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 there we were, 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 was not an easy one. It was physically demanding, emotionally intense, and the economic climate of the time made it harder still to sustain. And yet this had always been a labour of love - and if I had had my time again, I would have changed very little.

We also showcased Peter's iridised work, part of our Alchemist Collection. Peter returned to his archive for inspiration, revisiting early trials and source material, and these pieces were launched specially for this show.

Alongside these, we offered a selection of development pieces at accessible prices, making way for the new experimental and expressive work that lay ahead.

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