Collectors' Insights
Our Collectors' Insights series spotlights the artists of London Glassblowing, giving each the chance to share the story of their practice. Surrounded by sketchbooks, unseen materials, and exclusive displays of new and archived work, guests enjoy a seated talk and slideshow followed by a behind-the-scenes experience that reveals what makes each artist's work unique.
Collectors' Insights with Sarah Wiberley
On Thursday 7 May 2026, glass artist Sarah Wiberley hosted an unforgettable evening in our studio. Sarah shared her career journey, from studying at Surrey Institute of Art and Design and the Royal College of Art to beginning her work at London Glassblowing.
Guests were then guided through the studio into the coldshop, where they observed the intricate and mathematically precise techniques behind her bold, geometric forms. For the first time at London Glassblowing, guests gathered backstage around the sandblaster to see the equipment and craftsmanship at the heart of Sarah's practice.

Photo by David Jackson
About Sarah Wiberley
Sarah Wiberley began glassmaking in 2001 during her studies at The Surrey Institute of Art and Design, graduating with a first class honours in 3D Design in 2004. It was during this time that she began to discover her love of combining imagery with glass forms, experimenting with cutting through glass layers of different opacities.
She went on to work for a number of glass studios honing her craft before embarking on a masters degree at The Royal College of Art, graduating in 2011. Here she had the opportunity to develop her own style through the skills she had learnt over the previous years. Sarah continues to develop her work in her London based studio, as well as working as part of the London Glassblowing studio team.
The focus of Sarah’s glassmaking revolves around her love of colour. She adapts traditional techniques to suit her expressive style, balancing the fluidity of glass forms with her precise imagery and pattern work. Sarah brings a contemporary style to the traditions of glassblowing, introducing a unique approach with her hand-made glass vessels. Sarah’s painstaking technique requires a tremendous degree of skill, patience and persistence to reveal the complexity of pattern work she achieves.

“This community of creativity is what has made London Glassblowing what it is today. It thrives on Peter's energy and imagination. It has a rich history of community, skills and creativity which are at the precipice of being lost forever. It has a huge glass family all rooting for its ongoing success.” - Sarah Wiberley
Collectors' Insights with Peter Layton
On Thursday 3 September, we welcomed guests into the gallery for a very special evening celebrating Peter Layton's solo exhibition, In Retrospect - 50 Years of Alchemy. In the months beforehand, members of the team had been exploring boxes in Peter's study at his home in East Dulwich, uncovering projector slides, magazines, newspapers, exhibition posters, and hand-designed invitations from across his career in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. With this archive spread across the tables amongst the exhibition, visitors sifted through photos, posters, documents, and slides spanning 50 years of London Glassblowing, as well as Peter's early days as a ceramist in the 1960s.
Early iridised works from the 1980s were also on display, and we encouraged everyone to handle the pieces for a closer look. Peter then gave a talk, spotlighting specific works he had chosen to revisit and the new piece made especially for this exhibition. Moving through the decades – the shows, the artworks, the memories – he reflected on fifty years of making, creativity, and evolution, and on the cyclical nature of the past informing the present.
To be invited to our Collectors’ Insights, sign up to our newsletter.
Our Stories
Women in Glass - Exhibition Open Call
London Glassblowing invites applications from UK-based women working in glass to take part in Women in Glass, a group exhibition opening in September 2027 to coincide with the studio's celebration of Peter Layton's ninetieth birthday. We are pleased to welcome back Cathryn Shilling, London Glassblowing's gallery curator from 2010 to 2019, who returns as guest curator for this special exhibition.
A Bermondsey Street Collaboration
Renowned glass artist and founder of London Glassblowing, Peter Layton, has collaborated with old friend and celebrity chef, José Pizarro, to create 30 limited-edition platters, launching on 12 October, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of José Pizarro on Bermondsey Street and the 50th anniversary of London Glassblowing.
The Alchemist at Work: An Interview with Peter Layton
For Peter Layton's solo exhibition, our Marketing and Sales Assistant Eva sat down with Peter to talk about alchemy - from his birth in Prague, a city steeped in alchemical history, to the alchemy he finds in glass itself. Read on to hear how Peter revisited his earlier works for this exhibition, and why he chose to return to the dangerous iridising process.