The Glass Centre in Sunderland

March - birth season in our family!

Last Saturday was 8th March and another birthday (my daughter’s) was looming.  We HAD to get that glassware!

This time Himself came with me to visit the National Glass Centre on Liberty Way (love that name) in Sunderland.  I was on a mission – it was BUY SOMETHING, BUY ANYTHING time.  I knew the sort of thing she likes because she had admired the swirly, magic nest-sort-of-wall-lamp at her godmother’s house in Scotland but (and here the magic of coincidence comes in) I also knew the artist had trained and worked in Sunderland!  I did have hopes of finding something, anything, please…

He directed me because he knows Sunderland better so we took the A1231 out of Washington heading east, crossed the A19 and carried on with the A1231, past the Stadium of Light then followed the brown landmark signs through town, heading towards the mouth of the Wear. Parking is easy outside it but the entrance is harder to see because you have to head down the path towards the river then enter from the riverside entrance – not difficult though I would have faffed around a little on my own.

          This part of the Wear wears its industrial past prettily and it truly is a scenic view looking upstream towards the city, especially with the river and its reflected light bouncing off the brilliant, modern, glass façade of the building.  I took photos of it all and then we entered.  I must say that the desire to buy something, anything went into overdrive the moment we moved into the shop. They really do have a very wide range of presents ranging in price from a pound to several hundred.  If you like marbles, they have fab hand-made marbles.  If you like cut-glass, they have an exquisite choice of Caithness glass and I was very taken by a perfume bottle with two sculpted slices revealing golden swirls; Himself loved a Caithness owl, whose bubble eyes seemed to follow his… I went back and forth, read the little cards… and couldn’t decide. 

 

My dilemma only deepened when I remembered that there were glass blowing sessions to watch; worse because we discovered a cabinet of display models to admire and BUY! And these were alive with colour. Plus, this lovely man, who had only in come to help his glass-blowing friends, went into ecstasies over the form of one particular vase, whilst I secretly loved a heavy, orange, pink and red bowl that he seemed to dismiss.

          MELTDOWN!

          Well, it took a coffee at their very civilised drinkery, plus another look at everything before I made up my mind.  It was her thirtieth birthday after all.  She could have both the display models I had looked at – they were both made here in Sunderland, which she would remember from a  girlhood visit.  Ha!  The relief of having made my choice ie NOT having to come down to just the one!

          Cost?  Well, my glowing, heavy bowl, with its tracery of fiery pink over a crimson ground cost £35 and the elegant sea-green vase with its wash of graduated teal around its neck, that my enthusiastic friend had hinted was the best thing there, was a mere £38. And we got to meet the artist herself, a young woman who had been displaying her skill with the molten fire in front of happy punters.

          All in all, very satisfying, very visual and could have been a lot more expensive!