We are a working studio, here to inspire, where you can watch this ancient craft brought to life. Our daily production forms part of the experience, giving visitors the opportunity to see us at work discovering how each piece is created. From the first gather to the finished form every piece has its own unqiue journey. Some of our more intricate works including Graal & Encalmo require many hours of cold working before their final form is revealed. Alongside the studio we have two retails areas showcasing our handmade studio glass-each piece created here in the studio and available to take home.
THE FIRE THAT NEVER GOES OUT
Due to the nature of how a glass makers furnace works it cannot be switched on in the morning and off at night. It fires continuously, day and night, holding molten glass at over 1,100°C, only being switched off for maintenance or a close down period.
What might you see?
Molten glass at that temperature has roughly the consistency of honey. A piece is gathered on the end of a blowing iron and brought to its finished form while it remains workable, because once the glass begins to cool the moment for working it has passed.
Depending on the day, you may see:
-
Gathering, as glass is taken from the furnace on the end of an iron, glowing orange-white
-
Colour introduced in powders, chips, canes and straps, worked into the glass while it moves
-
Highest quality 22ct gold and sterling silver leaf applied to the hot glass and fused during the making, the technique for which the studio was awarded Best of British Design in1979
-
Blowing and shaping with wet newspaper, wooden blocks, jacks and shears, using tools that would be familiar to a Venetian glassmaker
-
Encalmo, the joining of two or more separately blown pieces of glass into a single piece
-
Teamwork, as some designs, Stratum among them, require two glassmakers working in tandem to the same rhythm
Each finished piece then goes into the annealing oven, where it cools slowly overnight. This is the quietest part of the process and the one that determines whether a piece survives at all.
How long does it take?
The making of a piece depends entirely on what is being made. A small piece comes together quickly. A large or intricate one, anything needing two or more glassmakers working to the same rhythm, takes considerably longer, some pieces require cold working and may take weeks.
You are welcome to watch for as long as you wish and ask whatever you like while the team works.
Before You Travel
Although the furnace is always lit, the team is not always at it. Glassmaking is hot, physical work done to a schedule, and there are days when the team is fulfilling a commission elsewhere. If watching the making is the reason for your journey, please telephone ahead on 01983 522339.
Visiting With Children and Dogs
Children are very welcome and are usually transfixed. The viewing area keeps everyone at a safe distance from the hot work, we do ask that younger visitors stay with an adult. Dogs are welcome throughout, on a lead and close beside you.
AMAZING!
A wonderful studio where you can sit and watch the glass blowers in action. We watched a beautiful bowl being made from start to finish and felt very involved in the process as each stage was explained to us.
The studio has some lovely pieces for sale, all individually made with precision and skill, ranging from small ducks and birds to large vases and bowls in various patterns and shapes. Something for everyone.
The studio is set within Arreton barns and is free to visit.