Artisan Spotlight, Part 1

Part of our mission at the Celtic Ranch is to provide you with some of the finest quality, artisan products and our beloved Commander in Chief Terry Kast travels the world sourcing these handmade treasures. We try to convey the level of detail that goes into these artisan products when we see you in our store, but if you are shopping online, you may not get the whole story, so we thought we'd shine a spotlight on a few of our favorite artisan products. Horsehair Pottery by Ian Carty Ceramics  [caption id="attachment_963" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Horsehair Pottery by Ian Carty Ceramics[/caption] Horsehair pottery is fired using a special technique that creates fine lines by burning the hair from the mane of the horse and thick lines from the hair of the tail. The horse hair is applied by hand. As the hair is consumed by the fire, it twists and twines. Each piece becomes and original never to be duplicated again. After it is fired, a layer of natural beeswax is applied to seal the surface, then polished by hand. As with all works of fine art, horsehair pieces should be handled with care. Due to its porous nature, these pieces should be protected from direct sunlight and used only as accent pieces or with dry arrangements. For the Celtic Ranch, Ian Carty used mane hair from Half-pint McGee, the miniature horse who graced the forest at the Celtic Ranch on weekends for years. Angels' Share Glass     Tom Young and his daughter Karen produce beautiful glassware, creating the very best in innovative and creative concepts.   Tom Young has been glassblowing since he was a teenager. Tom worked throughout industrial and chemical glass laboratories until his creative side took over and he made designs in glass using a bench flame torch.  His commissions include glass pieces for high-profile figures and companies all over the world. Tom made the glass element of the Johnnie Walker Golf trophy and almost every spirit safe bowl in every Scottish distillery. Now, almost 60 years on, and a master glassblower & Craftsman,  he still creates wonderful designs & glassware in the heart of central Scotland for a worldwide market. Have you ever poured your glass of Scotch and wished you to add just the right amount of water to open up your dram? This hand crafted glass whisky diluting dropper made by Angels' Share Glass Company releases one drop of water at a time and is a unique gift for whiskey drinkers and Scotch drinkers around the world. This glass pipette is approximately 200mm in length and is presented in a luxurious velvet lined box.   Have you ever wandered around a whisky festival or attended a tasting and wished you had one of our Whisky Water Droppers with you to add a couple of splashes to open up your dram? Well, now you can do just that with our Pocket Dropper. This shorter, portable, but just as accurate, pot still dropper comes complete with a leather case, created by Mairead Hume of Angels' Share Glass company of Scotland.