Browsing around my favourite hunting ground, Past Caring in Islington, with a TV film crew today, I stumbled upon this incredible photograph. Although it might not look like much, the rather strange piece of glass the young man is looking at is a postwar Czech masterpiece. Simply titled ‘Object’, it was designed in 1960 by […]
The Mdina Glass ‘Crizzle Stone’ signed by Michael Harris – rightly dubbed the Holy Grail for many Mdina collectors – being offered by Artius Glass on behalf of a collector has sold. And it stormed home, selling for a staggering £3,400! Representing the apex of collecting, less than a dozen are currently known to collectors, […]
With nary a week in between, I have just got back from a trip up north to do the Antiques Roadshow in the sunny seaside resort of Blackpool. I arrived on Thursday afternoon to a tranquil town, and took a constitutional walk along the beach to the location – the legendary Blackpool Ballroom underneath the […]
Last month I was delighted to be asked by BBC Homes & Antiques magazine to write an article on postwar Czech glass design, a hot collecting area also known to collectors as ‘sklo’. The magazine’s photographers have really excelled themselves, and you’ll find a lavishly illustrated seven page article packed with useful information and tips. […]
Now there’s a name you don’t hear every day. But it is one that you might hear more of in the future. Frantisek Zemek (1913-60) is arguably one of the lost great names in 20th century glass design, and was key to the development of hot-worked glass in Czechoslovakia. Starting his career as a glass […]
I’ve just spent one of the most enjoyable days of the year in Reading, Berkshire, at Mid20C, owned by my friend and long-time antique and 20thC design dealer Al Baynham. Those who have bought the Fat Lava DVD will have seen him being interviewed at the original Fat Lava exhibition in 2006. It was unsurprising, […]
This weekend saw a series of special events at Isle of Wight Studio Glass, nestled under the cliffs near Ventnor. I had been invited down to sign copies of my book, and to chat to collectors about pieces from their collections. And collectors and glass fans certainly turned up, creating a buzzy atmosphere that was […]
Last night, cool collectors and fabulous 20thC design fans gathered for one of my favourite pre-Christmas events – the Christmas party at Alfie’s Antiques Market in Marylebone, London. Drinks flowed and the live music, provided by a gypsy band walking around the centre, was punctuated with excited conversation and laughter. It’s always a superb time […]
I was honoured to be asked – the annual Broadfield Lecture, part of the International Festival of Glass, is a rather grand affair. This morning I found myself standing in a beautifully appointed room at the Broadfield House Glass Museum, surrounded by oil portraits of the great and good of the Victorian British glass industry. […]
I’ve just got back from Broadfield House Glass Museum in Stourbridge, West Midlands, where I have been setting up the first ever retrospective exhibition of the work of Michael Harris at Mdina Glass and Isle of Wight Studio Glass. Exhausting, but enormous fun! The exhibition contains hundreds of pieces of glass designed, and in some […]
The ‘Hi Sklo Lo Sklo’ exhibition of postwar Czech glass design held at the King’s Lynn Arts Centre in Norfolk has now closed. Over 4,650 glass and 20th century design fans visited to view over 1,000 objects during its inaugural four week run. On average, that’s over 1,100 visitors per week, and nearly 200 visitors […]
Last month I was given £200! Of course, there’s no such thing as free money, just as much as there’s no such thing as a free lunch. I had been asked by BBC Homes & Antiques magazine to spend this princely sum on collectables of the future at the UK’s biggest and best antiques and […]