alking into the retail space of Mark Douglass – master glassmaker, artist and designer – is far from the realms of a regular retail experience. This is a gallery, studio and an expression of Douglass himself.

Enormous glass orbs, tubes and cones in shades of red, brown, grey, pink and blue hang from the ceiling and the walls. Douglass, who has garnered a reputation for his corporate and commercial installation work, has developed his space in Richmond over the last 12 months to include a range of glass lighting that keeps the domestic resident in mind.

“All the glass is hand-blown and made locally,” he says of the range, which includes “about eight different colours and different colour intensities”.

Douglass, who studied ceramic design (majoring in hot glass) in the 1980s, has had exhibitions of his work in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne, completed artwork commissions for to hotels in Hong Kong and China, and was last year awarded the Churchill Fellowship, which saw him travel to the USA and Europe for glass work.

He created the glassware for Joost Bakker’s Greenhouse project in Perth and Silo by Joost here in Melbourne. He has also worked with designer Pascale Gomes-McNabb, co-owner of Cumulus Inc. and Cutler & Co..

“There are two sides to my work: the fine-art…side and the design side,” he explains. “The design side is the lighting and the creation of this standard product range.”

The Orb range includes glass rounds of varying shapes and colours, from brighter reds, yellows, greens and blues to dustier bronzes, greys, aubergine and steel blue. “There are a lot more colours in the glass palette, but I try to have half in one palette and half a little bit brighter,” he says.

Whether they be custom-made or from the selection in the space, the detail and individuality of Douglass’s pieces is enticing in its exclusivity. No one piece matches another, yet the approachability and flexibility of the range leaves anonymous franchises like Beacon Lighting for dead.

Mark Douglass Design
240 Burnley Street, Richmond
0414 294 921

Open by appointment.

markdouglassdesign.com