Meet the Maker
Hi! I'm Kate, Stained Glass Artist and co-director of North Lakes Stained Glass Ltd. Lover of all things glass & creative, wild swimming, coffee and cats!!
I was introduced to stained glass craft many moon's ago, when I was 11 years old and living in Bristol. I was lucky enough to be able to attend a weekly 'girls workshop', where we were introduced to skills that at that time would be seen as non-traditional for women. These included woodwork, pottery and stained glass! I fell in love immediately - the colours and textures, the patterns you could create, no limits to your imagination with an amazing teacher.... oh, and the power tools :-)
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From there, I continued to develop my craft at classes, bought in some of my own equipment for home and got my first large commission just as I turned 14! It was for a leaded window panel, approximately 1.2m x 0.7m, to be fitted above the entrance door of a neighbours large Victorian terrace. They wanted a contemporary, geometric style with bold primary colours, and together we developed a design that fitted the brief perfectly. It was a steep learning curve, but even now, 30 years later, I still love to go visit it when I'm passing and am so proud that something I created is going to be around for so many more years to come! Although I continued to dabble in making stained glass items after that, and my passion for visiting galleries and buildings with beautiful glass continued, A-levels and then university meant that my focus moved temporarily away from my creative side to focus on my studies.
Fast forward to 5 years ago, and I found myself living in South Yorkshire after graduating from university as a Physiotherapist, with a wonderful family and doing a job I loved, but in an increasingly hectic & stressful environment. Amazingly, the opportunity suddenly arose that we could make the move to Cumbria, a place with incredibly special childhood memories for me, and somewhere I had been then sharing with my husband and little boy for a number of years. So we upped sticks and landed in Keswick in 2019 and have never looked back since!
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The covid pandemic hit soon after we moved, and as NHS workers, both me and my husband worked on through, but then an accident whilst out walking meant I had to be off work and housebound for a number of months and that's when I was able to throw myself back into this wonderful heritage craft to keep myself occupied! After I had filled the house with pieces, and friends had started asking me to make things for their family and friends, it seemed a natural progression to set up North Lakes Stained Glass alongside my full time job in West Cumbria.
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Over the past 4 years, the interest in my work and unique designs I create to capture the beauty and emotion of the landscape I live in has snowballed, and my work is now exhibited in a beautiful creative space here in Keswick as well as sold online and at artisan fairs across the county. I have also been approached with fantastic opportunities for local artistic collaborations and even consulting/creating for a television show! Although I'm the creative lead, it really has become a family affair, with my husband now assisting me with admin and event support, and my son now regularly helps out in my workshop and loves outdoor adventures to find inspiration and make sketches!
And there is so, so much more to come! But you'll just have to watch this space and keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram socials! So for now, thank you so much for taking the time to let me introduce myself and explain the story & passion behind North Lakes Stained Glass.