Kathleen Plate

has mesmerized audiences nationwide with her innovative recycled glass bottle creations. From chandeliers to glass curtains to runway fashion gowns, her custom pieces add beauty and sophistication to every setting.   As founder and sole designer of Smart Glass Art, Kathleen transforms the ordinary to the extraordinary creating functional and sophisticated works of art from everyday glass bottles.

Kathleen’s unique perspective on the adaptive reuse of common materials was shaped, in part, by her upbringing in a small Washington State fishing and logging community where she grew up in a solar powered home. Kathleen was raised to be conscious of her consumption and learned to maximize her limited resources, which ultimately sparked her creativity. She made reusable lunch bags out of scraps of fabric, launched a recycling initiative in her neighborhood, and never thought twice about creating new things from the materials at hand. While pursuing a Master’s degree in English from Georgia State University, Kathleen started experimenting with the processes of making jewelry from reclaimed glass bottles. Thus was born Smart Glass Jewelry. Kathleen then expanded into the world of lighting and design with her signature glass forms and exceptional studio techniques, giving a second life to discarded, post-consumer glass in striking and breathtaking ways. 

For the last two decades Kathleen has transformed museum spaces, hotels, restaurants, and private residences with her sustainable works of art.  She has been commissioned by the Guggenheim Museum, Aveda, Coca Cola, Hilton, Indigo Hotels and numerous private collectors. Kathleen’s unique designs and innovative studio techniques have been featured in national magazines and television programs including The Sundance Channel’s Big Idea’s for a Small Planet.