Rutland County Farmers' Market

Leeson Glass

 Mark "Les" Leeson found his passion for glass making while at Art College in his native England in 1993. He specializes in a glass slumping technique called "Kiln Slumping". This is where you hand carve molds from heat resistant material such as plaster or sand, and then place sheets of sheet window glass (float glass) on top of these before heating in a specialized electric glass kiln at 1700F. The results are stunning as the glass slumps through and over the hand prepared molds to produce tableware, sculptural pieces, trophies and architectural panels.

After Graduating from Art College in 1996 with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Glass, he was given a job and a chance to be an apprentice with well know Glass Artist Max Jacquard in London. Here he saw the potential of glass on a large and exciting scale with his first commission he worked on being glass sinks for Ringo Starr. After two years he moved down the road to South London onto "Fusion Glass" which at the time was Europe's largest decorative glass company before heading off for a year in Australia to learn even more glass slumping techniques from the pacific rim country at "Infuse Glass" based in Brisbane.

After a brief few years back in London setting up another glass company "Paragon Glass" with old work colleagues he decided to have a change of surrounding and move to NYC. Here he worked with some different companies on a new challenge "Neon art glass" for use in restaurants and Manhattan penthouses before meeting the love of his life down there and moving to Vermont in 2008. Here he was instantly inspired by the stunning surroundings of Vermont after years of urban city life and soon began sketching tableware pieces that looked like sheets of ice or contained the stunning reds and oranges like the famous New England foliage. Les says "I had to get my hands on a glass kiln again after 2 years and purchased this tiny 14 inch square one that worked on 120V power. I made a few pieces and decided to give them a go selling them at the indoor Rutland Farmers Market. Once it moved outside I had already started to create a buzz and build a following and the rest just snow balled".

Five years on Les and is company "Leeson Glass" based in Rutland VT, own a large 7ft x 4ft glass kiln which he uses to slump the large amounts of bespoke tableware he sells at the downtown Rutland Farmers Market every Saturday. This is where he picks up nearly all of his commissions which have led to shower screens, kitchen splash backs, a large order for the PGA golf organization and bathroom windows all installed in the surrounding area and states. "I love the market, Les says.....in the height of summer the people and the vibe is incredible down there and as well as the sales of my small stuff you never know what someone is going to ask me to make for their home".

He continues to create new designs and pieces that customers say they wish he had in his tableware range and plans to keep expanding his booth at the Downtown Market. He can be found on Facebook under Leeson Glass and also emailed at les4glass@gmail.com