Joanne has worked on a variety of key products, including Climate, Symmetry, and the Julien MacDonald Crystal and Glass, as well as Water Lily and Serenity.

Here she talks about the ideas and inspiration behind Royal Doulton's distinctive crystal and glassware portfolio.

	Royal Doulton is first and foremost a key brand in tableware - what prompted a glassware specialist to join? As a child in Hampshire I was always interested in drawing and painting, specialising in window glass at Portsmouth Art College, slicing glass for the kilns. Glassware is the natural accompaniment to tableware, and Royal Doulton is a world-class brand which I grew more familiar with at the Hot House.
	Tell us about your involvement in Climate, for example? I particularly enjoyed working on Climate because it was Royal Doulton's first contemporary crystal offering. Our cut crystal was originally quite traditional. But this was a chance to produce hand made and hand cut products that were more elegant and sophisticated than much of the competition. I feel that I brought a feminine touch to our product portfolio.
	So what is the special appeal of stemware for you? The fact that it's so common, often so generic, makes it more of a challenge. You have to take all the essential design elements - the foot, the bowl, and the stem - and reinvent the basics. Symmetry is a case in point. It was conceived as a modern classic and it works. Here you have hand made crystalline glassware that really stands out, thanks to the boldness of the core ellipse design with that trademark bulbous bowl.
	What's been your most exciting project to date? Julien MacDonald Crystal & Glass, featuring Ignite and Intrigue. It was a great opportunity to work with a high profile designer who was new to glassware. This meant that he brought a fresh, broad thinking approach to the concept work. He really knew no limits. And my technical skills and experience complemented his design expertise. We spent a day in London sketching the glassware designs, honing them down to what was aesthetic and appealing, while being achievable and practical.
	What do you particularly enjoy about the working culture in the Design Studio? Just that. The fact that it's a small studio. So it's a close-knit team, working with tableware designers like Gwyn Hilton and Dick Delaney, where we multi-task and support each other according to the priorities. No two days are ever the same. As we work from the same trend boards and concepts, the tableware and glassware form a complete whole. That way, Royal Doulton and its customers really benefit.
	How do you feel about mixing traditional skills with new technology? Like most people I still value the hand made and hand cut approach to the best crystal, like Julien MacDonald Crystal & Glass, Symmetry, and Water Lily. And I will still sketch and draft concepts in free hand too. But 3D CAD packages have a distinct advantage over 2D - you can, for instance, check a foot size that wouldn't show up necessarily in a free hand drawing. Generally speaking, you can fully visualise a product that doesn't exist. So they are excellent for presentation purposes too. It makes for product that's competitive in terms of quality and price, as we hand cut machine made blanks for top class styles like Chelsea and Dorchester.
	What do you think is going to be The Next Big Thing? Royal Doulton, of course. We've recently finished the style boards for 2006 and we're moving on to the design work. What's more, we've attended a seminar in London covering the 2007 trends and look forward to receiving the trend books…We like to stay ahead of the field. For more on how Royal Doulton handles trends visit Trends.