NEWS thewestmorlandgazette.co.ukTHURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2016 8

BEHIND THE NEWS: SOUTH CUMBRIAN GLASS-MAKING BUSINESS

Everything must be made to very highest standard

THIS week marks the 40th anniversary of the formation of Cumbria Crystal, which was set up by Lord and Lady Cavendish in Ulverston in October 1976.

For four decades Cumbria Crystal has been producing bespoke lead-crystal to meticulous standards for the rich, famous and royals all over the world.

Two furnaces running at 1,400 degrees celsius 24 hours a day, a range of diamond cutting machinery, and craftsmen who spend years in training all contribute to finest glassware being produced. Little has changed over 40 years.

The ethos at Cumbria Crystal is clear. Only the very best is acceptable. On a daily basis dozens of products are deemed not good enough to be sold to its clientele and are either reworked, recycled, or sold at a huge discount in the Canal Head factory shop.

Managing director Chris Blade has been present for just 18 months of the illustrious 40-year history of Cumbria Crystal, and this modus operandi was engrained long before he arrived.

“Everything has to be to the highest standard that can possibly be achieved through the hand-made processes we use,” he said. “Our quality is the same as some of the leading brands in the world.

“I always use an analogy about our glassmakers – everyone can play a piano given a short lesson but if you are going to play at a concert hall, say the Sydney

Opera House, it’s not enough just to be good. You have to be world class. It is not enough to be a good glass maker here. You have to be world class.

“Here I would say everyone is highly skilled and I would say some people have a level of skill that is almost unprecedented. A lot of staff are crucial to the business and if we were to lose any of them our whole business would falter.

“Only around half of what we make in a day will go out of the door to our customers as

premium quality crystal. While we strive to achieve perfection, that is actually not possible.”

Glass making of this nature has all but disappeared from the United Kingdom. Cumbria Crystal is the last of its kind in this country. But despite the decline of the industry, Mr Blade believes there will always be a market for handmade crystal.

“People still want the exclusivity and the luxury,” he said. “Most of our customers are not the local visitors who

Cumbria Crystal products on the Downton Abbey set

Cumbria Crystal managing director Chris Blade. PICTURES: Mark Harrison

Ulverston-based glassmakers Cumbria Crystal is celebrating its 40th birthday. The firm makes the highest quality products and are the last manufacturer of its kind in the country. Jack Brooke-Battersby met managing director Chris Blade to find out all about the company

Above, Cumbria Crystal’s master blower Dave Sharp, right, glass blower Andrew Round and below right, glass cutter Robert Thompson

Superb crystal of highest standard made using techniques that stand test of timeCUMBRIA Crystal is the last producer of completely hand-blown and hand-cut, full-lead English crystal in the United Kingdom.

Using only traditional glass-making processes, the small team of 20 highly skilled artisans are committed to making superb crystal of the highest quality, using techniques and processes that have hardly changed since the Roman era.

Visitors are welcome to watch the choreographed alchemy of glass blowing, browse the factory shop and on occasion even try making glass themselves.

Unlike the majority of crystal manufacturers, Cumbria Crystal specialises in working with lead crystal. The benefits of lead crystal – the increased refractive index which

product. It is melted, blown, processed, marked, diamond cut, polished, inspected at least five times and passed through 12 pairs of skilled hands during the creative process. Nothing is sub-contracted or produced anywhere else.

The company was initially established by Lord and Lady Cavendish to preserve traditional British crafts, after a dinner party in 1976 during which the conversation revolved round the subject of the decline of the country’s glass-making heritage.

Lady Cavendish also designed the Grasmere Collection which remains the most iconic of the collections to this day. A close relationship with the Cavendish family and the Holker Estate continues to this day.

Over the past few years the Lyre, Six, Regency and Sabre Collections were developed by Katy Holford which brought customers subtle, yet contemporary, choice.

In September 2016 three much more contemporary collections were launched to attract customers who might not traditionally buy cut crystal, but demand exceptional craftsmanship and design.

Peter Ting, whose name is synonymous with luxury goods, developed the Boogie Woogie collection and Dr Jessamy Kelly, a lecturer in glass at Edinburgh University and designer for Edinburgh Crystal for five years, masterminded the Loop and Palm lines.

As well as the supply and manufacture of the core bar and stemware collections, of which there are currently 10,

Cumbria Crystal has worked closely on the development and manufacture of bespoke products for luxury retailers, distillers and individuals including David Linley, Asprey, Bentley, Spey Distillers, Goviers, Christopher Jenner, Lee Broom, Glyndebourne & Hamilton & Inches.

The flexible nature of the hand-making processes and the versatility of the workforce enable the company to undertake high-quality bespoke production for private individuals.

In March 2015 Chris Blade was appointed managing director. Under his direction the company has developed new products, initiatives and strategic alliances to help secure the heritage of luxury English glass making over the coming years.

promotes ‘brilliant’ sparkle in the cut and a ‘reassuring’ weight in the hand – outweighs the additional complexities associated with the manufacture and

ensures a superior product brimming with character and uniqueness.

Cumbria Crystal epitomises the best of British glass manufacturing. Its glass-making heritage and use of traditional techniques mean that every aspect of the creative process is done by hand in the factory. All the crystal is completely mouth blown by the glass blowers and hand cut on diamond wheels.

The cutting process demands intense concentration and skill. A typical Grasmere wine goblet can easily take 45-60 minutes to cut with the slightest loss of concentration resulting in the abandonment or downgrading of the piece.

Raw materials arrive in the factory as a prepared sand and leave as a finished

CELEBRATES ITS 40TH BIRTHDAY

come into the factory shop. They’re the people who have super yachts, the royal families around the world. They are the people who want the best and thank God for those people because they keep so many industries and arts alive around the world.

“It’s the raw elements of the land and melting them into something. It does not get more raw than that and it touches something at a really human level.

“I think the future (of crystal glass in the UK) is us. I think we will see changes to the market. There is a trend that crystal is becoming more popular again as people are once again appreciating the finer things in life.

“People are investing in luxury.”

Cumbria Crystal has benefitted massively in recent years thanks to popular culture. Its Grasmere collection has featured in Downton Abbey, James Bond can be seen drinking from a Cumbria Crystal glass in Casino Royale, and its produce has also featured heavily in BBC’s Poldark.

The origins of this success remains unknown to Mr Blade, but he accepts it has opened up a completely

different market to him.

“I don’t know the story of how we got on Downton Abbey but our crystal is used quite a lot on period dramas simply because of what it represents,” he said. “On the back of that people have heard of us who would ordinarily never have come across us. Your average person has probably not heard of us. The media is really powerful and it allows us to attract certain customers which 10 years ago would never have happened.

“I rather like James Bond drinking from my glass.

“My favourite moment is between that and the Grasmere collection in Downton Abbey, but we’ve

appeared in dozens of films.” Visitors to the workshop are able to browse produce and free tours are available during the week to see the highly-skilled craftsmen in action.

NEWSTHURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2016 9thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk

Shop manager Beth Graham-Kevan