Who We Are
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"The techniques in glass intrigue and challenge me, continually forcing me to expand past my comfort zone, to enter areas of unknown territory which excite and terrify me at the same time. To take a piece of glass and manipulate it’s structure, colour, it's whole being, is truly fascinating to me, and then, discovering the end result which is almost always an eye-opener!”
- Kirei
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When it Began
Kirei's fascination with glass started in 1990 purely by accident when a friend gave her some scrap glass, she started designing jewelry right away. It is important to her to keep exploring and expanding her knowledge with each piece created.
In 2002, Kirei wanted to learn more and bought her first kiln. Teaching herself how to fuse glass pieces together using heat and time she developed a unique style by constantly pushing glass techniques in different directions to eventually creating her own techniques.
Today
Kirei opened Lalaland Glass Studio to the public near Bloomfield in Prince Edward County in 2009. Her studio/gallery set in a century old barn which houses her many years of designing and creating one of a kind pieces in jewelry, plates, bowls and artwork.
Kirei has been a member of Prince Edward County Studio Tour since 2007. Along with creating unique pieces of art, Kirei has been commissioned to create the bases for the awards presented at the Dora Mavor Moore Awards. These awards celebrate achievement in Toronto based theatre. She also created the "Finisher Necklaces" for the 2019 Wellington Women's Half Marathon. She was about to begin preparation for the 2020 event but it was cancelled due to well, you know.
Since 2017, Kirei has had a booth at the Wellington Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings (9am - 1pm). If you are in Prince Edward County on a Saturday morning, come to the market and say Hello!
Kirei has been teaching at the Haliburton School of Art and Design for a week every summer since 2015. It's not running this year but hopefully she'll be back there next summer!
Kirei has spent the last 20 years in the arts and crafts industry, appearing at many different shows including Signatures (Toronto and Ottawa), Toronto Pride, Halliburton Arts and Crafts Show, Fair November (Guelph) and many others.
Kirei originally launched under the name Kirei Handmade Jewellery. In 2000 she opened her studio Lalaland Glass Studio in Prince Edward County. She wanted to expand her glass work to include both larger pieces of art and a collection for the home.