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Steve Williams

University Glassblower

鈥淚 want to pass these skills on, I don't want them to be lost.鈥�

鈥淚 always get asked how I got to be a glassblower as it鈥檚 such an unusual role. It goes all the way back to when I was at school, I was on study leave for my exams and started looking in the paper for a job, that鈥檚 how you used to have to do it in those days. There was an advert for a trainee glassblower.

The two guys who ran the business had been glassblowers at Aston University but started their own business. I was very practical and liked constructing things, so I went along and was taken on. I also had to make the tea and do the sandwich run but it was the best decision I made. I stayed there for 10 years, learning the skills that have got me to where I am now.

I鈥檝e been a glassblower for around 40 years. It really is a unique and rewarding role and I鈥檝e been lucky to have a job that I鈥檝e enjoyed for so long. It鈥檚 also quite therapeutic at times.

Everything I make is bespoke, test tubes and common bits of glassware are mass produced, I make the things that you can鈥檛 buy off the shelf. If there鈥檚 a specific bit of glassware that鈥檚 needed for an experiment, something intricate or complex then I鈥檓 your man. I鈥檓 not perfect, it鈥檚 such a volatile material and mistakes do happen! The great thing with that though is I鈥檓 always recycling, if I make something and it gets broken, I can mend it. I like to think I鈥檓 doing my bit for the planet.

It鈥檚 not all scientific-equipment, I鈥檝e made loads of different things over the years. I鈥檝e made some gifts for the late author Terry Pratchett, a glass head housing two brains for the former Minister of Education, cocktail glasses for a Michelin Star restaurant. The most unusual thing I鈥檝e created out of glass would be the internal organs of the human body, including the rib cage, this was showcased at the 鈥楾hink Tank Museum鈥� in Birmingham. I鈥檝e made various awards and souvenirs for staff and colleagues over the years. Most recently, I made a glass 鈥榶ogi鈥� holding the University logo (a purple 鈥榃鈥�) for a mindfulness event on campus. Send me a commission and I鈥檒l see if I can make it!

Theres probably only around 20 university glassblowers up and down the country, so it really is a dying trade, but those skills are still needed. I鈥檇 love to be able to pass all my knowledge onto someone younger to keep the traditions alive. It would be a shame to see the art disappear completely, robots and AI wouldn鈥檛 be able to replicate what we do here. I doubt whether machinery can sculpt and create some of the detailed intricate pieces that I get commissioned to do!

If you want to know more or have a look at some of the things I鈥檝e made, just let me know. It鈥檇 be a pleasure to show you what goes into it, I think you鈥檇 be surprised what you can do with glass, and you never know, you could be my next apprentice.鈥�