Glass half full
Matt McGuire meets wine buyer turned window maker David Lilly
From soaring cathedrals to lipstick and booze-filled parties, dishevelled bespectacled secretaries to cherished homes, there are a number of fine places where you can happen upon stained glass. However, it’s sadly not possible to make a living out of all of them, so David Lilly chose windows and lamps.
“I was a wine buyer for 20 years,” reveals David. “But I’d always been fascinated by stained glass and a few years ago took an evening class. I adored it, started doing bits and pieces for friends and then they encouraged me to get a website. And when you’ve got one of those, everyone can find you.”
Despite the undoubted skills on display, David doesn’t have an artistic background. Oh, apart from his family. “My grandfather exhibited in the Royal Academy and my great uncle, E. H. Shepard, drew Winnie the Pooh.” A moment’s pause, please, in honour of that mighty bear. “But no,” he continues, “I’ve never done anything like this before. Though I suppose it was always in there, waiting to get out…”
David’s speciality is windows, both original commissions and restoration. “It’s such a satisfying thing to do,” he says. “From the design to the creation to the installation. I love to wander around town and spot the things I’ve done, as well as the fact that what I do will hopefully be there for years. Buying wine is fantastic but totally ephemeral. Even a great bottle can be drunk in minutes!”
David moved to Brighton in 1997 after visiting friends for Easter. “I was looking to get out of London and thought, ‘Why not live here?’ It was the best thing I’ve ever done”, he smiles. “There’s a great community feel here, especially in the arts and crafts world, and an atmosphere and perception that things succeed. It didn’t worry me making such a big change in my life and setting up this business. And it’s worked out wonderfully.
“Light makes such a difference to how we live our lives”, he adds.
“I’m working on designs for a large skylight at the moment and it’s really exciting to know that the colours and light will be constantly changing throughout each and every day, that they’ll always be shifting, always be different, and that that’ll have such an effect on the rooms. Why wouldn’t you want something in your home that adds so much?”
David Lilly, Simply Stained Glass, Unit 35, Level 6, New England House, New England Street, Brighton BN1 4GH. Tel: 07796 141180, email: david@simply-stained.co.uk, or visit: www.simply-stained.co.uk
