Octogenerian glassblower is one of Europe’s leading practitioners 46 years after opening London gallery despite once vowing never to touch another glass

An octogenarian glassblower whose enchanting creations have made him one of Europe’s leading practitioners is still working his magic 46 years after opening his London gallery – despite once vowing never to touch another glass.

Discovering his talent for glassblowing by accident, after landing a role teaching ceramics in 1965 at the University of Iowa in the USA – a subject he had studied at London’s Central School of Art and Design – Peter Layton, 85, admits to having a disastrous start.

Recalling his calamitous first attempt, Peter, of East Dulwich, south east London, whose wife Ann, 69, oversees his business while his printmaker daughter Sophie, 32, is the sales and events coordinator, said: “Tom McLaughlin was a glass student who came to my Iowa campus in 1966.”

He added: “We created a small glassblowing furnace between us but, after about two or three days, I burnt myself really badly and thought, ‘That’s the end of that. I’m not going near that glass stuff again.'”

But he could not have been more wrong and, after growing-up in Bradford, Lancashire, in 1976, he started London Glassblowing – his gallery and studio – at a site in Rotherhithe, before moving to another south east London site in Bermondsey Street in 2009.

Soon earning and retaining a reputation as one of the premier glassblowers in the world, he said: “The truth is that once you try your hand at this, you get hooked really quick.”

He added: “It took me about 10 years to switch from clay to glass. I hunted around somewhere to open up a studio myself and found a fantastic location on the river.”

But glassblowing – a technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble with the aid of a blowpipe – has not only provided an income for Peter and his family, it has also led to romance.

For, his daughter, Sophie, met her husband, Tim Rawlinson, 34, a resident artist at London Glassblowing, at her dad’s studio.

Now pregnant, they are expecting their first child this year.

And Peter, who came to England in 1939 when his parents fled Prague after the Nazi invasion of the former Czechoslovakia, could not be more proud.

Also father to Bart, 46, a film director, and Ben, 30, a TV director, Peter said: “Sophie’s married to one of the guys here. He’s certainly one of the rising stars in glass in this country.”

He added: “She met him here in my studio. I was away at the time.

“She was a bit sheepish about it, but I’m delighted.”

And, like her dad, Sophie has felt the irresistible pull of glass as a craft and is now experimenting with artwork of her own.

Peter said: “She is actually painting or using enamels on the glass surface, which is a technique that has fallen into disuse, but she is reviving that.

“So, that’s quite exciting for me as it were.

“Whether she’ll take over my business is another matter, as I’m not going anywhere yet!”

Travelling the world with his art, Peter says one of his career highlights took place in Bohemia, which is now part of the Czech Republic.

“Bohemia had a historic reputation for glass and, under the Russians, craftsmen had to produce the type of art the Russians wanted – coasters and paintings which showed how brilliant the state was,” said Peter.

“Surprisingly, glass was under the radar. So glassmaking was the strongest and most independent art form in the former Czechoslovakia.”

One of Peter’s most memorable commissions was for a gigantic cruise liner.

He said:  “We’d get these massive, architectural commissions.

“The very first one we did in 1995 was for Royal Caribbean Cruises for their ship called Legend Of The Seas.”

He added: “It was a 50 metre wide metal and glass sculpture, which was hung off the lift shaft – so, suspended high above your head in the biggest stateroom of any cruise liner ever.”

Nicknamed “The Grandmaster of Glass,” Peter continues to use his vast experience to nurture young talent and mentored Elliott Walker, who won the  Netflix glass competition Blown Away.

He said: “Elliott is a star, no question. I was very lucky to have him working here for about seven years and we collaborated a lot.”

He added: “I’m fortunate to have some of the best glassblowers in the country working here. Mentoring is very much part of the ethos.”

But the high cost of gas means glassblowers have been feeling the pinch, according to Peter.

He said: “There is this worry that glassblowing, because it is energy hungry,  may become an endangered species in the West.”

Whatever happens, Peter is determined he will still be glassblowing until he takes his last breath.

He said:  “In theory, I should stop, as I am well past retirement age but, hopefully, that will never happen.

“I want to be toasting the world with hand blown glass until the end.”

• London Glassblowing is holding their annual exhibition COLLECT from February 18. For more information visit: www.londonglassblowing.co.uk