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About Me
I'm Belinda, an autistic glass artist based in Northamptonshire. I studied Design Crafts at De Montfort University, where I went on to specialise in kiln formed and blown glass. From the first time I worked with the molten material, I fell in love with the process. Over the 3 years of my degree, I mainly worked within this material but I do have a love for ceramics, which is one craft I am going to start devoting some time to in order to find that love again.
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Creating pattern within glass is something that is unique from piece to piece, so by pushing this detail I became instantly fascinated by seeing just how far I can go. Whilst I was in my third year, I discovered through extensive research the ways in which you can weave glass. Time in the hot shop was shared between all students who wanted to specialize in glass, so I decided to use my spare time to look in to perfecting this process. However due to Covid-19, time in the workshops was shorter than normal so this became the foundation of what would go on to be my residency position.
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​Over the past several months, I created several successful weaves which I have picked back up in the glass blowing studio (aka the hotshop), as well as learning to blow more delicate pieces. Now that my time at De Montfort has drawn to a close, it is time for me to take the next step in my career and set up my own little business!
With the way that I think, being in a hot shop is the one place where I am able to completely silence my brain and focus on the task I have at hand, and I want the work I make to represent the care in which it is made with the quality of the finish. Throughout the processes I use, I am also conscious of pricing, as I want my glassware to be as accessable as I can for all audiences, so with every design that I produce I factor in ways to make the processes quicker.
When starting my business, I knew that I wanted to keep up with both my love for funtional pieces as well as my high end work, but there's no way to make glass work without there being some scrap pieces produced in the process. All clear glass that is produced can be melted back down to make more work, but I plan to take all coloured scraps with me and use them in future processes to ensure no glass I produce goes to a landfill. A sustainable practise is one core value I hold dearly in what I do, so I want to make my business as waste free as it possibly can be.
Belinda King Glass is currenlty at the beginning stages of where I want to be, with my work hopefully being stocked in shops across the UK if not other countries as I grow more confident in running a business which can last me a lifetime.
Short Term Goals!
I have a habit of thinking of the long term only, and what I want my business to look like in 10 years time, but I have realised that to get to that stage I need to set short term goals. I figured by sharing what I want to do both in the near future and in a few years time, you'll be able to see my progress as it happens!
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To start an online store on my website.
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To work more on my online presence, and to start regularly updating my Instagram and Facebook or what is going right in my business and what still needs some adjusting.
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To start my own blog to keep people up-to-date with what I am doing and loving at that time of my career. I would like to aim for one blog post every quarter at the beginning.
Long Term Goals!
I want my creative practise to one day be my only job, and to do that I know breaking this goal in to seperate long term goals is the best way to make this achievable!
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To have my own kiln formed workshop at home with my own kiln, allowing me to make work as frequently as I can.
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To regularly hire a hotshop and make every month.
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To design new pieces of work, and expand in to areas that I haven't attempted before. My first aim is to experiment with glass lampshades.
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To get my work stocked in a couple of stores in the UK.
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To one day run kiln formed workshops.
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To work with charities, especially mental health and Autism charities, and run creative days to allow others to find freedom in the creative world like I have.
