Homes & Gardens - Movers & Shakers
Peter Layton's life story, "as colourful as his work"
In this Movers & Shakers feature, Homes & Gardens charts Peter Layton's remarkable journey, from his family's flight from Prague as refugees in 1937, through a career spanning textiles, the RAF, ceramics and teaching, to discovering glassblowing in America in the 1960s. Returning to the UK, Peter set up his first studio in the Scottish Highlands before founding London Glassblowing in 1976, working in an old towage works by the Thames with total novices who, as he puts it, turned out to be pioneers. The piece also looks ahead to the studio's future, with son-in-law Tim Rawlinson and daughter Sophie Layton set to take the reins in 2027, continuing a legacy now fifty years in the making.
Our Stories
Women in Glass
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.