Joanne Mitchell trained at Leeds College of Art and Manchester Metropolitan University before going on to study for an MA in Glass at Wolverhampton University (Edinburgh Crystal Scholarship).

After working as the in-house designer at Edinburgh Crystal, Joanne went on to set up her own company - Joanne Mitchell Glass Design - and in March 2004 won the Shell Livewire Young Entrepreneur Award (Durham). Every piece by Joanne Mitchell Glass Design is an original contemporary design, handcrafted to the highest quality using traditional glassmaking techniques. The development of a piece can be led by an exploration into the flow of glass under pressure, the balance of form and texture, or of distortion and refraction within a solid clear mass.

"I intend my work to have an aesthetic that goes beyond function to express the material's inherent qualities and stimulate and engage the senses.

I try to bring visual impact into my work through the use of understated yet striking shapes and textures. Inspiration comes from the irregularity and diversity of natural forms: the landscape, the human body, some significant aspect of one of these.

My recent work is influenced by my experience of designing for industry, and explores the tactility and sensuality that can be achieved using wheel cutting techniques and the interplay of the contrasting properties of blown and cut glass."