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 […]
It came around far quicker than expected, but the 12th July saw the launch of the long awaited ‘Hi Sklo Lo Sklo exhibition at the King’s Lynn Arts Centre, in King’s Lynn Norfolk. And what a weekend it was! Arriving late Friday afternoon, I my breath was taken away by the incredibly colourful display of […]
For those of your who are familiar with the excellent Crafts magazine, published by the UK’s national Crafts Council, check out this month’s issue. The eminent curator and 20thC design author and expert Lesley Jackson has written an eight page, fully illustrated preview of the forthcoming ‘Hi Sklo Lo Sklo’ Czech glass exhibition. Offering a […]
Over the past few days I’ve become a fervent fan of US hit TV series ‘Dexter‘. It’s getting so bad that I watched four back-to-back episodes into the early hours last night, although I’m told my addiction will get far worse as the series develops! Bring it on, I say. When the serial killer with […]
I really do enjoy talking about the things I love. I just always hope that the people listening to me enjoy it too! Thankfully, that certainly seemed to be the case when I visited the Reigate Antiques Collectors Society in leafy Surrey yesterday evening. Societies are strange animals today. All too often superb events organised […]
Finally, it is done! My next bookalogue has gone off to the printers – at last. As I type, somewhere in Guangdong printing presses are furiously churning out 1,500 copies of what I hope will be an enjoyable read. It’ll certainly be informative – much of what is in here has not been seen since […]
Now held annually, these exciting events have become firm fixtures in collectors’ diaries. Over 80 keen collectors and fans packed into the studio today for this, the second of such days. The busy schedule kicked off with a welcoming introduction from Ron Wheeler of Artius Glass. This was swiftly followed by Timothy Harris making a […]