The summer holidays are fast approaching and that will mean a busy programme of teaching. I'm looking forward to teaching the next 'Intricate Surfaces' course at West Dean College in July. This course is always popular and there are no places left this time round, but details of the next one in the Autumn will be coming soon. I also teach a weekly course at BACES in Kilburn Park which comes to an end this week and I'll be running a 2 day taster course for the Summer School in 'Making Bowls and Beads'.

As well as my college teaching, I am now holding private courses for adults and workshops for children (age 8+) at The Glass Studio. This is a great opportunity to learn about glass fusing in the creative atmosphere of a working studio. As groups are smaller than in college courses this is a really intensive learning experience, as well as being a lot of fun.

More details: West Dean . . . .BACES . . . The Glass Studio

This summer my glass will be on show in various galleries. Following hot on the heels of the Spring Collection, the SDC Gallery invited me back to take part in the current exhibition Enchanted, which sees the work of 38 designer-makers (including 6 glass artists) displayed in their Shoreditch space. From Shoreditch to Stafford, the Shire Hall Gallery will be showing a number of my Bollywood Lightboxes (shown left) and Bejewelled Bowls in their new exhibition Inspired by Bollywood, which promises to be an exciting show of all things Bollywood, from vintage posters to costume to film.

Finally the long awaited follow up to the last show by the British Society of Master Glass Painters, the 40cm2 exhibition returns to the Cochrane Gallery in which 75 members of the Society will be showing their glass panels. My panel continues my current obsession with butterflies, and as one of the hanging committee I got a sneak preview of the show so I know that mine are not the only butterflies in the show! This is a fabulous exhibition showing a huge range of styles and techniques which is not to be missed in London before it moves to Ely Cathedral later in the year.
More details for Enchanted here ... for Inspired by Bollywood here ... for 40cm2 here

Pulse 2008 was an interesting experience for me, not least because of the length of the stand I took. Managing a six metre stand on my own for three days was certainly a challenge but it all went swimmingly and the extra space allowed me to set up my stand with more of a gallery look with plinths down the length. Even better, I had space to set up a little work area - what a luxury! The show generally seemed quieter and the dreaded words "credit crunch" were bandied about, however happily my order book was looking healthy by the end of the show.

My new Damascus Rose range of screenprinted bowls, dishes and coasters went down very well (more information about this new range coming soon!). In the show I made a feature of The Butterfly Collector panels and they have now been sent to selected stores from Adelaide, Australia to Florida in the US. A warm welcome to all the new buyers who made orders from me!
For more details of The Butterfly Collector panel click here

Pulse is a trade show being held at Earls Court for the sixth year running which has earned a reputation for being the place to discover brand new suppliers, ideas and talent that simply cannot be seen elsewhere.

This will be my second time showing in the Launchpad area at Pulse, and this time I have taken an extra long stand to showcase Alex R - Glass Art.

I will be displaying my vessels on plinths this time round and making more use of the walls to show lightboxes and glass lighting which have always been part of my product ranges but which I rarely show. I am also hoping to show an exciting new range of screenprinted vessels based around a damask design which will be hot out of the kiln!

Trade buyers should already have received invites to visit me at at my stand (LP34) which is in the Launchpad area.

For more details see www.pulse-london.com

Over two weekends in May (10/11th and 17/18th May) the doors of The Glass Studio will be opened to the public for the first time as part of the Dulwich Festival. As well as the studio, the rest of the house will be open, with rooms on three floors filled with glass. Pieces on show will be mainly from Alex R, but fellow Teepee Glass artists Pippa Stacey, Brett Manley and Maria Fagan will also be exhibiting.

In the studio there will be a myriad display of smaller items including decorative hangings, tiles, coasters and a sale of slight seconds bowls. Ten colourful lightboxes will be casting their light on the staircase to the first floor, where visitors will see installations of glass in two windows. We will be pulling out all the stops and covering every surface in the sitting room with glass bowls and platters, while the walls will show a display of lightboxes and panels.

Hanging in the stairwell to the second floor will be a huge vintage chandelier adorned with some Alex R glass, in keeping with the 1970's architecture of the house. Two bedrooms will be open upstairs: the dark bedroom will show a couple of illuminated sculptural pieces, while the light bedroom will contain an installation of glass butterflies.

10-11 / 17-18 May: 11am-6pm Enjoy a free glass of wine with us. Download tickets here

Even if the weather's not that brilliant this year, summer will be coming to The Glass Studio in the form of more colourful butterflies. I've started developing my popular hanging glass butterflies into a product better suited if you only have wall space. The resulting wall panel, called 'The Butterfly Collector' for obvious reasons. There are three sizes: the small panel displays a single glass butterfly, the medium panel sets three complimentary butterflies together and for those who want to splash a bit of cash on a really special wallpiece there is the large panel with nine butterflies.

Each butterfly I make is totally unique due to the specially designed continuous moulds I use. This means not only will you never get two butterflies which are exactly the same, but the panels will also all be completely individual. The colour combinations can be customised to suit your interior decoration, but usually I make sure that the panels display a mix of colours. Each frame is made from gloss white perspex with a front panel of glass to keep the butterflies clean. I am making wall panels in limited editions of thirty for each size, so order one before they get snapped up!

For more product information on The Butterfy Collector click here

In February I received a last minute invitation to exhibit at Form London, an exciting contemporary art and design show which is now in its second year.

Keen to show my new glass butterflies, I used swathes of sky-blue fabric to create a backdrop. After hours of balancing on a very tall ladder to pin up the fabric, I stood back to admire my efforts only to realise with horror that it was a bit too reminiscent of one of those terrible puffball bridesmaid's dress from the 1980's!! However it all came together once the butterflies were added along with a display of bowls resting on their boxes. One visitor aptly named it 'The Glass Picnic'.

Coincidentally fellow Teepee artists Lucy Batt, Pippa Stacey and Brett Manley had pieces shown at the ZeST and Caira Mandaglio stands... a distinctly Teepee affair!

For more info on Form see www.form-london.com

Top Drawer Spring was fantastically successful for me. My stand was hung from ceiling to floor with hundreds of glass hearts which went down a storm.

Buyers were queuing up to place orders, and over one thousand glass hearts were sent out around the UK in time for the Valentine's Day customers. It is no exaggeration to say I do not want to see another heart... at least until next Valentine's Day!

A company called Pins and Ribbons was on the neighbouring stand and they loved the hearts so much they took a whole load to decorate their house. It just so happens that their home is being featured in Period House Magazine in the next couple of months, so keep an eye out for it!

To purchase glass hearts click here

Top Drawer is the essential trade show for innovative and inspirational design-led products. The Spring Show at Earls Court One will kick off the year's buying from the 13th to the 15th of January.

This will be my third stand at a trade show and I'm hoping it will be as successful as previous displays. I'll be taking a four square metre stand in the Interiors and Home Accesories area to showcase Alex R Glass. As buyers will be out in force looking for last minute products for Valentines Day, I will be making a feature of my bestselling glass hearts.

The walls of my stand will be adorned with literally hundreds of hearts to create a 'Valentine's Grotto' while the central set will be a table for two with Alex R glass bowls, platters and coasters on show.

If you're a trade buyer I look forward to seeing you at my stand (T14) in Home Accessories area near the Spring Bar.

Also on show is a dazzling range of glass from jewellery and bowls to architectural panels. Displayed as it might be seen in a home, the glass is set against Arts and Crafts furniture from Patch Rogers who has curated exhibitions for Liberty of London for many years. Both glass and furniture are for sale.

We are all very excited that the exhibition has been extended by six weeks for a January Glass Sale with 15% off normal prices. There will also be two special evenings of talks on art and glass:
Fri 25 Jan: "Art in Education " Talk by Philippa Tunstill
Fri 1 Feb: "Back to the Bauhaus" Talk by Caroline Swash
For more information see www.teepeeglass.com

Happy New Year 2008 to one and all!

The Glass Studio has been a hive of activity for the last six months in the run up to Christmas with Alex R glass being sent around the UK to both trade and retail customers. A warm welcome to all the new boutiques and galleries which are now stocking my glass - look out for an updated stockist list on my website very soon.

The most exciting event of 2007 was seeing the former prime minister being shown my glass. “The Rise and Fall of Tony Blair” was a documentary broadcast on Channel 4 during Blair’s last week in office. One of his final duties involved a visit to London’s newest hospital, University College Hospital in Euston Road, which is of course where my piece ‘Sundance’ has been installed. He was filmed being shown around the Radiotherapy Department by Julia Solano, the new head of radiotherapy. I have it on good authority that Tony was very impressed with the 'Sundance' piece!
To read more about 'Sundance' download the press release as a pdf here