Greetings and new beginnings!

Greetings, my first blog post arrives with my fresh new website for Destiny Pier. My previous website host closed so I have had to create a new space for my web presence. I unfortunately was unable to transfer my blog posts as it was such a lot of content to move so a fresh new blog too.

I set up Destiny Pier in 2013, initially my interest in lampwork was wearing glass beads, I was fascinated with the depth and beauty that these little tactile glass beads could hold. Then I thought it might be nice to have a go at making some for myself when I discovered quite by chance a workshop to learn was only a train ride away. Always a lover of crafty hobbies I was keen to try something new. I had a class with an amazing glass Artist and lovely lady called Helen Gorick. Receiving the beads I had actually made with my own hands a few days after the workshop filled me with delight.

I fell in love that day with the mesmerising and fascinating practice of melting glass. The medium is both liquid and solid, and working with the syrupy, toffee like molten glass in the flame is very satisfying. Couple this with a huge palette of beautiful colours, both the bright colourful, china like opaque glass and the jewel like translucent glass of every hue and it really is a joyful medium. Add in frits, murrini, enamel, fine metal leaf, wire and mesh at your pleasure! Don't even get me started on the amazing reactive glass that holds within its dull looking rod a magical secret burst of colour and mystery depending on how you heat, cool and work the glass in the flame. The days when you have no idea what you will find in the kiln once it is cool make for a many a breathtaking surprise.

I set myself up with a basic set up initially, a small torch, a set of tools and some glass and set to work practicing this new hobby. I put some pictures on my social media, people actually wanted to buy them - the pieces of Jewellery I had created from scratch with my very own glass beads! I had requests for different coloured variations and after a short while I decided to set up a shop, website and register with the tax man! I replaced my torch with a fancy dual fuel model, bought my first kiln, upgraded my work space with ventilation and set to work building my skills and my business. Over time I took a silversmithing course and built my collection of tools and materials and now have an impressive selection of glass rods with over 100 different types and shades of glass. I also invested in a second larger kiln, when my little one no longer could accommodate a full days work. I branched into the rewarding field of creating memorial pieces, with cremation remains encased in glass and also keepsakes with a lock of hair and even dried placenta. A very rewarding part of my work that keeps me busy.

As a mum, being flexible with my work is so important. My family are everything to me and I like to be available for them, even the grown up ones who have flown the nest. Having adorable grandchildren means I need to be there for all the fun family stuff when ever I am can. Destiny Pier has allowed me to indulge my passion for creating and also to be my own boss which I love.

None of this would be possible without my wonderful husband who supports my every endeavor wholeheartedly. Always encouraging, always interested and always there to be my handyman with something needs fixing in the studio. Destiny Pier probably would not be here if it was not for his support.

So along I shall go with my little business that I fell into quite by chance really, a sequence of little things that led to something that I love. How did I choose the name?... Destiny Pier is an anagram of serendipity ~ The discovery of beautiful and wonderful things that you did not even know you needed quite by accident.