HEIRLOOMS OF THE FUTURE GILLIES JONES

Stephen Gillies and Kate Jones make colourful, exquisitely handcrafted glass that reinterprets ancient traditions and natural motifs with modern elegance

- JANET GLEESON

I live and work in the middle of a National Park, surrounded by moors. Every day, while out walking the dog, I notice the wildflowers and other small things. I see the changing light, changing colours, changing forms. I love those rhythms, says Kate Jones, explaining the inspiration behind her elegant, colour-flooded designs. 'What I'm also interested in are the marks people make and leave behind in the landscape. We are here for a very short period, and observing those patterns and recording them is a snapshot of a moment in time.'

Kate searches out striations on rocks, or picks out dandelions and leaves, before representing them in pared-down simplicity to decorate glass forms made by her partner, Stephen Gillies. It's a winning formula: Gillies Jones glass has received critical acclaim, nationally and internationally, and features in more than a dozen institutions, including the Victoria and Albert Museum.