BOB CROOKS

Bob Crooks is one of Britain's most highly recognised glassmakers. Renowned for the high quality, skilfully executed dynamic forms, he has been producing excellence in glass for over 30 years.
 
Bob benefited enormously from working with Ronnie Wilkinson at the Glasshouse in London in 1987 during a year out from his degree course at West Surrey College of Art & Design.
 
He took the bold step of setting up his own business in 1990, later moving to Devon where he converted farm buildings into a state of the art workshop and gallery for 'First Glass'. 
 
All work is designed, handmade and finished by Bob Crooks himself. His pieces are inspired by geometry, architecture, the natural and man-made worlds we live in as well as the qualities and capabilities of the glass itself. Bob exploits the many properties of the material through refraction or reflection; sharpness or softness, transparency or opacity, working with its fluidity and 'freezing' it as the desired form is realised.
 
Bob Crooks's glass has been exhibited internationally as well as in the UK. He has won numerous awards and commissions and his work is held in a number of public and commercial collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Crafts Council Collection, London and the Sainsbury Collection, London.

FAY MILLER

American artist Fay Miller began her career as a graphic designer but soon turned her attentions to glass and her need to express her creativity through 3- dimensional objects.
 
 “Interpreting and refining the multitude of stimuli that bombard my brain every day is what my work is about. Every day I see things I want to recreate - leaves blowing in the wind, animal horns at the zoo, buildings rising in the city, political debates on television, seasons changing the landscape and people gathered in joyous celebration. I incorporate elements of whimsy wildness and intense colour. The beauty, geometry and harshness of the natural world drive my creative process”
 
We are proud to have been representing Fay's striking work exclusively in Europe for over 18 years.

PAVEL HAVELKA

Czech born Pavel Havelka studied glass at the School of Applied Arts in Zelezny Brod and upon leaving in 1987, joined the renowned Beranek glassworks in Skrdlovice.
Throughout his seven years with Beranek, Havelka produced pieces to others original designs whilst experimenting with various techniques to compile his own body of work.
 
In 1994 he moved to the Svoboda glassworks where he became their resident glass artist.
Some five years later, Havelka joined the Princ Glassworks as the 'Master of Production' gaining recognition for his artistically inspired designs and use of 'cold work' cutting.
 
In 2012 Havelka established his own glass studio with his wife Lucie where they now produce one-off and limited production decorative pieces.
We're delighted to represent Pavel's glorious work exclusively in the UK.

LAYNE ROWE

Born in 1971, Layne Rowe is an extremely gifted glass artist whose approach to colour, form and surface pattern has evolved radically since his graduation from the University of Central Lancashire.

 
Having worked at London Glassblowing for a number of years, Layne moved to Brazil in 2003 where he set up a glass studio before rejoining Peter Layton’s studio some years later. 

Layne’s work has been widely exhibited around the world, notably in the V&A’s Power of Making exhibition and annually at Collect since 2013. In 2014 he showed alongside Grayson Perry and Alexander McQueen in Subversive Design, at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. Most recently, he has exhibited his large installation piece, ‘Solace’ at several important cathedrals, including St Albans Abbey and Ely Cathedral.
 
Now working from his own studio in Cambridgeshire, Layne continues to push the possibilities of technique in every direction, producing a diverse body of work that is both complex and intriguing.

COLIN HAWKINS

From his glass-blowing studio at The New Brewery Arts Centre in the Cotswolds, Colin Hawkins uses a combination of traditional glassblowing techniques and contemporary craftsmanship to create his handblown glass.
 
His work is inspired by the qualities of glass itself and the forms and rhythms of nature.
 
Colin's training and experience is extensive and diverse, having been involved in glass making for over 25 years.
Colin trained in Glass at Sunderland University and the Royal College of Art in London, gaining much of his understanding of the medium of glass early in his career whilst working alongside some of the British Glassmaking industry’s traditional and contemporary artisans. 

He has worked on many private commissions and exhibits his One-off pieces and Studio ranges in selected galleries across the country.

ELLIOT WALKER

Elliot Walker is a sculptor working with molten glass and recently rose to fame as winner of Season 2 of the Netflix series 'Blown Away'.

He studied glass making in the Historic Glass Quarter, Stourbridge having graduated with a Masters in Applied Arts from Wolverhampton University. 

Elliot's sculptures require a high level of skill, dexterity and speed and he has been creating for over a decade.

" I established as a maker and an artist with the pleasure of working for glass legend Peter Layton for 8 years as part of the London glassblowing studio team. This was alongside some of the UKs most skilled glass artists including Layne Rowe & Tim Rawlinson.

I am a dedicated experimenter with my chosen material, constantly trying to challenge myself and the audiences of my work to abandon the many preconceptions surrounding glass as a medium."’

RiCHARD GLASS

Richard Glass was born in Plymouth in 1978. 

During his studies in fine art at Southampton Institute, Richard experimented with projects involving light and transparency, which led to a fascination in the medium of glass. 

Richard uses an eclectic mix of traditional and modern techniques to produce highly individual, intricate designs that cannot be made by mass produced manufacturing. 

Specialising in organic pieces and sculptural forms, his inspiration comes from the landscapes, seascapes and coastlines around him in Devon.

"I am constantly developing new ideas and techniques, using new materials. This, in combination with traditional glassmaking skills that have been handed down from one craftsman to another over generations, allows me to develop ideas at the forefront of glass design.

My work evolves with forms and colours changing with each new piece. Like most glassmakers I want to be consistently inconsistent. The fluidity of hot glass should be preserved in the movement or pattern of a piece. I still believe this and hope you find this true in my work".

RYAN ASHCROFT

My Glass interest was sparked in 2015 while studying at Dudley College.

Glass Blowing was offered as an enrichment session alongside my course; after an hour I was hooked.

There was something about the heat and the way the material behaves that really captured my attention.

From here I studied at the University of Wolverhampton on their Applied Arts BA Hons Course (2016-2018) focusing my attentions on glass blowing from my second year onwards.

While at University I began work at the Red House Glass Cone as a demonstrator and shortly after finishing my degree, I began working for Stuart Fletcher at Top Glass and with Netflix's 'Blown Away' Winner, Elliot Walker.

Ryan is quickly establishing his own exciting body of work and we cannot wait to see what the future holds.

ALLISTER MALCOLM

Allister Malcolm graduated from the University of Wolverhampton in 1997 with a BA Honors in Three Dimensional Design, specializing in glass sculpture. The occupancy of  the studio scholarship at Broadfield House Glass Museum enabled a continual launch of the artist's profile.
 
With attention to detail, Allister Malcolm produces dynamic, sculptural forms with a functional twist. Drawing inspiration from the natural world, particularly marine life, he constantly amazes and intrigues. Allisters use of colour entices the viewer and his use of Platinum, Gold and Silver to accent his work add a unique sparkle to bring the piece to life.
 
Allister's first commission was by Tony Blair. He was asked to produce presentation pieces for the heads of state and world leaders attending the Asia & European Summit. He also annually produces commissioned pieces for the Open Mic Awards for the Edinburgh Festival sponsored by the Daily Telegraph. Allister Malcolm's art is available at select galleries worldwide and A Heart of Glass are proud to showcase his work.

TERRI MALCOLM

With a passion for the 5 R’s (refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and repurpose) Terri Malcolm loves creating custom made wall art pieces using the discarded glass elements from her husbands glassmaking (Allister Malcolm).

Spending hours sourcing and up cycling materials which she turns into one-off pieces. With a keen attention to detail and an eye for colour and composition, we are delighted to bring you a range of Terri's pieces which are exclusive to A Hearrt of Glass.

VIC BAMFORTH

In essence what drives Vic Bamforths work are the dynamics of colour, movement, and the unique properties and qualities of glass itself.

Inspiration is drawn from life’s experiences. How he feels, what he is thinking, people he has met, places he has visited and the world around him.

The blown form has provided him with the ideal three-dimensional canvas with which he is able to express his own personal experience of - and to also reflect upon - life. 

Combining the techniques of ‘sommerso’ and ‘incalmo’, with experiments in colour Ian's latest works "Tricolarial" are created employing 3 colours which result in a much larger array of hues within in each unique piece.

MADELEINE HUGHES

Born in Brighton , Madeleine grew up in Newport, South Wales and displayed an inclination for art at a very young age. By the time she left secondary school her focus was on fine art and whilst studying for a foundation diploma in art at the Arts University, Bournemouth she discovered a love for three-dimensional work.
 
Intrigued by the versatility of glass and particularly by the enormous range of colours that can be achieved by the interplay with light and reflections, Madeleine completed a course at the Creative Glass Guild in Bristol which left her hungry for more experience with the medium.
Shortly afterwards, she attended a taster session in glass blowing at London Glassblowers under the tuition of Louis Thompson and was immediately hooked by the mesmerising qualities of molten glass.
 
"My work, therefore, is often led by process and technique as I like to spend most of my time in the hot shop, learning to master new skills and techniques, which I ultimately incorporate into my own designs.The aesthetics of a piece are very important to me and I like to take time to achieve a quality of finish which enhances my design".

DARREN WEED

The blown glassware of Darren Weed is rooted with a deep respect of traditional methods and processes, driven further by the desire to keep developing technically through design, ideas and execution.
 
Darren has always appreciated Art in which the craft of its production can be seen and strives to raise the standard of his own practice with every piece made.
 
“Working with glass is a demanding experience, often unforgiving but ultimately rewarding. The preparation and attention required throughout making is a motivating force in the creative process. I try not to take inspiration from the material itself but rather try to understand ideas through the process and perceived limitations of glass blowing.”