About
The Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) was established in 1997 to represent the interests of national and international glassmakers. Its team is passionate about glass and the artists working with this amazing medium. Today it has almost 1,000 members and continues to grow.
CGS is a charitable organisation funded entirely through members’ subscriptions and by donations.
Contact Us
Administrator & Fundraiser
Helen Slater Stokes
Tel: +44 (0)1379 741120
Email: admin@cgs.org.uk
Online Exhibition Manager
Nicky Schellander
web@cgs.org.uk
Glass Network digital & Print
Magazine Editor
Linda Banks
linda@wordbanks.uk
CGS Chair & Project Manager
Sarah Brown
chair@cgs.org.uk
Address
The Contemporary Glass Society
29 Heron Drive
Brackley
Northamptonshire
NN13 6QE
The Team
The Contemporary Glass Society is a charity, registered in the UK. We are
funded entirely through our members and from donations.
Sarah Brown
Chair
I joined the CGS Board in 2015 whilst very early in my career excited to learn about the Contemporary Glass community and to support and promote others. In 2025 I became Chair and Project Manager and am delighted to be in this role to promote Contemporary Glass both in the UK and Internationally. I have lots of ideas that we are working away on to build this platform and support makers far and wide.
Aside from CGS I work full time on my practise, making work to commission both for public art projects and privately, showing my work at galleries and exhibitions and teaching glass fusing classes from my studio in Gloucestershire.
When I am away from the studio, I love to walk my dog in the Cotswolds near where I live, and travel the world, and of course eat plenty of cake!
Helen Slater Stokes
Membership/Fundraising Administrator
I have been a kiln-formed glass artist for over twenty years, establishing my practice in 1999 after earning an M.A. from the Royal College of Art in 1996. I have exhibited widely and taken on glass commissions from my Cotswolds workshop.
My artistic journey is fuelled by a passion for exploring glass’s possibilities, leading to my PhD completion in 2021. And I am also committed to teaching, aiming to inspire the next generation of glass makers through my university lecturing, online masterclasses, and international instruction. As a board member I aim to connect young artists with the CGS community, aiding the society in its continued support of new emerging glass makers.
Linda Banks
Editor
I have always loved both art and words. My joint degree in Art and English reflects my inability to choose between these disciplines. I have been lucky to be able to pursue my stained glass business alongside a career as a journalist and editor spanning 30 years.
I have lived through the evolution of print publications into online channels and relish the flexibility and opportunities that digital brings.
As a practising glass artist, I understand the challenges that we all face, and as a professional content creator I hope to share useful, informative and inspiring articles with you through Glass Network digital.
Nicky Schellender
Online Exhibitions Manager
A Trustee with the CGS since 2007, I was brought on board to develop the CGS website, curate the online gallery exhibitions and develop social media strategies. I have broadened the reach of CGS overseas by linking with international glass artists and designers.
I wished to join a community of people who were passionate about glass but also wanted a lively platform for glass artists.
I am a glass designer and maker in my own right and Director of my own hand-made glass lighting brand.
Before launching my business, I worked as Head of Design and Senior Designer for Edinburgh Crystal, Dartington Crystal and other studios.
I am midway through a PhD in glass design innovation, feeding my fascination with the beauty and power of molten glass and its fluidity, as well as creating opportunities that keep old glass skills alive, through working with other skilled craftsmen and studios.
Board Members
Elena Fleury-Rojo
Treasurer
I have been a kiln-formed glass artist for over twenty years, establishing my practice in 1999 after earning an M.A. from the Royal College of Art in 1996. I have exhibited widely and taken on glass commissions from my Cotswolds workshop.
My artistic journey is fuelled by a passion for exploring glass’s possibilities, leading to my PhD completion in 2021. And I am also committed to teaching, aiming to inspire the next generation of glass makers through my university lecturing, online masterclasses, and international instruction. As a board member I aim to connect young artists with the CGS community, aiding the society in its continued support of new emerging glass makers.
Linda Norris
Board Member
An artist based in West Wales, I came to glass in 2011 from a background in landscape painting. I was drawn to the medium’s elemental, transformative nature and its capacity for both material and metaphorical expression. Without formal training, I have built my practice through masterclasses, skills exchanges, and sustained collaboration with other artists.
My work has received several awards, including the Warm Glass Prize (2012). I have exhibited widely, with work selected twice for the British Glass Biennale. In 2020, I completed an MA module in Art and Archaeology at UHI Orkney, and my current practice explores how landscape can reveal traces of the past and those who came before.
In 2013, I co-founded Studio Melyn with Rachel Phillips, creating contemporary architectural glass for historic settings. I joined the Contemporary Glass Society Board in 2025, committed to collaboration and supporting its future development
Cathryn Shilling
Board Member
I began my arts career after graduating as a graphic designer but I went on to study glass later in life after moving to Connecticut with my family. On returning to the UK I studied both kiln formed glass and blown glass. I set up my studio in 2009 from where I have gone on to create a large and varied body of work that is exhibited widely and collected internationally. Alongside my practice, I am a curator of contemporary glass and worked at London Glassblowing from 2010 to 2019.
The CGS has supported me and my practice since I joined in 2009 and I would like to offer my time and curatorial expertise to the community in return.
I would also like to use my own personal experience as a disabled person to demonstrate to others that being disabled doesn’t have to limit your ideas, or your practice.
Amelia Skachill Burk
Board Member
I began my arts career after graduating as a graphic designer but I went on to study glass later in life after moving to Connecticut with my family. On returning to the UK I studied both kiln formed glass and blown glass. I set up my studio in 2009 from where I have gone on to create a large and varied body of work that is exhibited widely and collected internationally. Alongside my practice, I am a curator of contemporary glass and worked at London Glassblowing from 2010 to 2019.
The CGS has supported me and my practice since I joined in 2009 and I would like to offer my time and curatorial expertise to the community in return.
I would also like to use my own personal experience as a disabled person to demonstrate to others that being disabled doesn’t have to limit your ideas, or your practice.
Wayne Hart
Board Member
I am a practising lettercarver, typographer, sculptor, glass engraver & teacher. Though predominantly working in stone and wood, I have begun to explore the possibilities of lettering and image on glass following training with Tracey Sheppard.
It was whilst studying Design for Graphic Communication and Typography at the University of Reading that I first discovered lettercarving, leading to training with Caroline Webb and Richard Kindersley before landing my three-year apprenticeship with Pip Hall in Cumbria. I set up my first studio in Manchester in 2012 before relocating to Grandey’s Place in the Hertfordshire countryside.
Working mostly to commission, my work includes memorials, ecclesiastical pieces, public art projects, pieces for the home and garden, commemorative gifts and artwork for exhibition. Notable works include the memorials to C. S. Lewis and Sir John Gielgud for Westminster Abbey and the memorial to WW1 nurse Edith Cavell for Norwich Cathedral.
I have been the recipient of numerous grants and awards and am a board member for the Contemporary Glass Society and Church Monuments Society, a member of the Fabric Advisory Committee of St Edmundsbury Cathedral and ambassador for the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust.
Angel Monzon
Board Member
I am cofounder and creative director of Vessel Gallery, a business specialising in contemporary art glass, ceramics, and collectable high-end craft. I relocated to the UK in the late 90’s to study design at Kingston University and the Royal College of Art. Before entering the world of craft, I pursued a career in furniture and industrial design working in London and Japan.
At Vessel we represent over 70 British and international contemporary studio artists of museum quality, selling and promoting unique artworks and installations. The gallery also consults for interior and corporate FF&E projects, providing bespoke services for consultants, collectors, and museum acquisitions.
I also mentor and skill advise artists and brands in the development of their practice and product development, taking them from emerging makers to prestigious public collections as a direct result of the gallery’s exhibitions and advocacy.