Welcome to a new film series from The Modern House: Modern Makers. Over the next few months, we’ll be taking you inside the studios of a creative bunch of makers who produce modern, beautiful pieces for the home. Expect to hear from a ceramicist, weaver and, for the first instalment, glassblower Jochen Holz. Watch the first film here, and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to be the first to see new episodes.

Jochen was born in Germany, where he studied scientific glassmaking in the 1990s. Later, he came to Britain to study, first at the Edinburgh College of Art then the Royal College of Art in London, and developed a style that has become his signature: distinctive glass forms coloured in bright, optimistic hues. Each piece is handmade and unique, bearing the mark of an involved making process that requires Jochen to think on his feet and be responsive to the material, so that the final result has something off-the-cuff and impromptu about it. “I’m trying to achieve an open, playful quality in my objects,” he says.

But for all the levity imbued in the end result, to watch Jochen at work is to see someone masterfully in control of their material. With a makes-it-look-easy deftness, Jochen stretches, blows, shapes and manipulates the glass to mesmerising effect. “The final form is informed by the making,” he says, something which is clearly apparent in his line of jugs, with their stubby handles and gently ridged bodies, or his drinking vessels, which range from organically shaped renditions of classic wine glasses, to chalice-like cups.

Watch Jochen at work and hear him reflect on inspiration, technique and the fragility of glass by checking out the film here. And be sure to explore Jochen’s work at The New Craftsmen and Seeds Gallery.