The glass is decorated using coloured glass and precious metals – gold, silver and tin are all used to achieve the iridescent effects and most of the decoration is applied before the glass is blown. Hot glass is gathered from the furnace at the end of a long hollow tube called the blowing iron. Subsequent gathers are built up on the iron until there is sufficient glass for the planned piece. The colours are applied in a variety of ways such as rolling on powders, winding on hot glass threads or melting on coloured fragments. The decoration first goes on in relief and is then melted into the surface. 

Once decorated the glass is ready to blow. The glass is reheated frequently in the aptly named “glory Hole” and can be shaped by hand using a pad of soaked newspaper  for protection from the heat. Newspaper is a very efficient insulator and a thin paper enables the maker  to feel accurately what he is doing yet still provides adequate protection. When the desired shape and thickness are achieved the glass is detached from the blowing iron and the bottom is attached to the pontil iron. This enables the top to be finished – either opened out for a bowl or turned in for a bottle shape. Once finished the piece is knocked from the iron leaving the distinctive pontil mark on the bottom, always a sign of hand made glass. To relieve stresses the finished pieces are cooled slowly over 36 hours – a process called annealing. Once cool each piece is hand finished, signed and dated by the artist.