You are why I do what I do
How you've helped create bridgetmarchi.com
I am thrilled that everyone who uses my glass and bags knows they are getting a beautiful and one of a kind item.
Bridget Marchi
Before I created
I was, and still am, a great lover of beautiful ceramics but try as I might I couldn’t throw a decent mug or bowl so I gave up.
I then
walked into a gallery in Southwold, Suffolk and there it was, the most perfect glass bowl At that time I wasn’t in a position to buy it but I also knew that, if I found out how, I could make it.
All I knew about glass was glass blowing and I still won’t give that a go. I’m sure I’ll do something horrid to myself and others!
I forgot about it for a while
but always keen to make something I learnt how to make silver jewellery and I want to learn how to make glass beads but I made a mistake and the workshop I went on wasn’t how to make glass beads. It was for fused glass jewellery and that is how it all started.
I decided that
I was going to create the most wonderful, calming but practical glass. Pieces that I would want in my home. Pieces that combine beauty with practicality for home owners, just like you. A wonderful bowl that is on display but can be used for a vibrant salad or a pasta extravaganza. A small bowl to drop your rings or cufflinks into. (or as one customer said, an overnight place for her daughters false eyelashes) – Can I just say here please please please do not put your glass in the dishwasher. It may survive but I can’t guarantee it)
It turns out
the road was more difficult than I imagined. The technical side of making kiln fused glass is immense and very expensive. The larger or deeper the piece the more difficult. I have boxes of failed attempts. Cutting circles took me months to perfect and the number of items that cracked in the kiln – I can’t bear to think about it.
But I was and am a women on a mission and persistence and asking for help pays off and my successes now outweigh my failures. The realisation of my inspirations is ‘easier’ as I’ve become more technically competent and braver.
and then a couple of years ago it all went horribly wrong
things for of caught up with me and I lost myself for quite a long time and couldn’t see a way forwards as I disappeared into a sea of self-doubt, but then I realised that if I applied the techniques I had for learning about glass to learning about me then I could make it happen and I started to look up and see that I do have the talent, the skill and the dedication to bring you what you and I wanted.
So late last year I launched my first products and the response has been overwhelming for both the glass and the bags. I still have a long way to got to be amongst the best glass artists in the UK but I’m well on the way.
and the best bit
I love my job, I love my work and I hope you do as well.