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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 glass for the past 19 years. His work has been exhibited at International level and in noted exhibitions in Italy, China, Scandinavia, Australia and the USA, alongside many exhibitions at home in the UK. Each piece 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 established ‘First Glass’ alongside Peter Layton in 1990 and now works out of his own studio in Devon.
PETER LAYTON
Born in Prague and brought up in England, Peter Layton originally trained in ceramics at the Central School of Art and Design in London but, the discovery of hot glass was the beginning of a new love affair. He was inspired by the immediacy of this enchanting and elusive medium, as much by the demanding process and the magical and exqusite material. Self taught as a glassmaker, Peter Layton's work is organic and tactile, striving to achieve a form of controlled assymetry. Series evolve by 'sketching on the blowing iron', in the belief that an understanding of the work is best achieved through making. Peter Layton's London Gassblowing is a hot glass studio focused on the creation and display of the contemporary glass art. The studio has a reputation as one of Europe's leading glassmaking workshops with a particular flair for the use of colour, form and texture. Layton produces individual pieces of decorative glass in sculptural and functional forms. The work is free blown, permitting a greater degree of involvement and attention to detail than is possible on standardised production and ensuring the individuality of the piece. It is the studio's philosophy that each piece should be unique and signed by the artist.
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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. PAVEL HAVELKA Pavel Havelka was born in Czechoslovakia in 1969. He studied glass at the School of Applied Arts in Zelezny Brod and then began his career at the Beranek glassworks in Skrdlovice. Throughout his seven years with Beranek, Havelka produced pieces to others original designs whilst compiling his own body of work. In 1994 he moved to the Svoboda glassworks where he became their resident glass artist, experimenting with various techniques which were represented in his own designs. In 1999 Havelka joined the Princ Glassworks as the 'Master of Production' gaining recognition for his artistically inspired designs and use of 'cold work' cutting. In 2011 Havelka established his own glass studio and continues to produce functional and decorative art glass pieces. WILL SHAKSPEARE Will first started glassblowing at art college, where he had originally enrolled to do pottery but found himself increasingly attracted to the myriad possibilities of working with molten glass. He enjoyed the freedom that the material afforded, coupled with the spontaneity of the processes. He gradually learnt the techniques to compliment his ideas and developed a personal style. He gains inspiration principally from nature, the glass that he blows has a clear provenance. “My glass is inspired by many different sources. The bowls and vases that make up the Fireworks glass range have obvious roots, whilst Seismic bowls and vases display the patterns of rock strata found on a favourite Somerset beach. Whether it’s the neck of a glass jug mimicking the shape of a pink flamingo’s neck or the patterns in a Nougat vase looking like pebbles on a beach I am always trying to inform my glass with something special which has caught my eye”. 
MICHAEL TRIMPOL Born in Philadelphia, Michael Trimpol was first introduced to glass working during a high school stained glass course in Stowe VT. He pursued a career in stained glass while attending Concordia University in Montreal designing and creating many residential commissions as well as several public installations. Frustrated with the limitations of the two dimensional process, he enrolled at Sheridan College School of Craft & Design in Mississauga Ontario to learn the art of glassblowing. Upon graduation in 1985, he was accepted for a residency at Harbourfront Craft Studios, one of Toronto’s most popular tourist destinations. Shortly after he left Harbourfront in 1989, he established his own company Hotglass Inc. in Mississauga, for which he designed and created a full line of blown glass products. In 1995, Michael relocated to Stowe Vermont and founded Little River Hotglass Studio. He currently designs and manufactures a diverse body of product in addition to overseeing the operations of the studio.
GEORGE PONZINI
George Ponzini was born in New York in 1952. He was first introduced to glass while studying at the Franklin Pierce College, thereafter concentrating on glass and furniture at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. He has studied glass at Pilchuck Glass School and has been honoured as a Fellowship Recipient from the Vermont Council of the Arts and the Grodin Award for Excellence in Design and Craftsmanship. Ponzini creates glass objects and sculptures that are engaging and elegant. His designs are architecturally influenced, capturing the feeling of art deco with stunning composites of blown and constructed glass elements. .A piece is typically designed hands-on, using an inventory of glass parts instead of drawings. These parts consist of glass rods & tubes, textured glass, structural glass, wire safety glass, marbles and beads. The glass is either cut on a saw or with a carbide tip glass cutter. Then the parts are ground on a diamond impregnated grinding wheel or on discs of varying grit. The etched patterns are sandblasted. The parts are then glued with a silicone adhesive thus completing the piece. Ponzini has been working in his current style since the mid 1980's. His glass career has spanned 3 decades. We are very proud to say that A Heart of Glass are sole UK stockists!
PAUL HARRIE
American glass artist Paul Harrie was born and brough up in North Dakota. The snow covered surroundings of his home give him inspiration to create classic, clean pieces. He uses a number of techniques- Coloured glass canes to produce precise striping, Coloured powders to create layers and solid colour to create colour fields. These techniques are then finished off with precise cutting and polishing to create abstract patterns. Paul Harrie established his own private glassworks in 1980 and works alone to personally produce these fantastic colourful pieces. Although Paul's work features in galleries across America, his work is exclusive to A Heart of Glass in the UK.
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 three-dimensional objects. Her Art Glass creations tend to be architectural in design, concentrating more on shape and form than functionality. She delights in the ever changing properties and random beauty of glass. Her works have featured in galleries across the U.S and Canada and are exclusive to  A Heart of Glass in the UK. .jpg) ALES VALNER Ales Valner was born in 1962 in Brno, Czech Republic. Having designed for a number of glassworks, he now has his own company within the Czech and Moravian Highlands. He works with 4 other artists producing colourful, free blown pieces that are highly decorative and usually sculptural in form. The limited production capacity means many of the pieces are unique, usually made for exhibitions across Germany & America or privately commissioned. A Heart of Glass commissioned the popular ‘Completeness’ sculpture MATS JONASSON Mats Jonasson left school at the tender age of 14 and began his career as an apprentice engraver at the Maleras glassworks in Sweden. Throughout his early career he worked with many of Sweden's leading and most talented contemporary glass artists, learning his craft and developing his confidence, abilities and ideas. He left briefly to work as an apprentice at Kosta but returned to his roots in 1975. Jonassons's pieces are inspired by the natural world. His works commonly feature intricate etchings of animals in lead crystal. His more recent works have experimented with colour, used to define the captivating features of his 'Masq' series of sculptures
MONICA BACKSTROM
Swedish glass artist Monica Backstrom has worked for Kosta Boda since 1965 and is one of their chief designers with her own studio. Backstrom takes her inspiration from nature and the environment. Her more recent works including the “Moonlanding” series (retired from production in 2003) were designed to reflect her study of astronomy and space- The textured surface depicting that of the surface of the moon. Backstrom is married to Erik Hoglund, himself a well known glass artist and their daughter Erika Hoglund is now designing and producing her own pieces in collaboration with Mats Jonasson at the Maleras glassworks in Sweden.
STANISLAV LIBENSKY
Stanislav Libensky was one of the most influential Czech glass artists of the 20th century. He produced some of the worlds greatest cast glass and architectural glass works of art. Libensky began his career in glass at the age of 16 when he studied glass making at the Novy Bor and Zelezny Brod specialist schools of glassmaking in the 1930's. During the war years he studied in Prague under professor Jaroslav Holecek, later returning to his school at Novy Bor as a teacher. During this period he also worked as a designer for the glassworks. In 1954 he became a director of the school and it was within this post that he met his wife Jaroslava Brychtova and they began their dramatically creative work together. In 1984, Libensky and his wife set up their own glassworks at Zelezny Brod, undertaking architectural commissions from around the world. | |
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