Made in Scotland : Glansin Glass

We have really enjoyed putting together our Made in Scotland blog series, a project we started with J Boult Designs to help promote some of our favourite small, made in Scotland businesses from all over the country. This weeks business is based on Britains most northerly Isle of Unst in Shetland. Glansin Glass is run by artist Cheryl Jamieson who designs and makes beautiful jewellery, tableware and art pieces from fused glass.

We asked Cheryl to tell us more about what happens behind the scenes at Glansin Glass.

 

Can you tell us how your business got started?

I had wanted to have my own craft business for many years but hadn’t found my ‘thing’. On a trip to Norway in 2007 I discovered kiln-formed, or fused, glass. It was a eureka moment for me and changed the course of my life. I bought a kiln and glass cutting equipment, jacked in my job, and Glansin Glass was born.

 

 

I initially worked from our house with the kiln in the spare room and I cut glass on the livingroom floor. Not the best with a young family but we managed. The business took off quite quickly and after four years of trying to get funding for premises I gave up and bought a port-a-cabin to use as a workshop. Then in 2018 we started the arduous process of applying for grant funding to build a visitor centre/studio and this was set to open in 2020. Unfortunately these plans were turned upside down due to Covid-19 and we finally opened in May 2021. After a lot of uncertainty we’ve had a busy summer and hopefully the future looks bright.

 

Where do you look for inspiration when you are designing new products?

 

Quite simply, out the window! I’m so lucky to live in such a stunning and unique place as Shetland as everything inspires me. The landscapes and seascapes are amazing, and we have a rich heritage to draw from. I make products featuring Unst lace knitting, the Shetland flag, the scenery, the wildlife, archaeology, geology. I am a very proud Shetlander and am able to express this in my work.

 

 

Can you tell us a bit more about how you make your products?

 

The ‘raw’ glass comes in various forms, in sheets, frit, powder and stringers that look like glass spaghetti. I cut the glass and layer it up in various designs. This is then fired in a kiln to approximately 800 degs Celsius, with a firing taking about 24 hours. This melts all the glass into a single piece and if I then want to shape it into something like a dish I put it back in the kiln for a second firing over a mould. As the glass heats up it softens and gravity slumps it in to the mould.

 

What are your most popular products and which are your own favourites?

 

I think my most popular pieces are the ones that feature the Shetland scenery. I make glass panels and set them in to driftwood and they sell out fast. As it’s not always easy to find suitable driftwood I started making different products that also feature the hills and sea, such as hangers and curved panels. The coloured glass lends itself well to this type of design, especially the sea colours.

Some of my favourite pieces are my Peerie Nip glasses. They are actually the most labour intensive things I make, and as I often make batches of them together I really should get fed up of them, but I’m just so delighted with how each one turns out that each one becomes my new favourite. (Peerie is the Shetland word for small, and these glasses are very small dram glasses that have been used in the  Shetland tradition of “pouring oot”, when someone would share a dram of whisky with the folk in a household during a celebration.)

 

If you had to pick one place in Scotland to recommend that people visit, where would it be?

There’s no place like home, and for me that’s Unst, Shetland. It’s hard to pick one particular place to visit in Unst (apart from the Glansin Glass Visitor Centre of course!) but if you come here I’d say you should take a walk on all our glorious beaches. We’re lucky to have so many, and they are all different. Take the time to sit a while and watch the waves – and just chill. There’s nothing quite like it and it’s so good for the soul.

 

We have been completely lost browsing all the beautiful things on the Glansin Glass website here. You can also see more of Glansin Glass on their facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. They also run brilliant workshops which sound like a lot of fun! Will need to book that trip to Shetland sooner than later!