Jahday Ford
2020 got off to a good start for glassmaker Jahday Ford. The Bermudian-born designer is due to head back to his native country for the first time in eight years to install a one-off glass installation at the new airport on the island, due for completion in May. ‘I’m also designing a digitally crafted glass collection called Axle, which transfers a CNC computerised surface texture on to hot glass,’ he says. ‘This year has kicked off quicker than any other so far!’ Having majored in art and design at high school, Jahday moved to Manchester in 2012 and completed a BTEC Diploma in Art and Design at Manchester College, then a BA in Threedimensional Design at Manchester School of Art. ‘I was graced with an abundance of resources in glass, metal, wood, ceramics, digital programming and mechanical hardware and I couldn’t get enough,’ he says. ‘Once I got over my experimental phase and survived a few intense one-to-ones with very confused tutors, I began to focus on glass design, which is where I had a creative epiphany.’ Specialising in hot glass, he combines moulds, glass blowing and digital techniques, exploring the relationship between glass and other materials to create innovative forms, including his award-winning Breathe project, in collaboration with digital designer Joseph Hillary. Exhibited in galleries and at exhibitions around the country, including New Designers and designjunction where in 2017 it was shortlisted for the Rado Star Prize, the collection is based around recorded soundwaves created by Jahday’s breath in his glass-blowing iron, manipulated into a three-dimensional form using computer software. ‘Glass design has been moving at ground-breaking speed over the past decade thanks to advanced technologies,’ says Jahday. ‘For me, products are much more dynamic when multiple processes are combined, so there is huge scope for experimentation and the discovery of new characteristics.’