Are you happy?

If you work with stained glass, you can never be afraid of blood - you will always be cutting and nicking your hands - and you certainly can't care about having pretty fingernails. There are so many elements, so many crafts, colour combinations, an ability to handle lead and zinc.

You see how different colours appear depending on the time of day. There's the glorious morning sunshine, as well as the evening light that affects the glass. In Sweden, where I'm from, there is the midsummer light, and the feel in winter of having so little light. I know how important light is.

I started out as an academic in linguistic research and got sucked into industry. In my 40s, I was working my butt off for someone else's benefit. I called it a day, took a £40,000 drop in salary and embarked on a precarious self-employed venture in stained glass. I have struggled for the pennies, but my quality of life totally changed. You can't take these skills with you when you snuff it, so they must be passed on. My students feature highly on my happiness list. They come from all walks of life.

I don't have children, but I have two English sheepdogs, big hairy monsters that clown about and keep me company. The work has an element of solitude to it and I feel it's good not to be talked at all the time.

There is a hope with stained glass makers that this will outlast you. I hope I can be part of keeping the flickering candle alight.