The manufacture of glass ships in bottles developed in the UK in the 1970s largely led by scientific
glassblowers who turned their skills to giftware. The industry was particularly successful in
Sunderland, where many individual makers were established after the closure of the local Pyrex
factory. I undertook a two years residency at the National Glass Centre in 2017-18 and an AHRC Fellowship in 2019, and investigated the history of glass ships in bottles through studio practice and a series of oral history interviews of the former makers.