Decorative Platter ‘Hourglass’ by Nicholas Collins

The Hourglass Decorative Platter by Nicholas Collins is a creation made by water jet cutting technology and CAD drawing and design. The black-and-white hourglass effect of the platter is created by fusing together sheets of black and white opaque glass. The design of the limited edition platters takes hours to draw, and the cutting-edge CAD technology allows for precision and perfection.

The Hourglass Platter is kiln-fired at high temperatures. The sheets of fused glass are then cut, cleaned with diamond tools to ensure a perfectly smooth edge, and returned to the kiln for moulding into individual platters. One platter may contain up to 100 strands, the complexity and individuality of Nicholas’s masterpieces drawing the attention of any lover of opaque glass.

Staring into the Hourglass Decorative Platter, you will once again be met with an optical effect, the swirls of the platter appearing to move before your eyes. Lose hours staring into the hourglass, imagining a world of dreams. Or lose yourself in a world of thought and contemplation where time moves in sync with the sand of a real-life hourglass on a shelf.

For our full range of decorative platters please click this link

Decorative Platter Artist

Nicholas Collins was born in 1973 in the former mining town of Whitehaven on the West Cumbrian Coast. Studying at the Cumbria College of Art and Design for a B Tec in Art and Design, Nicholas continued his studies right through until 2011. His collections and exhibitions date back to the year 2000, his work having been on display in both the UK as well as on several occasions in the USA.

From 2000 until 2003, Nicholas was a self-employed glass designer and maker. He ran his own Nicholas Collins Glass Artist workshop, as well as exhibiting his work at trade shows in the UK and the USA. During 2005 and 2006, Nicholas also worked as a part-time lecturer at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London.

Nicholas launched his current practice in Maryport, on the West Cumbrian Coast in 2014, once he had refined his craft and perfected the art form through many years of continued study. His products are predominantly glass vessels and platters, although recently he has started to experiment with kilnforming glass techniques for furniture design.

All of Nicholas’s works are limited edition, his fascinations combining opaque and semi-translucent glass with cutting-edge technology and finishing tools. Many of his pieces follow a theme of optical illusion, his ethos being to continually push the boundaries of manufacture and traditional glass-making to produce more and more sophisticated pieces and designs, like this Hourglass decorative platter