Ever since I started blowing glass I wanted to make goblets. My earliest efforts could have been used in an Agatha Christie novel as murder weapons, as they were very heavy and club like. My colleagues at school were not charitable either. My ‘cups’ were once called 'post nuclear ware' as it was felt that they would be capable of surviving a nuclear blast.

In 1991 there was a competition for the formal place settings for the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia called "Table of Honour". My partner Joanne had been nagging me to make something for the competition. I argued that we had to finish our commitment to the Coast Paper project before we could indulge in making other stuff. So at 3 am Friday morning, the last day of the competition, which closed at noon, we finished and packed the last vase for Coast Paper. Joanne asked if we could make the goblets now. I said "Sure". We made a total of four pairs (each consisting of a red and white wine glass,) so that we could submit two pairs each, that being the limit per artisan. So, with them still warm we ran down just before noon to submit them to the organizers of the competition.

Weeks later, Merla Beckerman, who was running the show, called and told me I had won. "Won what?" I asked. I could not believe it. I still don’t. But because collaborations were not recognized I received all of the credit. I want to say for the record that Joanne Andrighetti deserved full and equal credit for those goblets.

Next time you are at Government House for dinner you might want to mention that.

In 1997 I was asked by the Federal Government to expand the set and include water glasses for the APEC conference that was held in Vancouver. I am so proud that some of the greatest leaders and dictators in the world were drinking out of my goblets at UBC, while students were being pepper sprayed outside.

Hot Lips Goblets: I actually designed these as a present for my niece Alexandra. I wanted to make something special for her for her birthday one year. So as I thought about her I was thinking of her face. She has a beautiful and exotic face with large fat lips (I think she’s going to hit me if she reads this, but she does.) And this goblet just snapped into my mind. The first one I did was the clear one then I started working with all the colours.

Venetian Dragon Stem Goblets: these are pretty fancy, although a classic design from the sixteenth century, they are still made by a few people today. I was able to watch a master glassblower, Bill Gudenrath, as he worked at the Corning Museum of Glass last year. He made 6 in a row. By about the 4^th one I felt pretty confident that I could do it too. I made these as soon as I got home, about five hit the floor before I got one that I could put away.

In Venice these were one of the pieces that would mark you as a master if you could make it.

Air Twist Stems While Dragon stems were pretty cool in Venice, my father-in-law, Jim, told me that he had seen goblets with air twists in the stems being made in Europe. He thought these were amazing. "So, Sonny Boy," he asked, "can you make them?"

"Sure" I replied, although I had never done so, nor had I even seen it done. All I did have was a book, Glass, 5000 Years edited by Hugh Tait, at the back of which is a series of photographs showing Bill Gudenrath duplicating ancient techniques. One of them being the making of air twist stems. So with book in hand I was able to eventually make some and impress my "Dad".