Gerry and Margaret Dolan visiting from Belleek.

This quarters meeting was held at O’Keefes Irish Pub and Restaurant in Tavares.

President’s corner

Our October meeting was very special this year thanks to visitors from Belleek. Gerry and Maggie Dolan were visiting Florida and attended the meeting as guests of the Chapter. As most of you know. Vickie and Bob Pearce have a second home in Ireland, and they have made many friends there including the Dolans. So it is natural that the Dolans and their children would be guests of the Pearces when they came to the United States.

Gerry and Maggie worked for many years at the Belleek Pottery. Maggie was a painter and Gerry specialized in making flowers. Bob had asked if Gerry and Maggie would attend the meeting and make a presentation of their work. They not only obliged, but Gerry brought samples of his work, some clay that he somehow managed to get through security, and his personal tools to give a us a first-rate demonstration of the art of making porcelain flowers. It’s amazing what can be accomplished with skill and patience.

The day of the meeting was ideal for our purposes. It was a slow day at O’Keefe’s, and we pretty much had the restaurant to ourselves. We owe a vote of thanks to Marcia for setting things up. As usual, the fare was outstanding.

We had a brief meeting before lunch, since this was officially our Annual Meeting as required in the bylaws of the chapter. The main purpose of the Annual Meeting, besides reporting on the status of membership and the state of the treasury, is the election of officers. There were no nominations from the floor, so Vickie and I will continue in our roles as Secretary/Treasurer and President, respectively.

Following luncheon, Gerry talked about their work at the pottery (he and Maggie are now retired) and about process by which he became a flower-maker. It was particularly interesting to learn how unique is the work of each craftsman. Not only do they each make flowers differently, but they also have some discretion in the characteristics of the flowers they create. As a result, each craftsman can tell his or her own work because it is easily (to them) distinguishable from the work of others. Gerry then proceeded to make flowers that he gave as souvenirs to persons attending the meeting. He also brought some flowers that had been fired as souvenirs.

A sample of Gerry’s artistry.

For our January meeting, we will be traveling south to Delray Beach. Our hosts will be Kula and Harlan Wiss. That meeting is scheduled for January 6, 2007. We decided to postpone the auction until July when we will be meeting at Vickie and Bob’s home. There will be no meeting in April because ten of us will be at the Convention. Who knows? Perhaps we’ll find some special items to place in the auction. Have a great holiday season and make your plans to be with us in Delray.

Treasurer’s Report

As of the July meeting: $728.99

Dues received: $ 45.00

Postage $ -30.33

As of the October meeting $743.66

Show and Tell

This month we were delighted to have with us at O’Keefe’s Irish Pub and Restaurant a family from the village of Belleek, Gerry and Margaret Dolan and 3 of their 4 their children, Leann, Antoinette and Jemma. Also with them was Steve Dolan from Ballyshannon. (Same name, different family) The children, ages 16 through 21 stayed by the pool while their parents attended the Belleek collector’s meeting. Gerry and Margaret are both former artisans from the Belleek Pottery. Gerry, 32 years in the flowering shop and Margaret, 12 years in the paint shop. Gerry did some show and tell on how he made flowers that were added to various Belleek pieces and Margaret spoke on her experiences in the paint shop.

When shown various pieces of Belleek from our collections, they were able to pick out their own

work. We held Gerry hostage for several hours while he worked his magic. Those who were unable to attend the meeting missed out on a grand display of manual dexterity.

Maggie picks a winning door prize ticket from John’s basket.

Gerry and Harry Jones, two Irish men discuss old times.

Outstanding Students Receive Richard Kennedy Degenhardt Belleek Collectors` Scholarships

4th May 2006

Ceramic artists Naomi Fitzpatrick and Derek Wilson and Celtic scholar Sophia Geraghty are this years winners of the Richard Kennedy Degenhardt Belleek Collectors' Scholarships, awarded annually to outstanding students at the University of Ulster.

The trio received their Richard Kennedy Degenhardt Belleek Collectors' Scholarships at a special ceremony in Coleraine today. Presenting the awards was Mrs Linda Beard, Chair of the Degenhardt Scholarship Endowment Fund.

She said: "This is the fifth year that these Scholarships have been presented, and I am delighted to say the enthusiasm and positive commitment to the Scholarships from collectors all over the world has been overwhelming. Usually we award two Scholarships each year however due to the outstanding nature of this years applications we have decided to award three."

The £500 Scholarships are presented annually to outstanding students in the fields of ceramics and Celtic studies.

Mr Degenhardt was instrumental in establishing the Belleek Collectors' International Society and the annual Scholarships, founded in his memory, are funded by Belleek Collectors, international Belleek Chapters, the Belleek Pottery, the Belleek Collectors' International Society and friends and family of Mr Degenhardt.

Fine Arts student Naomi will put her £500 scholarship towards an intensive four-day tuition course in paperclay sculpture with an eminent British potter/sculptor, Ian Gregory, at his studio in Dorset.

Applied Arts Masters student Derek will use his scholarship to visit ceramics industries in Finland to spend time with leading makers in ceramics and learn more about large-scale production processes and the production of 'one-off' individual pieces.

Irish Language and Literature student Sophia Geraghty plans to use her award to produce a short Irish language film showing a man in the Gaeltacht area of Donegal, making a currach. She hopes to preserve the terminology and methodology of the dying art of currach making in this area through her work. The film will form part of her minor thesis.

For further information, please contact:

Press Office, Department of Public Affairs

Tel: 028 9036 6178

Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk

Belleek moves into crystal market

Traditionally, the name Belleek has been synonymous with china

Belleek Launches a New Crystal Line in Dublin

In four designs; Ice, Lines, Air and Waves, the new range of crystal from Belleek reflects the Company's confidence and strength in new markets.

Three years ago Belleek Pottery launched it’s contemporary 'Belleek Living' range of gift-ware. Since the launch of the Belleek Living brand in 2003 sales in the domestic market of Ireland, North and South, have grown by 50% with retail sales in the year 2005-2006 of over 8 million.

The Belleek Living range, which comprises of china gift-ware, casual dining and oven-to-tableware ranges now represent over 40% of Belleek's overall worldwide sales.

Now, spurred on by the huge success of the Living range, Belleek have moved into the crystal market with the Dublin launch of a crystal stemware range under its contemporary Belleek Living brand taking place this week.

Belleek Living Crystal will compete in the quality sector of the crystal market with a particular focus on the wedding gift market. The launch of the crystal, which is currently available here, represents an investment of over 2.25 million by the Belleek company.

The Living Crystal line offers four different designs - Ice, Lines, Air and Wave. The range is competitively priced and has already been well received by customers.

The decision to enter the crystal market has been taken following extensive market research into the potential for another crystal brand in Belleek's domestic and export giftware markets and for further expansion of the Belleek Living brand.

Commenting on the launch of Belleek Living Crystal, John Maguire, Group Managing Director, Belleek Pottery said that the company was very excited about the prospects for this new category of product and for the very significant growth it will bring to the overall Belleek Living brand.

"Belleek Living Crystal will enable us to further penetrate the very important wedding gift market which in Ireland and the UK is estimated to be worth over 450 million annually.

"Traditionally the name Belleek has been synonymous with china and while going forward the manufacture of china will remain to be our core business we see tremendous opportunities for further extending our Belleek Living brand with complimentary product ranges.

In developing the Belleek Living Crystal range, Belleek has drawn upon the expertise of its sister company Galway Irish Crystal and, for production purposes, the firm has established a strategic partnership with a quality crystal manufacturing company in the Czech Republic in Eastern Europe.

However, Belleek Living Crystal is designed by the company's own in-house designers in Belleek and will be marketed worldwide by the Fermanagh company itself.

"Today's customers want quality, value for money and an inherent style in the products they buy. This is particularly true in the wedding gift market," comments John Maguire.

"Four years ago Belleek's share of the wedding gift market was very low - today Belleek Living is one of the top brands on wedding gift lists in Northern Ireland. With the introduction of Belleek Living Crystal we aim to grow our business by over 3 million over the next two years. We are setting ourselves an ambitious target but with quality products and a strong, confident brand profile we are confident of succeeding."

More show and tell pictures.

Forming the stem.

Checking out Gerry’s flowers.