Hawkes Crystal celebrates Christmas, one ornament at a time

TIFFIN --- Hawkes Crystal is celebrating the 12 days of Christmas one ornament at a time. Heather Keohane, an employee of Hawkes Crystal, said the shop has been offering yearly limited edition ornaments for 40-50 years, and the 12 days of Christmas theme began "the year of Covid." In 2020, Keohane said, Hawkes' artist Aidan Scully created a Partridge in a Pear Tree ornament using the colors gold, blue and white. Those colors, she said, were a celebration of Tiffin's two schools, Columbian and Calvert, and their resiliency during the pandemic. After that, Keohane said, "he (Scully) just kind of decided" to continue with the theme and create the remaining 11 ornaments over consecutive years. 2021's ornament was themed Two Calling Birds, followed by Three French Hens in 2022, and this year the Four Calling Birds are featured. Design and creation work are done by Scully and Aaron Gooding, Keohane said, and the "process is different every time." The colors chosen for each design, in addition to the color of the bulb itself, impact the intricacy of the work involved to create the annual ornament, she said. Scully, Keohane said, is one of three artists in the country who has achieved Mastery of Craft status in glass cutting. While he easily could work in a large city, Keohane said, Scully loves Tiffin and the charm of a small town. The annual Christmas ornament is available each year beginning in July, and can be engraved for customers who "want to send some kind of message" to a recipient, Keohane said. Each piece is numbered and signed, she said. Orders can be placed in-store, at hawkescrystal.com, or by calling Hawkes Crystal at 419-448-4286. Keohane said Scully and Gooding "try to meet everybody's needs by Christmas day," and "burn the midnight oil" in December to help ensure orders are fulfilled. Interest in the annual ornament, she said, is broad, including a customer in Texas who requests the first ornament cut each year. "Orders go out all over the globe," Keohane said. In addition, stock is available for anyone interested in purchasing limited edition ornaments from previous years. "Some people have the whole collection," Keohane said. The ornaments can be a tradition, she said, and are handed down through generations in some families. According to the store's website, Hawkes Crystal's legacy dates back to the 1800's in Ireland, and the T.G. Hawkes trademark "is now owned by Hawkes Crystal." "Our mission is not to reproduce original Hawkes designs revered by collectors, but to translate these original patterns and shapes into a new modern collection," the website states. Scully himself "is one of only a handful of Master Brilliant Cutters" in the United States. His work has been featured in the Smithsonian Institution and Toledo Museum of Art, and his commissions "have included pieces for Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan, First Lady Barbara Bush, Senator John Glenn and Pope John Paul," according to the website. Hawkes Crystal is located at 207 S. Washington St., Tiffin, and is open Wednesday from 1-5 p.m., Thursday from 1-6 p.m., and Friday from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. An offsite workshop is open for tours by contacting Hawkes Crystal. Hawkes offers a wide selection of décor, barware, windows, gifts and suncatchers, Keohane said. "He (Scully) can custom cut anything to anyone's budget," she said.