Nanouck studied for eight years — interior design, furniture, art academy, she tried it all. And yet for a long time she did not know exactly what she wanted. Until she stumbled upon stained glass by chance. “I fell in love instantly. The colours, the shapes and the possibilities!” Under the name Glas Studio Nouck, she now makes everything related to stained glass: from small suncatchers and wall objects to commissioned work. With her hands, her heart and a technique that is centuries old.
From interior design to craft
It started with a friend who wanted a stained glass window in his home. Nanouck helped out and was immediately hooked. But it took another two years before everything truly clicked. “I realised that in this way I am still working with interiors — and that a stained glass object can genuinely turn a house into a home and give it character. In my personal work I can also translate my thoughts into objects. And from that moment I knew for certain: this is not just my passion, this is who I am.”
The material as starting point
The best part of her work? The material itself. “Seeing what is possible, finding where the limits are and preferably pushing just a little beyond them.” Nanouck works entirely by hand, without using AI or digital drawing programmes. Over the past year, she has increasingly received designs from clients that were made by AI. “I find it extremely difficult. I do everything by hand myself and do not use AI. What a programme draws can never be executed one-to-one. Craft is about passion and love for the material, understanding it and working with it. Those are things a computer will never learn.” She explains this honestly to clients, and they understand. “But six years ago I never would have imagined having to have this conversation.”
Calm in a fast-moving world
Stained glass is more than decoration. It is a way to transform a space — to bring calm back into a world that keeps moving faster. “Through form and colour you can really put the finishing touches on an interior.” Nanouck is proud that the craft endures, despite everything. “That with my work I can bring calm into the fast lane of life and show that when you make something with your heart, you can create truly unique objects.”
There are challenges too, of course. Material costs have quadrupled in six years. And clients sometimes arrive with dreams that are not directly achievable in stained glass. But that too is a part of the craft that Nanouck values. “My challenge is then to create a design in which their wish and my knowledge together form a beautiful new design.”
Working bigger, sharing knowledge
The future of Glas Studio Nouck? Larger works that tell a story and enrich a space. And continuing to share knowledge through the workshops Nanouck offers. “Because stained glass is a craft that must be passed on.”
Being part of Locally Made fits with that. “Together with artists from different disciplines, we show that it is truly possible to make products locally and sustainably. It is about making conscious choices that demonstrate you do not have to compromise on form and quality.”
Want to know more about Glas Studio Nouck? Visit the website. “I wish everyone the joy of colour and light in their home!”
