Over the weekend the Isle of Wight Glass Museum, based at Arreton Barns, celebrated its 10th anniversary.
Back in March 2016, when the Museum originally opened, Mark Hill from “Antiques Roadshow” was the special guest. Mark had written a book on Mdina (Malta) Glass and Isle of Wight Studio Glass.
Michael Harris was the driving force behind the studio glass project based in Mdina on Malta. He subsequently moved to Vectis and founded IW Studio Glass in 1973.
Michael died in 1994, but his son Timothy has carried on the tradition, and now has a half century of experience in glass making.
Anton Doroszenko was raised in Edinburgh and is of Ukrainian descent. He is an avid collector of studio glass, which came into its own in the 50s and 60s as an alternative to mass produced glass items.
Anton said his collection grew from an initial impulse buy from an eBay website. That was on 22nd January, 2008 and it cost him the princely sum of £35.
In the beginning Anton was buying at the rate of two items each week, and before long he had accumulated 500 pieces.
Initially, Anton wanted to share his passion, so he started a website to showcase the quality of studio glass. In 2020, Anton’s collection was expanded when Roger Wilsmer donated 615 glassworks to the museum because he did not want his portfolio to be split up.
Today, Anton’s collection numbers some 2000 pieces, of which 1200 are on show in a series of display cases in the Glass Museum. According to Anton, this museum is the largest glass museum in the UK, possibly the largest in the World.
Recently, the collection has been reconfigured so visitors can follow a route through the displays in chronological order on what is a fascinating tour.
Entry to the museum is free (donations welcome) and can be found on the 1st floor above Isle of Wight Studio glass on the Arreton Barns site.
It is indeed a world class attraction right here on the island.
If you go, please DO leave a donation, no matter how small.