DesignSpec Co-Founder Fiona Sanipelli recently sat down with David Corle, the Director of Hospitality, and Leigh Berberian, the Creative Marketing Director of HMI Glass. HMI Glass believes that quality glass showers are the centerpiece of a modern space. The company is dedicated to demonstrating the boundless potential that glass offers for interior design. During the conversation, the team looked back on the company’s extensive history, highlighted the numerous advantages of digital printing, and discussed HMI’s future goals.
Could you share a bit about your roles at HMI Glass and how the company was started?
David Corle: I am the director of our Hospitality Division and have been with the company since 2015. I initially worked in outside sales, covering all of New England, and then transitioned into various sales management roles. Over the past five years, my main focus has been on our hospitality division, serving as a liaison to the A&D community and working to get HMI specified with major design firms and hotel brands. I lead a team of about five individuals based at our Louisville headquarters, and our primary focus is on hotels and multifamily properties.
Leigh Berberian: Before HMI, I worked for a company Woon-Tech, one of New England’s top boutique glass fabricators. About six years ago, Cardinal acquired us and rebranded the company as HMI. I went from working in a 14-square-foot space to leading the rebranding effort of a 48,000-square-foot facility. You can’t do your product justice if you don’t fully understand it at its core.
What does HMI stand for?
David Corle: HMI stands for Hoskin & Muir, Inc. Ed Hoskin and Dennis Muir founded the company in 1946. It initially operated as an aluminum extrusion company, selling decorative moldings and items commonly found in retro restaurants like Johnny Rockets. In the 1980s, the company shifted its focus to selling aluminum extrusions to the shower door industry. By the early 90s, some of their biggest clients were shower door manufacturers, leading HMI to venture into manufacturing shower doors themselves. Since then, the company has become one of the largest shower door manufacturers in the country.
Besides showers, you design fantastic glass stairs and handrails. When did you start developing those?
David Corle: It started when we acquired Woon-Tech, which produced glass stair treads, railings, awnings and other specialty glass products. We now combine these specialty glass fabrication capabilities with our legacy cast glass capabilities to offer solutions for feature walls, dividers, restaurant and hotel lobbies, and shower doors. Our in-house artisan, Fred diFrenzi, creates special molds by hand using fireproof powder-type material. He has pioneered new patterns and technologies in the cast glass world and has built his own kilns in our factory. Each new cast glass piece is handmade, making it a beautiful and unique work of art.
Each new cast glass piece is handmade, making it a beautiful and unique work of art.
David Corle
How do you go about manufacturing your products?
David Corle: We are a domestic manufacturer. The vast majority of our products are designed, fabricated and created on American soil, which enables us to have extremely fast lead times.
Your company strongly believes in digital printing. Why is this trend important for HMI?
Leigh Berberian: The digital printing trend is shaping the future of shower design. Our company is fortunate to have two printers, one in our Boston facility and one in Louisville. We use ceramic frit ink, which is microscopic particles of glass combined with inorganic inks in a powder form. They’re printed on glass by giant flatbed printers the way you could print on paper. Our motto is “Because we can.” Digital printing allows us to do things like taking a traditional marble and adding navy blue veining to it. That’s something you would never find in nature. This is how we can create functional art.
The digital printing trend is shaping the future of shower design.
Leigh Berberian
We have embraced the social media hashtag #showerfirst, which encourages designing the bathroom shower as the focal point. This hashtag is also a play on words, as the shower is the first thing most of us use every morning. Art on shower glass serves a dual purpose in modern bathrooms. It can create beautiful patterns and colors while also providing privacy through opacity and obscurity. This allows for a balance between showcasing the beauty of the glass and maintaining modesty.
We have embraced the social media hashtag #showerfirst, which encourages designing the bathroom shower as the focal point.
David Corle: We use digital printing to simulate sandblasting on glass. Traditional sandblasted or acid-etched glass becomes very porous and quickly collects oil from fingerprints and other sources. This makes it difficult to clean. Digital printing creates the same look without the porous surface, making it resistant to oil. Printed glass is more durable and practical for creating privacy compared to traditional methods.
Printed glass is more durable and practical for creating privacy compared to traditional methods.
David Corle
Do you offer residential services as well?
David Corle: HMI was founded on the principle of no minimum orders. Primarily, we focus on residential projects, with the majority of our work involving custom shower enclosures for homes. In the last ten years, we have expanded into selling to the commercial sector, including hotels and multifamily developments. This part of our business is currently experiencing the fastest growth.
Which products do you consider the most brand-defining for HMI?
David Corle: The most popular product for hospitality projects is our Frameless Custom Shower Enclosures. The Skyline and Capital collections are also in high demand. For multifamily projects, HMI’s best seller is the TruFit Series. These doors have an inch and a quarter of overall adjustability, making them ideal for large multifamily properties where the walls may not be exactly the same in every unit.
Are there any future projects you’re particularly excited about?
Leigh Berberian: HMI has a rich history, which we aim to emphasize at the upcoming GlassBuild, the largest annual glass trade show in America. Our team has a deep understanding of the product and knows how to blend functionality with trends. For instance, we are launching the Champagne Bronze finish option for our Empire Sliding Shower Doors to cater to the increasing preference for golds and warm tones. We’re also excited to showcase the functionality of our existing products. Our incredibly popular Grid Showers will demonstrate how HMI digital printing challenges traditional mullion applications with its ease of cleaning and anti-microbial properties.
HMI Glass is poised for an exciting future, with plans to showcase their innovative designs and rich history at GlassBuild, the largest annual glass trade show in the U.S. This event will highlight their expertise in blending trends with functionality, giving interior designers fresh inspiration for their projects.
As a company, HMI Glass continues to embrace the intersection of art and technology, proving that glass is more than a material—it’s a medium for innovation, creativity, and modern design. For interior designers seeking to make a bold statement, HMI Glass offers not just products but a partnership in turning visionary concepts into reality.