The '70s may have been a decade without charm, but not without merit. Back then, a couple of guys from Texas rolled into Two Rivers, Wisconsin, to teach a stained glass class at a local hotel. "I saw an ad in the newspaper. I liked stained glass, so I figured, Why not?" says Wisconsin native Jeffrey Mueller, now owner of Godfrey Muller Studios in Rochester.

Three weeks into the eight-week course, the Texans bolted. But by then, Mueller was hooked. The stained glass window he made - a surreal landscape featuring a ring of fingers suspended in midair - still hangs in his 4,000-square-foot studio located at 1115 East Main Street.

Mueller, the son of an antique dealer, admired stained glass lampshades as a boy. With his newly acquired skills, he began making and repairing lampshades in his spare time as a fork lift operator. After a workplace injury, Mueller, who had studied fine arts at the University of Wisconsin, obtained a commercial art degree from Milwaukee Area Technical College.

"I liked doing stained glass. It was fun, plus I was making some money doing it," Mueller recalls. So he followed his bliss years before the phrase was coined, landing a job at Rochester's Pike Stained Glass Studio in 1981.

There, Mueller discovered he enjoyed working on large-scale stained glass restoration projects. "I get to take other people's art and make it good again," says Mueller, who especially relishes the challenge of restoring windows made by renowned artist Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933). "Tiffany wanted his pieces to look like paintings. He added layer after layer to build intensity of color," explains Mueller.

In 1992, Mueller opened Godfrey Muller Studios. The studio's name is a nod to Mueller's German heritage.

Restoration projects made up 60 percent of Mueller's business in 2006; that figure varies year to year. Last year's projects included the restoration of two 19th century Tiffany windows at St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Westminster Road, and a complete set of late 19th century opalescent windows for the United Church of Marion.

The stained-glass restoration process requires painstaking attention to detail. "First, get on a ladder," Mueller jokes. An on-site inspection can uncover damage including stress cracks in the glass. The lead - called lead came - that holds the glass pieces in place might sag or bulge from years of supporting a window's weight. He also looks for areas of balding, where color has faded due to improper kiln firing.

After carefully removing the window and transporting it to his studio, Mueller makes a rubbing, which becomes the pattern for the window's restoration. White paper is placed on top of the window, and the butt of a glazing knife is used to trace the lead came. Exact measurements are recorded for each panel before the window is disassembled.

"We use as many original glass pieces as possible in the restoration," Mueller says, adding that "cracked pieces are glued together if possible." Areas of faded color are difficult to repair, often requiring additional layers of glass applied to the back of the window to restore depth and detail.

Modern lead came - fortified with other metals to increase its strength - is used to reassemble windows. Each joint is soldered and each glass piece is cemented in place. "It's a bit like grouting tiles," Mueller says. "Cement makes windows waterproof and solid so the glass doesn't rattle. Without it, a window would only last a quarter of its expected 75- to 100-year lifespan."

As a final step, bars are attached to the back of the window for added support.

Not surprisingly, stained glass restoration can be expensive. Tiffany windows start at $400 to $500 per square foot. New windows start at $250 per square foot, depending on size, detail and glass type.

Mueller also has residential clients, more than half of whom hire him to restore or improve the design of historic windows. Others request new windows in historic or contemporary styles to personalize their homes. For example, parents of twins chose a design with an urn featuring dual flames. Another client commissioned a window depicting a model ship her father built.

While the process of crafting stained glass windows has been improved by modern tools such as computerized kilns, the techniques Mueller uses are centuries old. "I make windows the same way they were made in 11th or 12th century Europe," he says.

Mueller's current projects include the restoration of a large window from Philadelphia featuring the draped figure of a muse dating to the 1880s. With the caption "Literature," the window may have originally graced a library or mansion.

Also in the mix are numerous church windows, including three from the United Church of Livonia. The church's center window features a high Victorian design with a memorial urn and a crown and cross motif. Mueller is restoring two smaller side windows with doves and a bible for the Livonia church, as well as 14 windows for the Victor Methodist Church. Ongoing projects include restoration at Nazareth College and Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School.

When asked whether he prefers restoration or new design projects, Mueller says, "I like it all. I'm in a job where I'm doing what I like to do. It's not like work. I'm never going to retire."

For more information on Godfrey Muller Studios, or to see samples of Jeffrey Mueller's work, visit www.godfreyglass.com.