September 24, 2013
(a.k.a. A bit o’
Irish…single malt)
We plugged in the directions from the B&B to the
Waterford factory on Molly and off we went to the tour. We found the factory
easily enough, parking was a bit more challenging, and we circled around a
couple times before we happened on a paid parking lot and settled on that for
our parking. We made sure to put in enough time so that we could enjoy
ourselves on our time remaining in Waterford. As we wandered over to the
factory, we saw the parking lot sat right on the riverfront and so we took
several pictures of the river, correction, mom took lots of pictures of the
river. We also caught a couple of swans floating on the water. They looked so
regal and beautiful moving effortlessly over the water. It was lovely to see.
We kept going though as we needed to pick up some tickets for a tour of the
factory. We crossed to the front of the Waterford building and it…was…amazing.
Shimmering beauty of crystal could be seen in their showroom. Mom stopped to
get pictures, eager to see more I kept moving. Inside it was all I could do to
stay still and to stand in line to get our tickets for the tour. By the time I
made it to the counter, mom had made it inside and was with me to purchase her
ticket. It would be forty-five minutes before we would be able to start on the
tour but that was fine with me. I could take the time to drool over the
showroom and decide what I would buy after. I knew that no matter what I’d be buying
something here. This was something I’d always wanted to do and I was so excited
to finally be doing it. I wandered the showroom. Came across a massive
grandfather clock that was made entirely of Waterford crystal. I could only
imagine just how heavy this thing would be. We saw another piece, a large
crystal bear that was priced at 30,000 Euro (about $31,765 American).
It was awesome to see these massive pieces. They had an
entire dining table set up. The tables and chairs were of clear material, not
crystal but I think it was a resin, it was definitely too nice to be plastic.
The settings on the table were all of Waterford crystal and shining silver
flatware. The center of the display boasted a tall flower vase with white and
yellow flowers spilling over the top. I loved this view and was in my own
little moment of bliss. I hate to admit it, but after looking over the displays
and fawning over the pieces of intricate crystal I became restless, I was ready
to start the tour. Finally the announcement came on calling those with tickets
to gather at the starting point for the tour. Mom and I met up over in the area
as she’d gone back outside for more pictures of the front of the building. Our
tour guide came up and had all the personality of a brick. He talked flatly and
mumbled through the descriptions of the history of Waterford crystal before
starting a video to mark the beginning of our tour. After the video we moved on
into the backside of the factory and began the tour. We were shown the process
from mold making to melting and forming. We watched as the glassmakers worked
the crystal on the pipes and heated the crystal in the gloryholes of the
furnace making vase after vase with the same pattern. There were two main
glassblowers making the vases and two assistance working with each glassblower.
By this time, other than picking up a little piece of information here and
there from the tour guide, I’d more or less tuned him out. He was pretty dry.
As we continued on the tour we came across the marking area where a man was
using a guide and a sharpie marker to mark the pattern on whiskey tumblers for
the crystal cutters to follow. As he marked the glasses without thought, he
began to banter with the tour guide. The guide picked up the tumbler and
explained what they were saying the glasses were perfect for a “bit of Scotch,”
“Or a bit of Irish” countered the other man. Then the guide began to almost wax
poetic about the liquor that could go into the glasses. This was the most
emotional I saw him get the entire tour. Saying over and over “singles malt, a
bit of Irish, single malt” His eyes gazed off in the distance as if recalling a
treasured memory. Eventually, he shook off the nostalgia and returned to the
tour, deadened voice returning. We passed through the area of the glass cutters
and saw some finished specialty pieces that were largely made off-site in a
specialty area focused on custom orders. What we were seeing were the mass
production items sold around the world and in their gift shop. The guide passed
around a small finished but unpolished wine glass. It was interesting to see a
glass that had the cuts and beauty but was dull still as they hadn’t made it
shine yet. That was to be the last step. Mom and I looked over the pieces of
specialty, we saw a Cinderella style carriage pulled by horses, a large
football that would be an award for players of the NFL. I hovered over a model
of the People’s choice award and suddenly the tour guide was next to us and
picked it up and handed it to me and mom in spite of the “DO NOT TOUCH” signs
that were everywhere around the pieces. He took mom’s camera and got a picture
of the two of us holding the award. That was such a moment to me. After, very
delicately, putting the award back down, taking extreme care not to break it we
moved along with the group. I was still flying from holding that massively
heavy piece of crystal when we saw the alst item of the tour. It was a replica
in crystal from 9/11. The pieces of the trade center that many remember seeing
stick up from the wreckage flanked an image carved into a solid piece of
crystal. The image was of the firefighters carrying the priest who had died in
the tragedy of 9/11. Many of us who passed this piece paused, I felt like
crying at the beauty and sadness of this piece. As an American, I felt honored
that the Waterford factory would recognize this tragedy with such a beautiful
and delicate piece of crystal. Sobered and still a little emotional we moved
through the door and back into the showroom.
