The story of Okra, like glass itself, is diverse and fascinating. Founded in 1979 by Richard Golding & Nicola Osbourne, this successful art glass studio has experienced many changes throughout its history, from major expansion in the late 80s to being bought out and becoming part of a frontline manufacturing group in the 90s.

The studio is currently located in the grounds of their home in Wordsley, West Midlands, an area formerly renowned for

its glass industry and still home to a number of independent studio glass artists.Okra specialise in the design and production of coloured and iridised glassware, and their studio is unique in a number of ways; among a very few studios melting coloured glass as well as clear. From the very beginning, they experimented with glass recipes preferring to make their own glass rather than melt commercially available batch. This has given them much greater control over the
material, and consequently over the designs they are able to make. Indeed many of the pieces Okra has produced would simply not be possible with most commercially available glass. Richards expertise in this field is widely recognised, and over the years he has run a number of specialists glass technology workshops and guest lectured within this field.

Richard and his team at Okra regularly update and develop their ranges offering their trade accounts as well as a growing number of private collectors constantly changing and exciting new products. One recent innovation has led them into the field of lighting design. This has enabled the perfect marriage between glass making skills with the latest advancements in lighting technology.

At the centre of the business are the one off designer creations which are continually evolving with new ideas being tried and tested . Alongside this, continues the production of the more affordable range pieces, so broadening the customer base. The middle ground between the two is bridged by the limited edition pieces while these vary in number from five to fifty, every item is individually hand-made and therefore a unique piece.

Richard and Nicola are never worried about pushing the boundaries of their knowledge in both design and technology and this alone will keep them in the fore front of contemporary studio glass throughout the world