Glittering prizes

When the Finnish racing driver Mika Hakkinen celebrated his second place finish in last month's French Grand Prix at Magny Cours, one young Waterford woman had her heart in her mouth. As Hakkinen indulged in the usual post-race ritual - champagne bottle in one hand, crystal trophy precariously balanced in the other - Pamela Power winced. Surely he wouldn't drop it right there on the podium?

He didn't, and Pamela's smile was one of relief. After all, she had made the trophy in question. In Pamela's job, you're liable to see your handiwork materialising on the TV screen at any moment, be it a Nobel prize-winning ceremony, a Late Late Show farewell or a major sporting occasion.

The 29-year-old is the newest and youngest member of the sculpting department at Waterford Crystal, a six-strong team which produces specially-commissioned, artistic pieces for clients who have plenty of money to spend.

It's a high-pressure job in which a tiny slip can undo weeks of work, but the first thing you notice on site is the relaxed atmosphere as Pamela's older colleagues, all of them men with years of service as master cutters or engravers, gently rib her with requests about how the interview with The Irish Times is progressing.

Opened four years ago, the department has added a new dimension to Waterford's business. It developed out of a growing demand for commissioned pieces.

Unlike her already-skilled colleagues, Pamela came straight to sculpting from the packing department, where she spent 10 "fine" but - she admits when you push her - frustrating years. "I've always been interested in art. It was one of my better subjects at school and I knew I had a creative side which could be useful in this business."

Knowing she needed something tangible if she was to make progress, she began six years ago to attend evening classes in art - including life drawing, painting and computer art and design - at Waterford Institute of Technology. Her big chance came 16 months ago when an ad was posted on the notice board for an apprentice to join the sculpting department. While an artistic bent was an obvious asset, she had never worked with glass, and the 10 candidates were required to demonstrate their ability on the wheels and drills employed by the sculptors.

Specifically, Pamela was given a cylinder of crystal and told to produce the figure of a bear. Remarkably, she succeeded, at least in making something which looked passably like a bear - "it was something I didn't know I could do", she says - and that was more or less it. "There was an interview as well and they could see that I was eager; I really wanted to get in."

Although still an apprentice, she is already producing work of breathtaking quality, such as a replica of Ballybunion Castle in Co Kerry, near the golf club, which was presented to President Clinton when he played there last year. A photograph of the president and Pamela, taken after the presentation, adorns the wall of the sculptors' workroom.

"He said all the right things. He told me I was very talented, that he was bringing it away with him on Air Force One in case anything happened to it, and that it would be in the White House the next morning!

"He also talked about the piece and said `this is the castle down the road which I saw when I was playing golf today' . . . it's true what people say, he's very charming."

No doubt Clinton would have been even more impressed had he known the artist had been given just a week to produce this elaborate piece of work. "I knew who it was for but I didn't even think about it," she says. "I just knew it needed to be done and I worked round the clock to finish it."

She peppers her conversation with references to her colleagues and the pieces they've done - such as the exquisite replica piano presented to Omagh victim Clare Gallagher, which was made by Michael Murphy - and is anxious to emphasise how supportive they've been.

And moral support is sometimes needed. Yes, Pamela confirms when asked, even the sculptors at Waterford Crystal occasionally slip up and break something they're working on. "You just go for a walk, then start again," she says.

The question puts her in mind of the forthcoming German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, for which the Waterford team has again made the prize-winning trophies - with Pamela, as she did for Magny Cours, contributing the piece to be presented to the runner-up. "The Hockenheim trophies have got wings and tiny little legs. They're so delicate, it's really easy to break a spindle or something - and you can't just glue the leg back on!"

Mika Hakkinen, take note.