Glass Maiden

Shoals of fish, tumbling leaves and rock pools in fused glass shimmer and sparkle in artist Jo Downs’ Ripley showroom. Janet Donin discovers the inspiration behind her collections

- Janet Donin

We love your designs – so how did it all start?

I set up my very first studio in London in 1996, where I worked hard on making my name in fused glass. Five years later I moved to Cornwall, where I opened my first gallery selling handmade gift and interior pieces. Now, having just celebrated 20 years in handmade glass, I’m proud to have seven galleries including one in Surrey.

Tell us about your background…

I come from Leicestershire and at school I studied ceramics. My teacher Mr Clay (yes that really was his name) made me feel I had talent but during my art foundation course my tutor said that what really stood out in my ceramic work was colour and texture and suggested working with glass. I tried it, and never looked back.

Talk us through the design process...

Initially I’ll sketch out some ideas but the design process is really about experimentation and getting straight into the glass. My glass working team and I cut, craft, fire and finish everything by hand. Each piece is unique because the nature of fused glass means that tiny effects happen in the kiln, so every piece has its own special beauty.