Canberra's Brian Tunks of Bison ceramics fame added beautiful glassware to his repertoire almost a decade ago and now he has a specific place to show and sell it - "the glasshouse" at The Plot in Pialligo.
Tunks is also growing his own blooms - the dahlia bulbs already in the ground - to adorn the vases. His friend and collaborator Jo Neville will be hosting paper flower making classes to also fill the stunning vases, which come in an array of jewel tones.
The glasshouse is housed in a whimsical converted building off Beltana Road, the former home of Tunks' other endeavour Crusoe and Co, which was always meant to be a short-term venture, launched still in the midst of a pandemic.
Tunks started Bison "25 plus 1 years ago" (the "plus 1" to take account of all the COVID interruptions) focusing first on ceramics that were immediately embraced nationally and internationally.
The glassware has also taken off, now sold by 200 stockists. It features in luxury locations from the suites at Barangaroo to the Silky Oaks Lodge in the Daintree. Tunks is also about to visit Paris as more outlets overseas want to stock the range.
"Because I'd worked with ceramics in the Middle East, I'd also worked with glass," he said.
"And I love the translucency of it and I loved the way the light played with the colour. So, for me, I knew eventually I'd start working with it and it's now nearly 10 years ago."
The glassware was a chance to expand his creativity.
"That was part of a challenge for me. I needed something that stimulated me, that gave me direction. It was about beauty that wasn't transient," he said.
"Flowers don't last forever but the colour and the shape of the vessel they are in does.
"I was acutely aware that I didn't want my brand to be the trademark for cultural landfill. For me, it was very important that the pieces have longevity. So I started drawing shapes and I spent quite a while trying to find the right studios to work with."
The flat glassware is made in Thailand while the vessels are made in India, in renowned studios that also produce for high-end labels such as Armani, Fendi and Tom Dixon.
"I've always loved colour and India is your place for it," he said.
Tunks travels often to oversee the designs and ensure the products are being produced ethically and in an environmentally sustainable way.
Bison's glass collections have, as a result, nearly doubled over the past year.
''Now the problem is we got not room! The cottage is full," Tunks said, with a laugh.
"And I need to do it justice and I need it to breathe, just like the ceramics need to breathe."
The glasshouse is just across the courtyard from the Bison cottage at Pialligo where the ceramics are sold (as well as an outlet in Braddon).
"We keep pieces in each but this glasshouse can be about featuring the glass," he said.
Tunks has also developed a micro-nursery to add flowers and colour to the glass. In summer, the dahlia garden will bloom and fresh locally grown flowers will be for sale.
"The garden is for me, for my mental health," he said.
"I'll be very up front and say I don't ever get depression but I get anxiety. And for me to be able to get my hands dirty and plant dahlias or dig them up and have my own fresh flowers in my own vases, it's the best."
Tunks has also been given some space at the nearby Pialligo Estate to grow more flowers, adding to the sense that The Plot and Pialligo are a community.
"It's that kindness, it's that support, it's that sense of community that is most important to me," Tunks said.
The glasshouse has been launched this week. It is open this Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm at The Plot, 12 Beltana Road, Pialligo.
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