Last May, I was finally able to make a long-anticipated return trip to Scotland and England, accompanied by husband Michael and our friend Janis Cadwallader (San Diego PCA). After we landed, we headed straight for Crieff, Scotland and the Peter McDougall Glass Studio Ltd. Prior to our trip, I had emailed the McDougalls and Catherine McDougall had replied that they would love to see us. She also told us – and this was totally unexpected – that Peter said we could each make a paperweight at the studio! Knowing this, I brought along some Perthshire canes that had been rattling around in my “canebox” for a number of years. Peter was pretty sure they’d be compatible with his current glass.
We settled in to our excellent Bed and Breakfast and in the morning – after a hearty Scottish cooked breakfast – we left for the studio. Of course, Janis could barely finish her morning repast as she’s a keen bird watcher (“twitcher” in UK birding terms) and was out and about with her binoculars to get in a session before our visit to the MacDougall studio.
Catherine and Peter got Janis and me settled in at worktables and gave us a selection of tweezers and metal rings. Then they gave us the really tough challenge – for our paperweights, we could use any canes we wanted out of what seemed like a 1000 containers filled with hundreds of slices of Peter’s canes. Janis and I were like kids in a candy store; the variety of canes was amazing and intoxicatingly delicious. It was very difficult to settle on a color palette and design. I had brought a two inch piece of Perthshire honeycomb cane and Peter cut it for me. I decided to make a concentric design with the square honeycomb canes alternating with round canes from Peter’s inventory. I also chose to add some very complex stardust canes. Janis decided on a close pack design with both simple and complex canes.
My husband Michael took photos of us scrunched over the worktables, tweezers in hand, squinting, and carefully arranging our designs inside the metal ring plates. If you’ve never done this before, let me tell you, it’s difficult enough deciding on the canes you want to use, then finding a variety of sizes, and then laboriously arranging them so that they fit “just right” in the ring. Catherine and Peter both checked on us periodically whilst they went about their own daily routine. Catherine was doing set-ups for a special order and Peter was busy making those and other weights. Since it was a glorious day, we took frequent breaks to chat, admire finished paperweights and gaze at the hills around Crieff.
When Janis and I were satisfied with our set-ups, Peter came over and gave us advice on what we needed to change to ensure a successful paperweight. He also helped us decide on the color ground that would best enhance our designs. Then he took our set-ups and set them on the warming plate. When they were ready, he did the pickup with our chosen ground colors and set about making the weights. He’d offered to let us make them ourselves and he’d walk us through – step by step. But knowing how impossibly lopsided my previous attempts at weight-making had been at Wheaton Arts, I decided instead to take photos and admire Peter’s craftsmanship while he did the work. Janis and I got to take a last look at our paperweights before Peter added his signature cane and put them in the annealing oven for their controlled cool down.
That evening, we all went out to dinner at a wonderful country inn called The Royal Hotel in nearby Comrie. The next morning we excitedly headed over to the studio and were thrilled to discover that they both survived the annealing process! While we waited for their bases to be polished, we did a little shopping. We had our pick of the stockroom so of course we made a few purchases of Peter's fine and beautiful paperweights.
We were thrilled with our paperweight-making adventure and delighted at how handsome our souvenir weights are. You can judge the results of our collaborative efforts for yourself in this photograph of our paperweights together with their creators: Janis and me and Peter, our mentor and guide.
Janis and I are particularly grateful to Peter and Catherine. They made possible an experience we will never forget – and provided each of us with paperweights that are both mementos and treasured additions to our paperweight collections.
*Author’s note: “PWHNTR” means “Paperweight Hunter” and is the vanity license plate name I chose when I moved to New Hampshire. Coming from San Francisco, I didn’t realize how many people in New Hampshire would stop and ask me “What does your husband hunt?” Of course I answer that I’m the hunter and I’m looking for glass paperweights… and am greeted by blank stares!