Thank you again for your support of makers through the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers’ Bursary at Cockpit. As you know, Cockpit is more than just a studio space; we bridge the gap between talent and opportunity, and Awards like yours are a pivotal step in making this happen.
The Glass Sellers’ Bursary aims to support a craftsperson working in warm or cold glass, contributing towards a space in a shared studio at Cockpit. As part of the Cockpit community, the Bursary recipient has access to business and professional development services including on-site coaching, a personalised development plan, and business skills workshops, as well as public selling events twice a year and a range of promotional opportunities.
The 2025 Bursary was offered to glass artist Theo Brooks. This report contains a reflection from Theo on his year on the Glass Sellers’ Bursary at Cockpit with a note from the Cockpit’s Business Incubation team on his progress to date. The report also contains a brief reflection from Roberta da Caro on her experience on our bespoke Make It Count programme, as her place on the programme was generously supported by the Company.
Thank you, as always, for your support.
Theo Brooks
Theo is a British Cypriot glass maker from London. His work is a combination of hot sculpted and blown glass elements, then cold worked through lathe cutting, engraving and sandblasting to produce glass sculptures. The sculptures vary from one-off art pieces to sections of an installation, to interior design commissions. Theo’s work explores his Cypriot and British heritage and connection to his identity. Drawing on research into ancient Cypriot artefacts, he reimagines historical forms with vibrant colours and dynamic lines inspired by his upbringing in south London. His work has been shown across the US and UK, including Collect Open 2023, London Glassblowing Gallery, and he has presented at Contemporary Glass Society Discover Day at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Since joining Cockpit in January 2025, Theo has participated in eight workshops and had three one-to-one coaching sessions. Theo’s work has also been featured in The Cockpit Edit: Design, our series of curated e-commerce drops highlighting the very best of our studios. Theo has also served as a panellist for the Glass Sellers’ Bursary 2026. We are thrilled to share that Theo will continue to stay on at Cockpit now that his Award has finished.
Q. What’s gone well this year? What are you proud of achieving?
The award has allowed me to have a space to start building my own studio space. Although the progress has been slow, there have been some major steps making me closer to my goal of having a functioning cold shop in the space. I was able to have a glass cutting lathe made and delivered, as well as acquiring a flat bed grinder, two machines that will be with me the rest of my career. I am also proud to be part of the Cockpit community and have engaged in the opportunities that have been presented, and look forward to participating in more in the future.
Q. What could have gone better? Have you faced any challenges?
A challenge regarding the size of the equipment and the size of the lift/elevator was a puzzle that took a while to solve! I am glad that challenge is temporarily behind me. I would love to have spent even more time developing the studio over the last year, but amongst time spent on QEST training, being away, and making sure I have enough money to continue working on the space, I ended up working there a lot in the evenings and the weekends. I am still staying true to my goal, but am slowly chipping away at it rather than sprinting towards it.
Q. What have you learnt or what has surprised you in the past year?
I have learnt a lot over the past year, and am continuing to learn. The Open Studios have allowed me to get great feedback on new works and connect with people. I have enjoyed the business mentoring and am still trying to put those plans into action.
Q. How has your Award and being at Cockpit supported you in your achievements and in tackling your challenges?
The advice from the Make it Count program has been noted, and I am still trying to connect with galleries and outlets. This is still a challenge for me. Getting new work ready and completed for photography as well as displays for current works is the plan, on top of following up emails and trying the best that I can to connect with galleries. I believe my time at Cockpit enabled me to apply for the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust grant ( which I received ) and let me continue to learn and grow from a technical standpoint through the advanced training.
Q. What are your plans following the end of your Award? What are you looking forward to most in the coming 12 months?
My plan is to continue with the space I have at Cockpit but to build more aspects of the studio. The next two days I will be welding a frame for the lathe, for which I’ve acquired a welder and new angle grinder, and re-assembling the flatbed. Having just arrived back from a residency in the USA, I have made a lot of new works which will need coldworking! Extra encouragement to get the space operational! It is also my plan this year to really lock in some gallery shows and selling opportunities. Last year being abroad with the training and taking part in another residency distracted me from this goal.
Q. Are there any other comments you’d like to make about Cockpit and/or the Award?
The community has been great! 5
Comments from Business Incubation
Theo has made substantial progress since joining Cockpit.
As he mentions, physically setting up the studio took considerable time, and remains work in progress.
Having successfully applied for a QEST scholarship, Theo spent time in the year training, and as a result developing new wrk.
Audience reaction to Theo’s work during Cockpit events has been positive and encouraging.
Theo engaged well with Make It Count, and in our coaching sessions we have been exploring his major goal: finding the appropriate representation.
I hope that this year he can carve out more time to follow through on this goal, and I will be happy to support him.
— David Crump, Head of Business Incubation
