Ever since young I have been fascinated by glass. As a child I loved kaleidoscopes, marbles, prisms and fairground mirrors, by my teens it was stained glass windows in Cathedrals and chandeliers in stately homes. Now as an adult my interest is in pressed glass. Not the stunning cameo glass of Thomas Webb, or the opalique glass of Lalique, but the colourful, translucent, often mass-produced, pressed glass from manufacturers such as Sowerby and Greener. I love the interplay that light, colour and texture have on the reflections in its surface, and the way that light is refracted though it.
I am fortunate enough to live within travelling distance Tyneside, home to these old glassworks. This enables me to access archives, visit glass collections housed in local galleries and often find pieces of glass for sale.
My purpose in creating this site is, not only to document and record what I learn on my journey but, to share it with other people. Others who may not be as able to explore the historic glass-making industry in North-East England.
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