The Glass Behind the Website: A story of partnership, meaning and a two-Day Creative Adventure in North Wales!

Not only is this the festive month in the Collins household (which I love!) but it’s also the month my husband and I celebrate our anniversary. I wouldn’t usually mention this, but I have two very good reasons this year:

1. I owe a huge THANK YOU to hubby for being, without question, my biggest supporter in getting this business off the ground. He’s been there through some of the highest highs and lowest lows as I take possibly the boldest step of my life. He’s been ready to celebrate my wins, and pick me back up again when it’s been tough (sometimes all within the same day!).

   
   

2. Because he and I created together the artwork you see across my website and promotional materials - a sculpture we made for our 10th anniversary a few years ago. I thought it would be a bit of festive fun to share the story…

So, you see, the artwork isn’t some AI generated abstract design, it’s fused glass, hand crafted by us! Details from a sculpture we created during a two-day workshop at North Wales Creative Glass Studios, led by the wonderful Brian Duffy.

We arrived in Cagwele, to Brian’s workshop in a converted chapel, excited for the experience. COVID restrictions were still in place, and we were all just venturing out for the first times… We brought a brief around our shared love of light, nature, and making things. Brian was a brilliant teacher! He enabled us to bring our vision, and create something very real. Over two days, he guided us through the design process, introduced us to a range of techniques, and helped us draw inspiration from artists like Kandinsky, whose use of organic lines and bold colour helped us see how we could form a sculpture from our brief.

It wasn’t the first time we’d worn PPE to work with glass! Both of us have worked in laser labs, after all. But it was certainly the first time we’d done so in an artist’s studio, surrounded by kilns, tools, and an inspiring high church ceiling! We were both able to tap into our technical skills and find ways to express the brief we had co-designed.

We created a triptych of fused glass elements, each representing something meaningful in our shared life:

• 💡 Light - reflecting our love of light and it’s amazing properties, both professionally (its physical properties that have fascinated and inspired us both), and for its metaphorical significance in life.

  
  

• 💧 Water – picking up our shared love of water in nature, water sports, views… And it’s metaphorical representation of movement and flow.

  
  

• 🍃 Nature — a leaf, symbolising our family’s deep connection to the natural world.

Day 1 was design and glass cutting and positioning… Leaving our pieces in the furnace overnight to fuse was a thrill! We returned on day 2 to see what had emerged. The results were beautiful, full of meaning and also a joy to look at! The images used in my web material and LinkedIn header are taken from the glass elements we created, laid on a light box in the studio that morning.

We designed a large metal structure to house the glass elements. This forms a sculpture that lives in our front garden - we see it every day (it's currently covered in festive lights!)

And they live here too, across this website - a secret celebration of partnership, creativity, and joy!

Hopefully this story will help you see this website in a completely different light! I’d love to know which element delights your eyes the most – post me a comment and let me know!