Meet the Aberdeen mum who is smashing it as a glass artist

By Rosemary Lowne

November 24 2022, 11:45 am

Glass act: Former mortgage advisor Susan Petrie hasn't looked back since setting up her own fused glass business. All photos by Darrell Benns, DC Thomson.

Breaking through glass ceilings is something Susan Petrie knows all about.

While juggling life as a busy mum-of-two she set up her own fused glass giftware business – The Glass Needle – from scratch.

Eight years on and the 51-year-old’s glass is most definitely half full as she not only ships orders across the UK but also holds creative craft workshops from her studio at The Hill of Rubislaw.

Pretty pendants: Susan Petrie uses glass to make stunning jewellery.

“Fused glass is a great medium to work with as I love the colours, they’re very bright” says Susan, who lives in Aberdeen.

“It’s also very tactile and working with glass means that if you do a project and you don’t like it then you can break it down and fuse it again into another item.

“So you can make jewellery out of failed pieces so you’re never really wasting any glass.

“There’s never a time that you can be bored of glass because there’s always new techniques to learn.

“I love everything about it to be honest.”

All at sea: This beach inspired pendant is striking.

Raw talent

Arty from a young age, Susan was destined to follow a creative path.

“I’ve always been crafty,” says Susan.

“I was really into sewing when the kids were little, I used to make clothes for my daughter and small cotton items.

“That’s why my name is The Glass Needle as I always thought I would go back to sewing as well but the glass has taken over and I’m really enjoying working with glass.”

Beautiful homeware: Susan’s gorgeous curved glass panels will bring festive cheer to any home.

Clear vision

A former mortgage advisor, Susan first came across the art of fused glass at a craft workshop with friends.

“I was a stay-at-home mum so I wasn’t working at the time and I was part of a little group of mums who used to go to workshops together,” says Susan.

“So we went to a fused glass workshop together and I got hooked.

“I loved it so I went and worked for a short time with another fused glass artist in Aberdeen and then I got more and more involved in it and I went out on my own and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

Quirky trinkets: Susan says a lot of work goes in to every glass infused piece.

Crafty workshops

Setting up a workshop at home, Susan got fired into making her glassware.

“I used to teach workshops in my studio at home but when Covid struck it became too small to host everyone so I’ve got a large space that allows several tables in at H1, Hills of Rubislaw,” says Susan who is mum to Fraser, 18, and Kirstie, 13.

Bringing nature to life, Susan uses glass to make everything from beach inspired jewellery and decorative panels to hand painted fused glass trinket dishes, bowls and hearts.

“The beach scene jewellery is going really well,” says Susan.

“I also make an awful lot of curved glass panels with Highland cows, bees and flowers.

“These panels can go in front of the window and look lovely with the light shining through.”

Tree-mendous: Demand is high for Susan’s beautiful glass Christmas trees.

Playing with fire

Describing them as “quirky”, Susan says her glass mushrooms are also very popular.

“The glass mushrooms with copper stems are really popular,” says Susan.

“You can put them outside in a plant pot.”

Susan’s other bestselling glass pieces include little birds, hanging budgies and fused glass lanterns.

Speaking about the intricate glass making process, Susan says it requires a degree of patience.

“Fusing glass is not a craft that produces results immediately, firing in the kiln usually takes about 12 – 13 hours and sometimes you are firing 2, 3 times,” says Susan.

“So most items I make are made over a few days.”