rooted in History
Heimer & Company Stained Glass Studio traces its origins to the early 1930s, when Edward W. Heimer and his father, Georg, both trained in Munich, Germany, established their own firm in Columbus, Ohio. The pair had apprenticed with the famed Von Gerichten Studios, and when that company folded during the Great Depression, they carried forward the European craft tradition on their own. Edward took charge of the business operations, while Georg served as the principal designer.
As America’s ecclesiastical architecture flourished in the mid-20th century, the Heimers relocated to Paterson, New Jersey, to be closer to their primary clients — the Catholic Church. From Boston to Washington, D.C., their studio became a cornerstone of sacred art commissions, designing and installing stained glass in hundreds of churches and monasteries.
By 1950, they moved operations to Clifton, New Jersey, where the studio continues to operate today under fourth-generation family leadership.
A Sacred Connection with Jersey City
The relationship between Heimer & Co. and Sacred Heart Church in Jersey City began in the 1940s, when the Dominican friars overseeing the parish commissioned the studio to produce a series of stained-glass lancet windows for the priory chapel. That commission sparked a decades-long collaboration that would define the church’s interior light and color palette.
The postwar period saw some of the firm’s most innovative work. Artists Jacob Renner and Simon Berasaluce, a Spanish master of modern faceted glass, introduced new dimensional techniques and expressive shading that brought unprecedented life to the sacred imagery. Sacred Heart’s windows from this period are among the finest surviving examples of mid-century ecclesiastical stained glass in New Jersey — fusing old-world tradition with a modernist spirit of renewal.
A Legacy Carried Forward
After the passing of Edward (“Edi”) Heimer in 1969, his son Gerhard (Gerry) Heimer took over the studio and continued to expand its reach. His daughter, Judith Heimer Van Wie, followed in her father’s footsteps — studying business at Bryant University, honing her design skills at Parsons School of Design, and apprenticing at the family firm before eventually assuming leadership.
Today, Judith and her husband James Van Wie represent the fourth generation of the Heimer family tradition. Judith focuses on liturgical design and new installations, while James oversees restoration and maintenance. Together, they balance artistry with practicality, ensuring that each commission — whether a 19th-century restoration or a contemporary church window — remains true to both faith and form.
Restoration as Shared Purpose
Our visit underscored how deeply JARIC Development’s mission aligns with studios like Heimer & Co. Both approach restoration not as replication but as continuity — a way of ensuring that the architectural and spiritual legacy of a community endures.
The process of restoring Sacred Heart’s glass will take years — carefully documenting, repairing and restoring every panel and fragment. Dozens of highly qualified expert artisans, historians, and conservators are playing a part in bringing the building back to life. This is a serious, complex endeavor with multiple points of cross indexed research and high level professionals focused on the work. But when the light streams through those restored panels — filtering across the stone walls of Sacred Heart — it will represent something larger than preservation.
It will be the renewal of a century-old conversation between art, faith, and craft — and the proof that when history is cared for, it becomes part of the future.
