jo downs

Crafts, Business & Enterprise, Community and Voluntary Action

Suggested by Tanya Jeskins

Tanya writes,
“After setting up her glass design business single handedly and overcoming obstacles along the way to get to where she is now, Jo has created an amazing company using her talent and people skills to build the team around her.
She uses her name and business to raise money for charity - each year choosing a charity to focus on.
She runs marathons as well as encouraging her team to push themselves in their fundraising endeavours too. Once a year the team swim from Padstow to Rock to raise funds for local charities. She is talented, modest, humble and has a giant heart.

Jo became a friend initially through her involvement in our local youth football club, then through a mutual love of dogs. She is kind, supportive and inspiring and manages to bring out the best in people.
Jo champions peoples ideas and has a fresh and wonderful take on how her business shapes her world and that of those around her. Jo lives and works in Cornwall and her glass designs are inspired by the coastal landscape around her.”

Jo Downs Glass was established in Stuttgart in 2001 and relocated the same year to Launceston where Jo expanded her team and developed her studio to undertake large architectural and interior projects. This unique facility and her innovative designs enabled her to establish business relationships and take on significant commissions for cruise liners, churches, hotels and corporate headquarters. Rebranding as Jo Downs Handmade Glass in 2013, her popular range of handmade giftware and statement interior pieces such as wall panels and art frames can be seen in her six dedicated galleries in Cornwall located in St Ives, Launceston, Fowey, Padstow, Tintagel and Truro as well as one in Sunningdale, Ascot.

jodowns.com