In the mid to late sixties Karlin studied Glass and ceramics at Stourbridge College of Art and Design. When the small furnaces were introduced from America in the late sixties, Karlin was one of the first glass makers to set up their own studio in the early seventies. Karlin Rushbrooke Glass was born in 1973 and he never looked back.

Relocating to Herefordshire in 1974 he became an established figure in the British Glass world and was made Chairman of British artists in glass in 1979. The same year he began teaching glass at Bristol Polytechnic (1979-1982) At the same time he helped his wife Greta set up a Waldorf Kindergarten, which is now a thriving Steiner Academy with over 300 children.  He says of his work, “I have been a glass blower for the last forty odd years. Strong simple shapes with presence is my goal."

 His glass is exhibited in some of the country’s finest collections, including British Craft Council, Victoria and Albert,  Dudley Glass Museum and the Dan Klein & Alan J Poole Private Collection which is now housed at the National Museums Scotland, in Edinburgh. More recently Karlin has also created sculptures in steel - occassionally combining it with glass.