Stained Glass for the Discerning Geek

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tained glass is an art form most traditionally associated with churches and religion, but Geek Orthodox worships at the altar of fandom. 

Artist Ian Leino heads the small business that has been making stained-glass designs for fans since 2015. That collection now includes licensed artwork based on The Lord of the Rings book trilogy.

According to the Department of Medieval Art and the Cloisters at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, stained glass was most popular between the years 1150 and 1500, when artists used it predominantly in the design of churches and cathedrals across Europe. Drawing parallels between communities based on shared religion and those based on shared fandoms, Leino says that he wanted to revive the importance of storytelling within stained glass. 

“I wanted to bring some new life to what I felt like was an old medium and to take the importance that stained glass brings and say, ‘This is worthy in our stories, too, for the characters that we’re creating and the modern mythology that we’re making with our books, movies, and games,’ and all that,” he says. “It fills a similar role in many people’s lives, and that felt like a fun way to combine those two things.”

Fans can buy real stained glass artwork from Geek Orthodox, but it is an investment piece that can cost anywhere from $150 to more than $500. However, Geek Orthodox also offers affordable versions of its art with repositionable replica window clings ($15-45). 

In 2024, Geek Orthodox started working with Middle-earth Enterprises, the company that manages the licensing rights to The Lord of the Rings series and J.R.R. Tolkien’s other books (Warner Bros. Discovery manages the licensing rights to the Peter Jackson film trilogy).

“The Lord of the Rings was a foundational fandom for me,” Leino says. “It’s one of the things that is down at the core of me that other things have built on … My parents read aloud to us at night, and I’ve done the same thing (as an adult). I read them when I was older; I read them to my wife in the evenings. I’ve, of course, seen the movies. It’s a very connected fandom … a lot of nerds like myself have a deep love for that. To take something that I have enjoyed and loved through my whole life, and now to be considered worthy to represent that professionally, is just stunning.”

“Stunning” is an easy word to describe Leino’s artwork. Designs from Geek Orthodox’s Shire catalog include a suncatcher featuring the iconic green Bag End Hobbit Door, a window cling inspired by the Prancing Pony, and the Fellowship of the Ring in shadow crossing the bridge to leave Rivendell in front of a shining blue waterfall. 

Since acquiring the license, the company has managed several successful Kickstarter campaigns and had a presence at both Comic-Con International: San Diego with TheOneRing.net, a fansite dedicated to The Lord of the Rings since 1999, and its own booth at New York Comic Con. 

“A lot of modern fans are pretty discerning and can tell when something is made with love and interest and when something is made because we need to sell so many units this month,” Leino says. “There’s been just a great response. It has been great to talk with fans and to be able to be on both sides of [fandom], to have people who are fans of my work the same way that I am a fan of so many other artists in this area.”

Leino connected with TheOneRing.net through Middle-earth Enterprises, which also licenses to TheOneRing.net for fan events and con merchandise. After seeing his work, TheOneRing.net team offered Geek Orthodox a display area in their booth at SDCC. 

“I was just blown away by how gorgeous his work is, both his actual stained glass and then the replica window clings that he makes, which are much more affordable for a lot of people, but they’re still incredibly beautifully made and high quality,” says Kirsten Cairns, COO of TheOneRing.net. 

Geek Orthodox is one of many artist-focused small businesses that partner with Middle-earth Enterprises for licensed merch. Fredrica Drotos, director of brand and licensing at Middle-Earth Enterprises, says that intention is a vital part of any The Lord of the Rings collaboration. A business has to have a good idea and passion for the franchise world; they can’t just be in it for the money.

“Ian is somebody who has a deep passion for the lore,” Drotos says. “In meeting him, we got a sense of him as somebody with deep integrity. The fact that he was coming to his appreciation for the lore through stained glass was very interesting. We’d never had a stained-glass artist approach us, but it is such an old art form, it is so tactile, and it requires so much attention to detail. It seemed to us to be a perfect sort of element for exploration and really unique.”

Middle-earth Enterprises and The Lord of the Rings fans also agree that Geek Orthodox and other smaller licensees that make unique, artistic merch hold the true spirit of Tolkien. 

“I think that [Tolkien] would enjoy seeing the creativity of people who really are into and admire his realm,” Cairns says. “I don’t think he’d love mass merchandising. Don’t get me wrong, I have bought my share of mass merchandise in the past, and there are many things that I absolutely love from bigger companies, but what you get from these individuals is an authentic creativity that comes from a place of passion,” she goes on.

The Lord of the Rings is not the only license that Geek Orthodox turns into stained glass. Leino also teamed up with Tycoon Games to create artwork for the Everdell tabletop game series. The game features fantastical creatures that live in harmony together — the perfect imagery to go with Geek Orthodox’s stained-glass style. 

Dan Yarrington, founder and CEO of Tycoon Games, first interacted with Geek Orthodox as a fan buying Leino’s artwork on T-shirts and window clings. He also happens to own several custom designs made by Geek Orthodox inspired by his favorite fandoms, including Doctor Who, Star Trek, and more. 

“I actually was joking that I had to buy another house because I’m out of windows now,” Yarrington says.

From there, Leino and Yarrington’s relationship has developed into a professional friendship, with Yarrington giving Geek Orthodox advice on running Kickstarter campaigns and selling each other’s merch on their respective websites. 

“They’ve been great to work with,” Yarrington says. “I definitely highly recommend them. I know they’re looking to expand into some of what I call ‘the geek library’ of stuff, the nostalgia. For those of us who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, getting back to that classic era. There are a lot of realms to be done there.”

Geek Orthodox’s journey into fandom may have kicked off 11 years ago, but its adventure is just getting started. Earlier this year, the company was named the winner of The Pop Insider’s first-ever Collectors’ Choice Awards Underdog Award. (Editor’s note: See here for a full winners’ list.) The company is also working on deals with new licenses, something that is only possible because Middle-earth Enterprises, Tycoon Games, and other companies and mentors took a chance on Leino and Geek Orthodox.

“It’s important that people know the difficulty of this type of thing,” Leino says. “As an artist, I was trying to get into licensing, and most of the time I got rejections, but the thing that I heard even more was silence. It’s hard to get noticed. It is very important to persevere. It takes getting that first opportunity, which is a lot of luck and a lot of tenacity.”

Geek Orthodox has traveled through the Shire and Everdell, and its unique art style will keep new fans joining their ongoing journey.