NetInfinity sponsors the £5000 Made Together Award at the British Glass Biennale

A new prize was up for grabs at the British Glass Biennale- the £5,000 Made Together Award Sponsored by NetInfinity, a collaborative award encouraging artists to work together across different media.

The British Glass Biennale sits within and is a highlight of the International Festival of Glass, a four day public festival celebrating the rich and dynamic world of glass. The main objective for this event is to raise the profile of the industry as being innovative, inspirational and collaborative and to attract international glassmakers to share in their skills and experiences.

 

Iestryn Davis and Adrian Mulley bought home the prize money for the Made Together Award with their collaborative Ripple design.

The collaboration was between the two lighting designers, Iestryn Davis who specialises in glass and manufacturing large interior and exterior installations and Adrian Mulley who specialises in designing and prototyping lighting and commercial software programming for the lighting industry.

Iestryn Davis a British Glass Maker from the West Midlands in Stourbridge, made his name in the glass industry with his unique and creative approach to design.

Iestryn spent many years producing and designing commissioned pieces for retail outlets such as Harrods and John Lewis. He built up his reputation in the glass making industry by exhibiting his work at events such as British Glass Biennale and the Ruskin Glass Center.

In recent years Iestyn Davis moved into sculptural work on a larger scale for outdoor features and architectural commissions, and due to this change of design he has been offered opportunities to exhibit for the Royals at London Chelsea Flower Show

When the opportunity for collaboration was announced, Iestryn was drawn to the idea. He could see the exclusive benefits that mixing mediums would have on his designs.

Iestryn Davis realized that collaboration would not only enhance his skills but encourage him to design and create something that was exceptional to the market at this time.

Iestryn Davis said “The money was a very good carrot; I never met Adrian before, I had no idea what he liked, what he reacts to, all I did know is that he worked as a freelancer for a software engineering company.

“I wanted to give him an opportunity and give me an opportunity as well of doing an actual collaboration but there is no way I could have asked him in any other circumstances but because there was the carrot prize at the end of it I had that opportunity.

“I would normally have to pay so much for this kind of development and in return I can give him something that he’s never ever considered before. I deal with him professionally about problem solving, but I nearly always have to pay for it, for his words of wisdom.”

“There’s a big difference between creativity and finance, they are two separate parts of the brain and when you are trying to change direction and develop things and invest in things, like anyone your aspirations are limited, they are limited with your financial capacity to back it up.”

“Because the money was there, I decided to offer Adrian that.  I said 36 hours to go are you still interested in the collaborations project and he said give me 12 hours and I’ll call you back, 12 hours later he phoned me back, he said he said fine I’ll have a go at it, but what do you want me to do.

"I asked Adrian what he would be interested in doing and he told me that he’s always done linear things in under cars; I’d like to do some form of lighting that’s circular and maybe flat. So we started emailing over ideas to and fro and came up with this rippled effect, which we developed further and created a throbbing effect.

“New technologies that have been introduced, have now determined the glass and other industries to be more innovative and inspirational to keep up to date with the trends that are happening elsewhere and abroad.

“By having the opportunity to entice someone to collaborate on an opportunity I would have never imagine happening was very spectacular. I would like to thank NetInfinity for there support”

 

Summary of the Ripple to go with the image

A wall light that reacts to its environment, using ultrasound sensors to detect movement, the sensors then translate this movement via specially created microchip into commands which will instruct LEDs to pulse with various colours. These LEDs are mounted behind the decorative glass front, creating spatial ripple effects.