John Coughlan – Master Wedge Cutter
John resides with his wife Mary in Tramore, which is a picturesque seaside village, seven miles from Waterford City. Tramore means “long beach” in the native Irish language. He was fifteen years young when he began his apprenticeship with Waterford Crystal. After serving a five-year apprenticeship and having excelled in his qualifying test pieces he became a qualified Master Cutter. To achieve this high level of craftsmanship, the Master Cutter must have the confidence and ability to plan and execute with precision and finesse the complete range of cut types that are used in intricate crystal designs.
John’s favorite part of working with crystal is taking inspiration from nature and seeing it come to fruition in the execution of a design. Most notably, he designed an exclusive line of crystal based on a palm tree motif for the Island of St. Thomas. This design proved to be one of the most popular and sought after lines in the Caribbean! He also has a keen interest in historical Irish crystal and many of his designs incorporate this aspect of his expertise.
John has traveled extensively, as a crystal promoter, throughout the US, Canada, Caribbean, UK, Europe and Ireland. He is delighted to be part of the Cashs experience; particularly as it is retaining the unique craft and style of Irish hand-cut crystal, which he believes is very important in today’s consumer choices.
