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Meet The Team - Master Craftsman David Boyce

Over the many years that David has worked for Waterford, he has trained in various crafts – becoming a Master Cutter, Master Engraver and working in the sandblasting department too!

At the age of 16, David started at Waterford as an apprentice cutter in March of 1986. He was following in the footsteps of his father Pat whom worked as a wedge cutter and was keen to see David continue the family craft. Pat retired in 2019 after 55 years of working with Waterford Crystal – you can read all about his career here:

https://www.waterfordvisitorcentre.com/blog/meet-our-master-craftsmen-series-4

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David trained under the great Heinz Plattner alongside 6 other apprentices – better known as ‘The Magnificent 7’! They were stationed at the training school in Butlerstown where they trained for 3 years before moving over to 3-man cutting benches in the Kilbarry factory. Their bench Master was Master Craftsman Josie O’Mahony. The Master Craftsman would do the rough cut for each piece, and then the apprentice would take the piece and smooth out these rough cuts.

An opportunity arose in the engraving department in 1992 and David was interested in pursuing a new craft and doing something different. He put together a portfolio, attended an aptitude test and was successful in his application! At this time, the engraving apprentices had to attend Art College as part of their studies in the evenings. David spent 10 years training and working in the engraving department. He then joined the sandblasting department where he stayed until 2009.

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As Master Craftsmen, David alongside his dad Pat, travelled as a father & son team with Waterford’s Artisan Programme multiple times a year. They had the opportunity to visit various locations around the world where they would demonstrate the art of crystal cutting and engraving, meet customers, sign Waterford pieces and attend some of the largest world sporting events to sign the champions names. These included the Players Golf Championship in the USA, and the ATP Tennis Tournament in Australia.

Nowadays David is a Master Craftsman in the cutting department - he loves the challenge of cutting new designs. Out of everything that he has worked on during his extensive career with the Waterford brand, David’s favourite piece would be the Players Championship Trophy which featured a large hand-engraved golf scene. He has also met many famous faces over the years – do you recognize them?

In his spare time, David collects and restores Italian scooters – he has a collection of 13 scooters (Vespas & Lambrettas) which are his most prized possessions! David grew up listening to artists from the 80’s Mod scene, including the likes of Paul Weller and The Jam. This is when his love for scooters began. Restoring the scooters is very time consuming and takes a lot of patience, but David say nothing beats the satisfaction when he finally gets a new one finished!

David is a man of many talents and we are so glad to have him as part of the team here at House of Waterford!

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