Unique beads and glasswork in Norfolk by Blue Flame Glass Studio

Claire is the founder of Blue Flame Glass Studio at Salle Moor Hall Farm near Reepham.

And at her workshop in the tranquil mid-Norfolk countryside she shares the magical alchemy of working with glass with others. 

As she explains, it came out of what was a hugely difficult time in her life. 

When she was 20, and planning to go to college with dreams of becoming an archaeologist, she was given a life-changing diagnosis of thyroid cancer.

It’s a cancer not generally seen in young people, and according to doctors she had likely had it for years without realising. 

“In this instance, it had been really slow growing – probably since I was about four years old,” says Claire. 

By the time it was discovered, it was very complex to treat and Claire was referred to the Royal Marsden Hospital where she had what turned out to be a 10-hour operation to remove the tumours that had grown around her windpipe. 

Not knowing what the outcome of the operation would be – there was a possibility of damage to her vocal cords leaving her unable to speak - Claire decided to grab the moment and that before starting her treatment she was going to try two things that she had always wanted to do. 

“It really makes you think about what you want to have done,” she says. “There was no guarantee that I was going to be okay, and so I did two things. I managed to get on to a course on glass-working down in Kent with a lady who had come over from America. And I had a go at flying a helicopter!” 

A Southend-based pilot called Lee Burling, who now flies air ambulances in London, took her on an unforgettable trip along the Essex coast.  

And back on the ground, Claire was so taken with flame-working that she applied for a Rural Arts Grant, which enabled her to buy a simple kit so she could teach herself more at home. 

Her mum let her set up in her garage and she started making basic beads.   

And it turned out to be a great outlet for her during her treatment, which went on for 10 years. 

“I’ve always loved art and I think it’s such an amazing way to express yourself. I’ve always been one of these people that finds it easier to express myself by making things rather than talking through things,” Claire says. 

“Glass-working was the one thing I could absolutely lose myself in because the one thing about it is when you’re doing it you’re obviously really concentrating on the flame and on the hot glass because it’s 1,200C so you’ve got to be very careful.  

“I could be having a really tough time, but I could just switch off and do that and achieve something. I wasn’t working for a while and I felt almost like I didn’t have a status, so if somebody asked 'what are you doing at the moment?' and I’d tell them I wasn’t very well it was always a conversation stopper, or I'd just feel like I was a patient and that’s it. But I was able to say ‘I work with glass I’ve made these’ and it was this amazing thing to be able to fill my life with.”  

Claire has always loved history and found that glass-making was also a window into the past. 

“Before I got ill and it stopped me being able to go to college I really wanted to be an archaeologist and so I’ve always had that love of ancient Egypt and the Viking stuff round here in East Anglia, and glass beads are so integral to that.  

“Leather and wood rots away, so when it comes to burial mounds and digs and things, glass beads are something that stays pretty much the same as when they were made.  

“In Ancient Egypt, everybody would have been making beads out of clay or anything they could because they considered them to be lucky.  

“Being in Norfolk has always been a massive inspiration because of the nature that’s around us and also the history side of Norfolk, so being able to look at the beads that were actually dug up here in Norfolk.” 

Eighteen years on from her cancer diagnosis, Claire now concentrates mainly on offering glass-working experiences to people and moved Blue Flame Glass Studio to Salle Moor Hall Farm in March.  

She loves the location for its supportive community of small businesses like hers - and the extra space means that she can now teach up to three people at a time. 

She offers all sorts of options, from one-hour taster courses to three-hour beginner’s bead-making sessions. 

“I never restrict what people make – what I love is seeing what people come up with,” she says. 

Claire loves teaching groups – one option she offers is for hen parties to come in and each make a bead for the bride’s bracelet. 

She can also turn Champagne or prosecco bottles from celebrations into glass beads – a couple can be bought a workshop voucher as a wedding present, then after the big day go along and spend a session with Claire turning their wedding breakfast bottle into beads as a beautiful keepsake. 

Another option is to make a pendant inspired by Norfolk’s famous sunsets. 

“We’re so lucky to have that sunset that goes into the sea here on our coast that there’s a lot of people that come on holiday here and they really remember that, so they’ll come and make something like that with me to be able to keep and take away with them,” says Claire.  

“I’ve even had people buying them and sending them abroad for their family who have moved away, because the sunsets on the coast are something that was so special to them. They’re sending them their own little Norfolk sunset, it’s really lovely. 

"I think just even being able to do stuff together now is just such a special thing. You see everybody just relaxing and getting absorbed in it and you almost see their shoulders relaxing while they’re working," she continues.  

“We’ve all been through such a horrible, horrible time, if we can even have an hour's escapism from everyday life right now where we can just focus on something and then make something beautiful that we can keep forever, I think it’s a really special thing to do.”  

The glass that Claire uses comes mainly from Venice, via a family-run company in Yorkshire. 

“It arrives in beautiful pre-coloured rods, and you start by melting your 'gather',” she explains. “This is the most relaxing and mesmerising part – and a good lesson in patience! Your torch heats it and turns it into a toffee-like consistency. You can then shape and sculpt it into whatever you want, using gravity as your main tool. The trick to making something with glass is to practice until you can make your piece in as few moves as possible. This eliminates stresses inside the glass.” 

Claire grew up in north Norfolk and went to Sheringham High School, where her interest in design and technology was encouraged by her teachers John Bowen and Graham Chivers.  

“They really encouraged me when I wanted to try the different things like welding and woodwork and it really made me feel like I can do this sort of thing. So when it came to trying out glass-working I didn’t think ‘oh no I can’t do that’, it just made me feel a bit bolder about it and really sparked my curiosity in doing more practical things,” she says. 

She has an identical twin sister, Sarah, who she describes as “amazing”, especially in the way she supported her following her thyroid cancer diagnosis. 

“There’s something really special about always having somebody there that understands what you’re going through. It was difficult for her to see her sister going through that, wondering why one of us would get it and the other one wouldn’t, but we were always there for each other – we always have been. 

“The most difficult time was over lockdown when we couldn’t see each other – I didn’t think I’d find it quite as difficult as I did, but it was horrendous.” 

Away from flame-working, taking part in historical re-enactments is a big part of Claire's life. She works with a group called Timeline Events, which organises heritage-themed photoshoots around the country. 

Given her experiences in early adulthood, seize the day could be Claire's motto.

“I’ve got lots of different hats that I wear and I think it’s because when you have something bad happen, you want to say yes to all these opportunities,” she says. 

“So I’ve done stuff all over the place, everything from 1920s all the way through to 1960s and I absolutely love it. I love the variety of it, the history and the social history of it all, it’s just fascinating. And I’ve met so many amazing people through it as well, people that I’ll just be friends with forever, it’s wonderful.” 

She says that one of her favourite eras is the 60s.  

"I think that use of colour and pattern really draws me to it, but I’ve always done a lot of 1940s and 1920s things,” she says. 

And the retro theme continues in her preferred mode of transport – a London black cab called Bessie, which has become something of a local celebrity. 

“I’ve had Bessie for 10 years now. I started doing shows where I was doing flame-working demonstrations and I needed to find something that I could take my kit around in. I’ve never had a lot of money ever, so I decided that I’d go to London and buy one of the Fairway taxis that were going out of service because of emissions.” 

Claire paid just over £900 and she’s been gradually restoring Bessie during the last decade. 

“I’ve been doing the bodywork and things like that, bit by bit,” she says. "It's a bit like a big Meccano set."

She says that people love Bessie and often stop to talk to her. 

“What I love is the fact that everybody has a story about London taxis, so wherever I go, I could be going to Sainsbury’s, and I’ll get stopped in the car park and people will tell me how they remember being taken to work in one.  

“And people always ask if they can sit in it. I’ve now got a lucky taxi cap in there, like a flat hat, so I’ll tell them to put it on and they’ll sit in the driver’s seat and they’ll have a photo taken.” 

Claire’s enthusiasm for life is infectious. In addition to her flame-working workshops, she also loves passing on her other passions – for history and Norfolk’s coast and countryside - to others.  

Her previous jobs include working for the National Trust at Felbrigg Hall and Sheringham Park as part of the welcome team. She still volunteers there, working with school parties and she’s also just started working at Kelling Heath Holiday Park. 

She thrives on seeing people enjoying themselves, whether it’s children from inner city areas experiencing the countryside for the first time or holidaymakers.  

Before the pandemic, she was a STEM ambassador and would go into schools and show students experiments to demonstrate what a strong and versatile material glass is. 

And she’s also part of benorfolk.co.uk, a site to promote out-of-season experiential tourism in the county. 

“I think we all like to see people smile. If I could do anything to just make people smile for a bit if they’re having a bad day, that’s what life’s all about for me,” she says. 

To find out more about the flame-working experiences on offer with Claire at Blue Flame Glass Studio at Salle Moor Hall Farm near Reepham visit blueflameglassstudio.co.uk 

I am listening to... 

Music-wise I'm listening to Darby, who has the most incredible voice and comes from Norfolk. I'm a huge fan of listening to podcasts while I'm flaming too and really enjoy The Infinite Monkey Cage on BBC Sounds, hosted by Professor Brian Cox.  

I am reading...  

I've always loved reading, and I'm a huge fan of Terry Pratchett and anything sci-fi or fantasy related. But I like to like to break it up with real-life stories of amazing and inspirational women through history, anything from Noreen Riols, who worked for Churchill’s secret army, the SOE, in the Second World War, to Mabel Stark, one of the first female tiger trainers, in the 1920s. I always find real life can be even more gripping than fiction, if you know where to look!  

I am watching... 

I don't actually have a TV (I know, right?) but I love anything Star Wars-related.