Crieff, Scotland

John Deacons started his glass career at Strathearn Glass in the mid-1960s. In 1968, he left Strathearn to join Stuart Drysdale, Jack Allan, and Peter McDougall in a new company that would only make high-quality paperweights called Perthshire Paperweights. Jack Allan was the master glassmaker. John Deacons described his time at Perthshire as “the best apprenticeship you can imagine.” He was involved in every stage of setting up the factory as well as becoming their leading paperweight maker. Unfortunately, Stuart Drysdale died in 1990, and his son Neil, who took over the business, died in 2001. Perthshire Paperweights closed down in 2002.

However, John Deacons left long before that to form his own company, “J” Glass, in 1978. He did not like to work in a factory environment, so “J” Glass was a much smaller operation. The quality of “J” Glass paperweights was outstanding, and they are highly sought after by collectors today. Hit with a recession in 1983, John closed down the operation. He set up a much smaller studio in 1984 where he continues today, assisted by his son Craig.