A Sandown glassmaking business is celebrating 30 years of colour and creativity on the Isle of Wight – with a special exhibition set to honour its late founder and his remarkable artistic legacy.
Glory Art Glass was established in 1996 by husband and wife Martin and Nicola Evans and has since become a family-run studio gallery producing decorative glassware, sculptures and commissions.
Martin’s route into glassmaking began far away from the furnace, having originally trained as a shipwright in the Royal Navy.
During his time in the Navy, he travelled aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia, seeing destinations around the world but maintaining that the Isle of Wight ranked among the best.
He was also the ship’s barber and, according to his family, once serenaded the Queen by playing guitar and singing ‘Johnny B. Goode’.
After leaving the Navy, Martin married Nicola and settled on the Isle of Wight, where their daughters Danielle and Virginia were born.
His passion for glass developed after becoming friends with Mike Harris of Isle of Wight Glass. Martin went on to work alongside Mike for 25 years, developing his glassmaking skills, while Danielle also trained there.
In 1996, Martin and Nicola established Glory Art Glass in Sandown.
During the following 3 decades, the studio has created everything from colourful homeware and drinking glasses to sculptures and awards for local events, as well as undertaking larger commissions.
Martin’s work can also be found around the Isle of Wight, including a number of glass installations at St Mary’s Hospital.
For the past decade, Martin and Nicola’s youngest son Ed and his wife Hannah have been running the studio.
Glassmaking demonstrations remain an important part of the business, allowing visitors to watch Ed transform molten glass into finished pieces.
The family says customers who have watched glassmaking around the world, including in Murano in Italy, have described Ed’s demonstrations as the best they have seen.
Ed has said:
“I intend to keep making glass for as long as possible – another 30 years at least!”
The craft extends across the family. Martin trained both of his sons and daughter Danielle, who now runs her own glass studio in the USA.
Nicola’s brother, Marcus Dennington, is also a glassmaker and spent many years working for Isle of Wight Glass.
The 30th anniversary is a bittersweet milestone following Martin’s death on 9th August 2025.
Ed and Hannah are continuing the business and still produce several ranges based on Martin’s original designs alongside their own work.
To celebrate his life and contribution to art and glassmaking on the Isle of Wight, a retrospective memorial exhibition will open to the public from Monday (21st September).
The exhibition will feature a large collection of Martin’s work across a variety of disciplines, including glass, paintings, ceramics, wood and metal.
