About FoxGlass
From the most humble of beginnings; (a 3 square meter studio space that the uninformed could easily have mistaken for a converted coal shed), FoxGlass has developed into a successful small business, exporting handcrafted goods as far East as Bulgaria and as far West as the United States.
Husband and Wife team, Chris and Tanith Fox-James produce handcrafted Borosilicate Glass Art; all their products are uniquely designed, developed and created by the couple. Chris takes rods of coloured and clear glass and melts them in a hot flame using a special flameworking torch. The molten glass is then shaped and transformed into spectacular individual pendants, marbles and many other glass creations. These items can either be purchased direct from FoxGlass at any one of the many events we attend, through our Facebook Shop or from FoxGlass retailers.
Flameworking/Lampworking
Flameworking is the process of using a gas fuelled torch to melt rods and tubes of clear and coloured glass. It is the process used to make complex and custom scientific apparatus. The glassblower must be highly skilled and precise, using different flame types and areas of the flame to transform the glass. Flameworking is also practised as an art form and is believed to have been practiced since the 1st century B.C. It became widely practiced in Murano, Italy in the 14th century. In the mid 19th century lampworking technique was extended and common items made include goblets, paper weights, marbles and pendants.
Borosilicate
Borosilicate glass was first made by the German chemist and glass technologist Otto Schott, founder of Schott AG in 1893, 22 years later Corningproduced the Pyrex brand. In the midst of World War I, Corning's Pyrex brand of borosilicate glass offered a non-German alternative. Ever since, the name Pyrex has been widely used as, a generalised trademark for borosilicate glass.
Transition to use as an art medium
Most borosilicate glass is colourless. Coloured borosilicate, for the studio glass trade, was first widely available in 1986 when Paul Trautman founded Northstar Glassworks. In 2000, former Northstar Glassworks employee Henry Grimmett started Glass Alchemy and introduced the first cadmium Crayon and aventurine Sparkle colours into the borosilicate palette.
