🏆 2022 Nominated Craftsperson of The Year For England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales & Northen Ireland
🏆 2023 Design Craft Council Future Makers Award Winner
🏆 2023 Living Heritage Award Heritage Council Winner
🏆 2023 WorldSkills Finalists
We trained under the best sculpture and stone carvers in Ireland. Today we are Ireland’s leading sculpture and stone carving providers.
Unlike many stone based companies in the market, we are proud of our sculpting process. Our team is highly skilled & trained by the best. Using only locally sourced granite from Ballyknockan in the Wicklow Mountains, we design & hand-carve our sculptures. Traditional hand-carved sculptures allows our team to create premium bespoke sculptures that made to last a lifetime.
Each project is unique, which ensures that your sculpture is perfect for your needs. We guarantee that your stonework project is built using locally sourced Irish granite and is carved by expert stonemasons and cutters. We design, create and install bespoke sculptures and stone work. Get in touch today to discuss your project. Our team truly loves our craft, and we approach each service with enthusiasm. By choosing O’Flaherty Stone you are supporting local businesses, Irish trade while continuing Irish traditions.
The Sculpting Process: concept layout design, sketches, working/scale drawings, clay models, and stone. There are a number of steps that are involved in building and crafting custom monuments or sculpture work. All of our stone is sourced locally from Ballyknockan, Wicklow. The techniques we use have not changed for hundreds of years, and each of our team members developed their sculpting skills from the best stone masters in Ireland. A premium granite sculpture is crafted to withstand the test of time irrespective of the outdoor environment.
We begin by putting prospective ideas on paper to visualise the desired design. Next, the paper design is transformed into a small clay model. This allows us to understand the final design from a three-dimensional perspective. The 3D model is hugely important as the stone master needs to have the exact dimensions to ensure that there are no small mistakes in the final product. Here at O’Flaherty Stone the entire sculpture process and, therefore, the design process all takes place in-house. None of our processes are outsourced or imported.
We should include a small bit about this project or how you begin design on the stone.
Again, we should discuss your approach to cutting into the stone. Do you finish the stone with a sealant?
Lettering experts are both stone carvers & designers. They have the skills to create stunning designs that last a lifetime. The composition of each letter is uniquely determined by the master & is different for each project.
The art of lettering begins with designing each individual letter by hand. The expert must have an in-depth knowledge of the art of calligraphy. The design of each letter is meticulously predetermined before starting the project.
Designing and hand-carving each letter requires an immense amount of concentration & precision. Precision links great design and skilled carving abilities. A true lettering expert can merge the two skills via precision to produce a timeless piece.
We offer two options for Stone Lettering: Hand-cut Lettering and Stone blasted Lettering. The primary difference of each lettering technique lies in the longevity of the two. A sandblasted letter lasts roughly 30 years compared to Hand-Cut Lettering which can last longer than 3,000 years. Hand-cut letters are exactly what it says on the tin in that a stonemason will cut each individual letter and hence the cost of hand-cutting is considerably more than machine-cut/ sandblasted. Sandblasted letters are arrived at by producing a computer-generated stencil which is then placed on the stone and then blasted by minute particles of grit to form the inscription.
past, it is like we can sense the craftsmanship behind the art. Today, we offer both Sandblasted lettering and Hand-cut Lettering, but we are aware of the issues surrounding blasting as they need continuous up-keep and need to be re-blasted. You can take one look at a headstone from the 1700s where you can still see the inscription of the Hand-cut lettering clearly and perfectly.
V-Cut is largely the most important technique behind lettering. This lettering approach is the quickest and simplest method of stone lettering. ‘Chasing, ‘Stabbing’ and ‘Chopping’ are the primary techniques commonly used. Stone experts tend to begin their lettering journey using the ‘Chasing’ technique and move onto ‘Chopping’ and ‘Stabbing’ as their skills increase. Here at O’Flaherty Stone, we are Stone Lettering experts. We are fully trained and skilled to use all the lettering techniques.
Relief Lettering is a stone lettering technique that produces letters that stand proud from the stone. They appear to rise from the stone. Using a range of tools, skills and approaches, relief carving produces reware and satisfaction when you stand back and see the light and shadow created by the carving. The approach is an effective method of lettering that brings the work to life. Giving the final product an unmatched finish.
Contact us today to start your project. Please complete our simple contact form and a member of our team will be in touch shortly.
S.P.A.B Heritage Awards, 2022.
World Skills Ireland, 2022.
S.P.A.B Heritage Awards, 2022.
Design & Crafts Council Ireland, 2022.
We are 8th-generation Stone Masons/Stone Cutters based in Ballyknockan (“The Granite Village”). Nested in the Wicklow mountains, the O’Flaherty Family continues our historical family stone-cutting practices, keeping The Granite Village traditions alive.
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