A couple of months ago I came across a new hand cut Irish Crystal company J. Hill’s Standard . I had to look into what this brand was about and where it came from. For me Waterford Crystal is and was connected with big life occasions and rites of passage, beautiful candle sticks brought out at christenings, refined ‘Coleen’ claret glasses dusted off for Christmas and ‘Lismore’ whiskey tumblers emerging at the end of a convivial evening.

As with everything in life things change and the world moves on, the Waterford Crystal company was sold and production moved elsewhere. I was not the only person to wonder what would happen to those who had spent their lives learning and sharing the incredible craft of glass making.

What has emerged in Waterford is a fabulous new contemporary crystal company, founded by Anike Tyrrell, using the traditional skills of glass making, so richly connected with the area, in a fresh and exciting way. I personally cannot wait for an occasion where I can make J Hill Standard’s beautiful crystal part of a new life ritual in the near future…