Balnakeil Glass

Balnakeil Glass is the workshop of Lesley Smith, who makes stained glass panels, fused glass and glass beads at Balnakeil Craft Village, a cluster of studios in former Cold War military buildings a mile west of Durness. Smith, a former diver, draws on the coastline's light and undersea landscape for her designs, working her handmade beads and semi-precious stones into jewellery. The craft village was established in the 1960s after the local authority let the disused early-warning station buildings to craftspeople, and now houses around ten workshops covering pottery, woodwork, screen printing, leatherwork and other crafts. Balnakeil Glass keeps seasonal hours in line with most of the village's studios, opening through spring and summer. Visitors can watch Smith working and buy pieces directly from the studio. The business is independently run from this single site, with no other outlets or branches.