Designer for Kosta Boda in Sweden

Born 1938, Bertil Vallien has been retained by Kosta Boda since 1963. By far the most internationally celebrated glass artist and designer in Sweden. He has received numerous awards and his work is well represented in leading museums around the world.

Debbie Tarsitano is arguably the premiere contemporary female paperweight artist in America, and perhaps the world. In 1979, Debbie created her first multi-flower encasement. She calls it her Birthday Weight, because the 17 flowers encased in it were made on her 17th birthday. Debbie spent 30 years creating idyllic themes encased in glass which addressed a sentimental side of life. She is also an accomplished painter and sculptress.

Today DNA helixes and portraits of contemporary life live inside the exciting glass sculptures Debbie Tarsitano creates today. The new work combines flamework, encasement, hot sculpted glass, painting and surface texture. Along side her paperweights, two new sculptures "The Dream" and "Lateral Drip" are included in the Corning Museum of Glass permanent collection.

Josh Simpson's continuing fascination with space, and the technologies associated with it, is clearly evident in the imagery of spaceships, power stations, and satellites that figure so prominently in his work. For all of Simpson's interest in technology, however, his works are not futuristic in feeling, but ancient, like nature itself.

Finnish designer Oiva Toikka is well known for the "Birds" series that he has designed for iittala, the internationally recognized Finnish glass company. First created in 1973, the "Birds" come in hundreds of types, shapes and sizes. In addition to birds, Toikka has created many glass tableware collections and he has designed large glass sculptures. His imaginative, bold and colorful works are not typical of Scandinavian design, which usually features muted colors, limited decoration, and a streamlined Modernist aesthetic.

Since childhood, nature has always been important to Paul Stankard, and now as the world's leading glass paperweight artist, this interest has become the defining signature of his work. Flowers such as roses, lilacs and orchids are depicted as are a host of fantasy flowers that the artist creates in his studio, located in southern New Jersey. To look at a Stankard paperweight is to momentarily be fooled into believing that the artist has preserved a living flower in glass, when, in fact, he has created one entirely from spun filaments.

Using ancient techniques to create original designs in handblown glass, Richard Satava creates works of art, indiviually crafted, by carefully combining the highest degree of technical skills and artistic creativity. Well know for his vivid colors and unique portrayal of nature, Satava's works are included in numerous public and private collections throughout the world. He was first introduced to glassblowing in 1969 while attending Ocean High School in Pacifica, California. He was then educated at the College of San Mateo and California State University, Chico in 1977.

Shin-ichi, who attended the University of Art in Japan, began to work at the design research studio of Ettore Sottsass in 1970. After considerable experimentation, he and his wife Kimiake mastered the secrets of the Pâte de Verre process in 1987. Their works, which have won many awards, are widely exhibited and collected.

The newly established Stankard Studios is focused on keeping the tradition of paperweight making alive, in the spirit of master artist and founder, Paul Stankard. The studio is comprised of four talented artists, each bringing his/her own unique vision to the process: Pauline Stankard Iacovino, Katherine Stankard Campbell, Christine Stankard Kressley, David J. Graeber. Each paperweight is handmade, showcasing delicate flameworked pieces encased in crystal.

William Gudenrath is a glassblower, scholar, lecturer, and teacher of glassblowing. An authority on historical hot glassworking techniques from ancient Egypt through Renaissance Europe, he has presented lectures and demonstrations in the United States, Canada, and Europe.