Jacqui Holmes

Jacqui was born in East London, a city on the South East Coast of South Africa.

She moved around South Africa a number of times, as her father was transferrd with his job.

Most of her growing up was done in Johannesburg, where she completed high school and went on to start her studies for a BCom Law degree.

After her first year at university, she moved to Port Elizabeth, where she completed her studies and graduated in 1992. Jacqui went to work in accounts and administration for a number of firms from Corporates to smaller family owned businesses.

After her son was born in 2002, Jacqui began to investigate starting a business from home.

Her friend Gail taught her the basics of stained glass. As she loved being creative and experimented with different crafts, she was thrilled to learn the art of stained glass.

In January of 2011, together with Gail, Jacqui opened her stained glass studio, Classy Glass Art Studio on the same property as her home. She began teaching stained glass, making gifts, taking commissions and doing repairs.

Jacqui uses the byline "Everyone is gifted, but some people never open their package" by Wolfgang Reibe, as she really believes that everyone has the ability to be creative, they just need to believe that and step out and try something new.

In 2012, after student showed her a beginners stained glass book that had been published many years before, the seed was planted to write a book about stained glass which could be published in South Africa. She approached Metz Press in Cape Town who loved the idea and in 2013, Classy Glass Art was published in English & translated to Afrikaans.

In 2014, a publisher in Finland approached her publisher to publish an edition of the book in Finland. It was translated and launched in 2015.

The US edition was launched in 2018.

Jacqui has done a number of talks in her home town of Port Elizabeth about stained glass. She has also presented workshops at Hobby X, which is a massive arts and crafts show that takes place in Johannnesburg every year.

During 2012, Jacqui was nominated for a Regional Business Achiever Award, an annual competition run by the Businesswomens Association, which is a national organisation in South Africa. She was a finalist in the emerging entrepreneur category, which catapulted her stained glass studio into a new and larger market.

Jacqui is also the co-founder of a non profit organisation WithLuv Chemo Care Bags. These ladies put together bags of practical items for patients starting with Cancer treatment.

In 2018, Jacqui, together with a group of friends began triathlon training and will take part in sprint triathlons to raise awareness for WithLuv.

Jacqui lives in Port Elizabeth with her husband Andrew. They have a son, Dylan, who is 17. There is also a minagerie of rescue dogs & cats that are part of the family. There is never a dull moment and Jacqui loves to find humour in the siutations that life throws at her.