A Glass Act at Arreton Barns - The Phoenix Rises:

Something rather interesting has happened to the Merstone Phoenix. What began as a single live Follies location has now grown into a guided tour, and the Phoenix appears to have developed a particular fascination with Arreton. The reason? Fire. More specifically, the fierce heat of the furnaces at Isle of Wight Studio Glass, where molten glass is still shaped by hand into colourful, distinctive pieces. It is the sort of place that would naturally attract a mythical creature associated with flame, rebirth and transformation. And that is exactly where the newest stage of the Merstone Phoenix tour now leads. But this is not simply a convenient stop on a route. Isle of Wight Studio Glass has a story that fits the Phoenix unusually well. The story begins with Michael Harris, who studied at the Royal College of Art and became an important figure in the emerging studio-glass movement. After establishing Mdina Glass in Malta in 1968, he returned to Britain and, in 1973, founded Isle of Wight Studio Glass with his wife Elizabeth at Old Park in St Lawrence. From the beginning, the Island itself influenced the glass. The studio’s Undercliff range drew inspiration from the landscape around St Lawrence, using layers of colour and texture to evoke the rocks, trees and vegetation of the area. Later came Azurene, one of the studio’s best-known ranges, using precious gold and silver applied to hot glass. The Harris family story continued through Michael’s son Timothy, who grew up around the furnaces. As a child, he reportedly needed to stand on a beer crate to reach properly while making small glass birds he called Diddybirds. That early fascination turned into a career. Timothy later returned to the Isle of Wight to work alongside his father and went on to build an international reputation of his own. His work has reached museums, galleries, private collections and Royal hands, including a presentation to Queen Elizabeth II during her Diamond Jubilee year. Then came the part of the story that caught the attention of Professor Follies. The original St Lawrence chapter eventually came to an end. But the story did not. In 2013, Isle of Wight Studio Glass was revitalised at Arreton Barns, giving the studio a new home and allowing the Harris family tradition to continue. A new home. A new chapter. The same fire. It is difficult to imagine a better reason for a Phoenix to keep circling overhead. Today, visitors can still see that story being made in real time. Isle of Wight Studio Glass remains a working studio, where glass is shaped using heat, breath, movement and skill. Visitors are welcome to watch the glassmakers at work, and the Isle of Wight Museum of Glass alongside the studio adds another layer to the experience, with around 1,200 pieces displayed across two galleries. That makes this new Follies stage more than a business feature. It is part history, part mythology, part working craft and part Island discovery. And for the Merstone Phoenix, it has transformed a single live location into something more substantial: a guided journey with a genuine reason to follow the flame. So if you are exploring the Merstone Phoenix, keep an eye on the sky. Then head for Arreton. Find the glassworks. Watch the fire. Discover the story. And see whether you can work out what keeps bringing the Phoenix back. The Phoenix rises. And this time, it’s a glass act.