Collection: Louisa Raven
Louisa makes a range of functional pieces in hand-blown lead crystal which she hopes will bring joy to people every day. Not things to save for best, but pieces to enjoy using and seeing around the home. She feels there’s something intrinsically pleasing about holding an object which carries within it a spirit of authenticity, individuality and craftsmanship.
Her design ethic could be described as Scandinavian, preferring simple tactile shapes in a palette of natural colours, inspired by the places she loves, such as forests and mountains. Louisa returned to glass-blowing two years ago, after more than 20 years away, not realising how much she missed being a glass-blower until she got back to the furnace!
She says “I’ve thought a lot about why I like working with glass so much. It’s a very instant medium, the process is quite fast and you need to think on your feet. I like the vague danger and excitement of it all, it’s quite a performance. I love the fact that the tools and techniques haven’t changed for hundreds of years. You only have a combination of heat, gravity, centrifugal force and hand tools to create a piece.”
She graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1997, prior to that she trained at the renowned International Glass Centre, Brierley Hill, and Manchester Metropolitan University.
