It started with a summer holiday job and a simple star etched into the bottom of a tumbler.
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It has become a vocation that has taken Fred Curtis around the world to present his works to the likes of Mother Teresa, US presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, actor-director Clint Eastwood and golfer Greg Norman.
The master sculptor and designer drew a small but passionate crowd of Waterford Crystal enthusiasts to a glass-cutting demonstration at the Canberra Centre's David Jones on Thursday.
As he crafted a one-off bowl designed by an audience member, he recounted the unlikely start to his career as a 15-year-old in the south of Ireland.
Born and raised in Wexford, Curtis was visiting Waterford, about an hour from his home, with his sister in 1971. On his sister's suggestion, Curtis approached someone from a factory that was advertising work.
Slightly confused, the man invited the boy from Wexford to "do it" that very day. Curtis, who had never heard of Waterford Crystal, did an official apprenticeship test; cutting a small star into the bottom of a tumbler.
His work was good enough to earn an apprenticeship, leaving Curtis two weeks to decide between returning to college after summer, or joining one of Ireland's most celebrated firms.
Despite being told it was difficult work, Curtis found he had a "knack" for glass cutting. On top of his technical talent, his penchant for individualism was also evident.
Curtis enjoyed using discarded crystal to sculpt gifts for his girlfriends and his mother, much to the chagrin of his foreman.
"It was quite a little mini-industry I had going," he said.
Inevitably, after catching Curtis overlooking his work one too many times, the foreman fired him.
After two weeks of unemployment, luck smiled on Curtis once more. Having stumbled on some of the experimental work, Miroslav Havel – a Czech immigrant who had become chief designer of Waterford Crystal – invited Curtis to establish a sculpting department for the company in 1986.
Havel provided Curtis with a "shoebox with a machine in it", and allowed the then 23-year-old free rein to design and make what he liked; a leap of faith which helped shift the company's focus from bowls and basins to unique solid pieces like trophies and peace prize awards.
Curtis has never looked back, becoming the company's master sculptor and designer; a position that allows him freedom of expression.
Curtis will visit stores around Australia until September 25.