Makers of exceptional contemporary blown glass

Partners in life and art, Stephen Gillies and Kate Jones work together to make exceptional contemporary glass.Made the slow way, just as glass was prior to the industrial revolution, their blown glass has a unique aesthetic appeal, inspired by the elemental beauty of the North York Moors.

From their studio and workshop in the village of Rosedale Abbey, tthey have received worldwide recognition for their complex cameo designs; a process of folding coloured glass bubbles over each other, to create a multi-layered form.

They have received worldwide recognition for their complex cameo works, the traditional methods they use are practised by only a few glass makers across the world. This process involves the folding of different coloured glass bubbles over each other to produce a complex multi-layered and coloured piece.

Defiantly decorative, made using rare traditional methods, pieces can be found in both public and private collections in the UK and around the world. Alongside their craft practice, Stephen and Kate also undertake prestigious commissions and regularly lecture around the world.

  • Stephen Gillies - Glass maker

    Stephen Gillies started his technical skills training at Stourbridge College of Art, in the historic centre of British glass-making, and then at Wolverhampton University. He worked abroad in the hotshop at the Glass Museum in Ebeltoft in Denmark and with the glass team of Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg in Switzerland. Now, Stephen Gillies talks about transparency and the unique qualities of the material and his driving force - the making of each piece to the best of his considerable ability.

  • Kate Jones - Artist

    Kate Jones trained in painting and, she spent a useful year learning to adapt her visual skill to the design and decoration of glass at the International Glass Centre, in Brierley Hill, Dudley. By then she was fully converted to glass and the opportunities it offered for self expression. She has brought a clearly defined sense of design to the partnership.

Selected past exhibitions

  • British Glass Biennale 2022, UK, 2022
  • Earth Sea Sky – CGS 25th Anniversary, UK, 2022
  • New Horizons, UK, 2021
  • A Portrait of Place – North York Moors in contemporary cameo
    glass, UK, 2020
  • Plant Life, UK, 2020
  • Blowing Hot & Cold, UK, 2018
  • Portrait of Place – The Bowes Museum, UK, 2018
  • Spring Rituals, UK, 2018
  • British Glass Biennale 2017, UK ,2017
  • Synergy, UK, 2015
  • Essence 2015, London Glass Blowing, UK, 2015
  • Vessel Summer Showcase,, UK 2015
  • British Glass Biennale, UK, 2015
  • Crafted at Fortnum & Mason, UK, 2015
  • Field of Vision, UK, 2014
  • Neil Davies: Earth, Sea and Stone, UK, 2014
  • Taste Contemporary Craft, Switzerland, 2014
  • The International Exhibition of Glass Kanazawa, Japan, 2013
  • 8th Cheongju International Craft Biennale, South Korea, 2013
  • New Glass Ancient Skill, Contemporary Art Form, UK 2013
  • HOT Glass – New Work from the Furnace, UK, 2013
  • Crafted, Makers of the Exceptional, UK, 2013
  • British Glass Biennale, UK ,2012
  • Inspired Landscape – North Yoork Moors National Park, UK,
    2012
  • Collect Contemporary Applied Arts, UK, 2012
  • A Passion For Glass, UK, 2011
  • Hot Glass – New Work from the Furnace, UK, 2011
  • Collect Contemporary Applied Arts, UK, 2011
  • SOFA New York with Contemporary Applied Arts, USA, 2011
  • Handmade: A British Craft Exhibition, UK, 2010
  • SOFA New York with Contemporary Applied Arts, USA, 2010
  • Colour Vision, UK, 2009
  • The Glasshouse and its Tree, UK, 2008
  • Hue Line & Form – Part One, UK, 2007

Selected Publications

  • British Glass Biennale 2017

  • British Glass Biennale 2015

  • International Exhibition of Glass Kanazawa 2013

  • 8th CHEONGJU International Craft Competition

  • Taste 2014: A celebration of Contemporary Craft

  • Inspired Landscape North York Moors National Park

  • The British Glass Biennale 2004

  • The British Glass Biennale 2004

  • The British Glass Biennale 2006

  • The British Glass Biennale 2010

  • The British Glass Biennale 2012

  • Dan Klein & Alan J Poole Collection

  • Bonhams Modern & Contemporary Glass

  • Coburger Glaspreis

  • Reflections: a decade of North Lands Glass

  • 21st Century British Glass

  • Contemporary International glass

  • Bounded Space: Blown Glass Vessels