On a bright Saturday morning in Lee‑on‑the‑Solent, sunlight pours through the windows of a small studio, scattering colour across the tables where people lean over sheets of shimmering glass. At the centre of it all is Emma Leahy, guiding beginners through the delicate art of stained glass with the warmth of someone who has finally found the thing she was always meant to do.

“I’ve always had an itch for a creative outlet,” she says. “But I never imagined it would turn into a whole community of people falling in love with glass.”

Being raised in a military household, Emma grew up in various places across the world. She was born in Germany, and spent her childhood moving between Cyprus, Northern Ireland, Pakistan and the UK. “Cyprus was my favourite place to live,” she says, smiling. “I was little, but I remember the slower pace of life, being outside all the time, the water, the beaches. Adult holidays to Greece bring back many fond memories of the food, culture, the warmth and that incredible outside lifestyle.”

Nine years ago, Emma was living in Ruislip in London, working as a full‑time primary school teacher, she was newly divorced, and raising her two children, Abigail, then 13, and Jack, just 11. “It was a big moment in my life,” she says. “I’d come out of a marriage, I was teaching full‑time, and I was trying to figure out what the next chapter should look like for the three of us.”

At the same time, her parents were beginning a new chapter of their own. After decades in the Army, Emma’s father had finally retired. “Dad had been in the forces my whole life, Germany, Cyprus, Pakistan, Northern Ireland… we were always moving,” she says. “When he retired, he and Mum moved to Spain. It was the first time they’d ever been able to choose where they wanted to live.”

With her parents abroad and her brother based in Portsmouth with the Navy, Emma found herself drawn south. “We’d always come down to Portsmouth to visit my brother,” she says. “I loved the sea, the pace of life, the feeling of space. After everything that had happened, it just felt like the right place to start again.”

So she made the leap.

“It was scary,” she admits. “I was moving two kids away from everything they knew – their friends, their routines, London life. But they were at a good age for a fresh start, and I wanted us to build something new together.”

At first, the children missed the city. “They missed the buzz, the freedom of getting around London,” she says. “But they settled so quickly. Now in their 20’s they absolutely see this as home and understand the move.”

And Emma? “I fell in love with it almost instantly,” she says. “Being by the sea… it just does something to you. It slows you down, in the best way.”

 

 

Before glass designs, Emma was a beauty therapist. “I loved meeting new people in that role; everyone was always happy as they were having a treat so it was a nice atmosphere.”  But Emma says teaching eventually called to her, where she went on to re-train and teach in schools in London before moving to Hampshire, where she joined an infant school in Fareham and later a local junior school.

Her teaching style is unmistakably hers: hands‑on, expressive, and rooted in creativity.

“I’m really lucky,” she says. “My headteacher encourages us to approach learning in a creative way. The kids can build models, make posters, express their understanding however it suits them. It’s authentic learning where they take ownership, and it sticks.”

That same creative instinct would eventually lead her somewhere unexpected.

The spark that started it all

About seven years ago, Emma spotted a fused‑glass piece at a local market and felt something click. “I just thought – I want to learn how to do that.” But classes were hard to find until she discovered a woman named Rachel who ran Saturday workshops.

“You’d draw a design, cut the glass, grind it, solder it together… and I absolutely loved it.”

She finished the course, bought herself a cutter, a grinder, and a pile of glass, and began experimenting at her kitchen table. “I didn’t stop experimenting and researching designs and glass artists. I just fell totally in love with it,” she says,

Then someone asked her to teach them. Then another, and another.  “I got so many requests that I decided to start running beginner workshops.” Emma says she rents a studio space in Gosport on adhoc days to host the workshops.

“I thought it would be a little side thing at first,” she says. “But it has exploded. This year has been so busy, there is a real appetite for it,” she says.

Emma’s workshops are now booked until August. Not only that, but she has also been approached from a company about doing a collaborative project in Covent Garden market.

“It’s so exiting how fast it is all moving,” she says.

The workshops are deliberately small, intimate, and hands‑on. She pre‑cuts and grinds the glass for beginners so they can focus on designing, foiling and soldering. “But from September, because of the success, I have decided to go part-time at work and run not only beginner workshops but also more in‑depth workshops where people can cut their own glass too.”

Emma says she’s already seeing students come full circle.

“People who did my beginners’ class are now ordering kits, asking me what tools to buy. I’ve lent equipment out. The love of glass is contagious – we’re building a little community,” she laughs.

Why does she think it’s become so popular?

“You can create something beautiful quite quickly,” she says. “It’s hands‑on, it’s fun, you’re using equipment you’ve never used before. And I’ve never seen anyone finish a piece and not be wowed by what they made, so it gives you real satisfaction.”

Her workshops have become a go‑to for friendship groups, birthday gifts, Valentine’s date nights, and people wanting to give “experiences rather than things,” she says.

“People want to spend time together and make something meaningful. It’s lovely to see.”

Emma’s long‑term dream is clear: “I’d love my own dedicated studio. A space that’s truly mine, where I don’t have to pack everything away at the end,” she says,

She’s also passionate about traditional stained‑glass windows and doors. “I spent time in a leaded‑window workshop in London last summer, and they taught me how to do it. That would be the dream – making those full‑scale pieces.”

 

 

And then there are her “side quests”.

She laughs. “I always have a side quest on the go. At the moment I am helping various people create masterpieces in their homes, and it’s really fun and liberating.”

Her daughter Abigail, now 22, helps with social media. “She pushes me to put myself out there,” Emma says. “I wouldn’t have half the bookings without her. For example, she encouraged me to collaborate with social media creator, Portsmouth Finds, who attended a workshop with her friends, they posted it,  and suddenly my inbox exploded with bookings.”

When she’s not teaching or creating, Emma is walking her dog along the coast, exploring the New Forest, reading, or – unsurprisingly, making more glass.

“It’s become such a big part of my life,” she says. “I love the calm of it, the creativity, the community. I never expected any of this, but I’m so grateful it found me.”

And as the sunlight catches the edges of a newly soldered sun‑catcher, scattering colour across the studio, it’s easy to see why people keep coming back.

Emma doesn’t just teach glass. She teaches people how to slow down, make something beautiful, and see the world – quite literally – through a different lens.