Emily Smale
Stained glass artist, wife and mum of two.
My name is Emily, and, in another life, I was a beautician and had many fantastic opportunities including working in Australia. Despite enjoying the work that I did, it became obvious that I have a real passion for making with anything I can get my hands on! My first encounter being creative was sewing and I did a course in the evening when my first son was 2 years old, which then led to knitting and embroidery. Creating all sorts of costumes for my son’s world book days.
I then did a day course in silversmithing and enjoyed it very much which led to my husband buying me a beginner’s pack in silver and silver clay. That then followed with him getting me a pack of glass and lead. Stained glass was something that drew my attention when I did my GCSE’S. I did a huge door size piece of work, which included a painted broken stained-glass window in the background. I had no idea when I walked around taking pictures of the windows that anyone other than monks made stained glass! I instantly fell in love working with glass and started to create pieces that I couldn’t find on the internet or in the shops.
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I really enjoy making bigger pieces, but my work is quite niche. I realised that I needed to make something that had wider appeal. Stained glass flowers are a lovely way to enjoy stained glass and lasts a lifetime, when you can only enjoy natural flowers for around 2 weeks. Everyone needs to experience the joy of having at least a small piece of stained glass.
Make it at Market
Make it at Market was a once in a lifetime opportunity which not only led me to building a business, I am incredibly proud of but also gave me new lifelong friends! Get a bunch of people together in a room, with similar interests and the unknown of what filming was going to be like and that was enough to make instant connections. It was nerve wracking turning up the night before filming but the production team were kind and helpful and it wasn’t long before things felt quite normal. Waterperry gardens in Oxford had amazing grounds for filming in, with lots of beautiful settings for our individual stations.
I was on a station with Charlotte Saville, a fantastic stained-glass artist with years of experience and an established business. This was very intimidating but that was my problem! It is funny looking back about how I felt at the time because I really had no need to feel as inferior as I did. Derek Hunt, our mentor was super helpful and has continued to be a part of our lives since filming. I feel very fortunate to have got on so well with him and it was lovely to know that despite teaching myself to do stained glass, I wasn’t too terrible!
I can not wait for people to see my work and hope that everyone who sees it will be inspired to buy a gift for themselves or someone else. What would also be amazing, is if it inspired someone else on their stained-glass journey!
I have been incredibly lucky since my appearance on Make it at Market. With the orders have come lots of extremely busy days and very late nights. The things that get me through are cups of coffee, sandwiches and in the dead of winter my little heaters, defrosting my grinder water! If you would like to help me 'Get it done,' please feel free to donate and help give me a little 'pick me up.'
