The Welsh National Tennis and Padel Championships are coming to Penarth Lawn Tennis Club and Windsor LTC, Penarth this August. Tennis Wales are keeping it local and have commissioned Cathy O’Doherty at Glass by Design to create handmade prizes for the event. We spoke to Cathy to learn more about the process that goes into making unique prizes.

“There are about 90 prizes being made, for the winners and finalists of both junior and senior events.

“I was given a little creative license for the design, experimenting with Tennis Wales’ dragon logo, and decided on a layering effect, with the dragon incorporated on the base layer of glass. Each piece is fired at least twice, with each firing taking about 24 hours to complete. Each piece is unique as they are handmade.

“I start by cutting the two layers of glass- one white and one clear. Then, with custom screens, I use powdered glass to print the dragon onto the bottom layer. Once that’s done, it goes into the kiln for firing. On the top clear of glass layer, I use water-slide decals (or transfers) printed with wording. This goes back in the kiln on top of the dragon.

“This is a passion project for me. I’ve played league tennis around here for years and I’ve done a lot of prizes for my own club. So this job was the perfect fit for me.”

Glass by Design have created some truly spectacular pieces in the past, so we’re excited to see how these prizes will turn out.