London Glassblowing began fifty years ago, born from little more than a whim and an overdraft, in an old towage works on the south bank of the Thames at Rotherhithe. Brave or foolhardy? Probably the latter - I had virtually no experience and there was no established market for studio glass at the time. Yet here we are, five decades later, one of the longest-running glass studios in the world, with a gallery dedicated to presenting the very finest British studio glass art.

The life of an artist glassmaker is not an easy one. It is physically demanding, emotionally intense, and the current economic climate makes it harder still to sustain. And yet this has always been a labour of love - and if I had my time again, I would change very little.

We will also be showcasing our Alchemist Collection - original source material and archive trials, the unique pieces from which whole series have sometimes grown. These will be offered at very accessible prices, making way for the new experimental and expressive work that lies ahead.

I recently came across a statistic that stopped me in my tracks: only 1.3% of UK businesses have reached their 50th year. It's a number that fills me with enormous pride.