commiserations
Before I go any further, I would like to commiserate with all the poor sods who actually spent good money on a P McD weight. You were probably convinced by someone, someone who in my opinion should have known better, that it was some kind of a collector's piece or that it would be an investment, or, and this is very hard to believe, that it might actually be worth what Peter was charging. Well, as everyone knows, investments can go down as well as up and P McD weights, like Peter and his ex-factory, are very much on the way down. As is, I suspect, any money a possible third-party investor may have put into P McD Glass; Remember, your investment can go down as well as up!
I know it is hard to believe, but it is possible that any weights he might make at the Caithness factory - read on to find why this might be possible - will be even worse than the ones he produced at his own ex-factory; you can see how bad and over priced they were a little further down this page. When you have little or no control over the quality of the glass in the furnace, you have little or no control over the quality of the glass in the weights.
In my opinion, the weights Peter produced at P McD Glass demonstrated how much he relied on the people he put out of work; the people who had all the ideas. Pretty much everything he made was just the same as that which was produced at Perthshire, and not even the top qualilty pieces made at Perthshire, most of what he copied was what Stuart Drysdale referred to as, "The bread and butter pieces". He hade no really new ideas in any part of the process; no new lampwork ideas, no new patterns of note in millefiori design, and not only was there nothing new in the limited cutting he had, what was done was very, very amateurish; see the examples below.
is the past catching up with peter?
I would emphasise that while I would not wish the conniving back-stabber any ill, I do think the causes of his current physical and mental problems are self-inflicted. Those he put out of work ten years ago didn't have any choice, and while I don't have individual biographies on the ex-employees of Perthshire, I do not that one ex-employee now sells The Big Issue and another has had a couple of near breakdowns; Congratulations Peter! You must be so proud?
Had it not been for my wife, who supported me through my years at University after I left Perthshire, I could very well have ended up in some crappy, dead-end job. I am fortunate though and now have my own successful computer business; others have not been so fortunate.
Peter might now have some idea how the Perthshire employees felt when he put them out of work after many years? Perhaps it's Karma, perhaps it's fate getting its own back on him, perhaps he's finding that running a successful business is not that easy after all, but whatever it is, it is taking its toll on his health and the tablets don't seem to be working!
Someone foolishly suggested that his depression might be because he is regretting what he did to Perthshire; needless to say, whatever it is, it is most definitely NOT that; that would require emotional attributes which Peter does not possess. You just have to look at the photograph on the home page to see him giving me a friendly wave as he waited for the lorry to come and remove his furnace; does that seem to you to be the behaviour of a well-balanced individual?
caithness employees lookout!
I have also heard that he is going to be doing some work at the small Caithness factory which is in the Crieff Visitor's Centre. Peter hardly had a good word to say about Caithness before closing Perthshire, and now he is brought low enough to actually consider using their facility; how the mighty have fallen. I shouldn't be surprised I suppose as I always knew he had no conscience, he clearly has no pride left either. I wonder how long it will be before he says to someone there, "Don't you know who I am"? Or, "I was making paperweights before you were in nappies!", Or, "Made it, Ma! Top of the world! " and it blew right up in his face; No wait, that was James Cagney playing a gangster who had very little morality, an easy mistake to make though don't you think?
I would strongly recommend that those who do work there watch out, Peter always looks out for number one, and in my experience, if he feels he can make any progress at someone else's expense, he will do it. Then it might be you who is saying, 'Top of the world!', only for it to blow up in your face, so look after your position at Caithness less you lose it.
He may only be coming in for a specified amount of time in the deal that was made, but once he is in there, he might get to like not having the problems of trying - and failing - to run a business. He managed to see off several managers at Perthshire before he finally got the job, and we all know what happened then!
Anyway, when Peter starts to throw his now considerable weight around at Caithness, you have been warned!
It's funny how Peter now thinks he is best friends with people he would have had little to do with before he closed Perthshire. Especially John Deacons, who was considered persona non grata at Perthshire; Peter even tried to make going to John's house a sacking offence!
I do know what I am talking about where Peter McDougall is concerned, I was his brother, and he didn't think twice when he put me and many others out of work.
Prior to the final close of P McD Glass, Peter visited John Deacons quite a few times; Of course Peter may have been meeting John to get some business advice from someone who is still making quality paperweights. All of this is an example of the old maxim, 'As you sow, so shall you reap'. Peter McDougall put a lot of people out of work so he could play at being a 'Big-Shot', now he is getting his just desserts!
What is quite annoying about Peter meeting with John Deacons, as he has done over the last few years, is that when I worked at Perthshire, Peter tried to get me to sign an employment contract which stated that if I even went down to the area where John lived, I could be Sacked!
Now that the P McD Glass Studio (factory), has finally stopped production, I can't say I have any sympathy for someone who, in my opinion and experience, was a two-timing-backstabber of the worst kind.
what makes a good paperweight
Perthshire Paperweights consisted of many skilled craftsmen and women, all of whom contributed to a Perthshire Paperweight. Let no one person pretend that they can replicate this quality either by themsleves or with unqualified family members; they cannot! Nor should they be using the fact that they worked at Perthshire Paperweights to imply that their product is even close to being as good as Perthshire's were; it is not!
You should not be buying a P McD paperweight, thinking you are getting something of the same quality, you are not! the only way to get a Perthshire Paperweight, is to buy a Perthshire Paperweight. Peter McDougall would have you believe that he was one of the best makers in the world, where I, and others who know better, don't even think he was one of the best makers at Perthshire!
peter mcdougall, the best thing since sliced bread...
It also irks me when I read about how great Peter McDougall thinks he is. I suppose it is only to be expected of someone with such an inflated opinion of himself, but just because Peter McDougall says something doesn't make it true; so if he says certain weights are worth £800, don't just blindly believe that there is £800 worth of work in them! From what I have seen, nothing he produces is worth anything close to that amount.
Check out the analysis of some of his weights below!
In my opinion, anyone who is willing to pay around £1,000 for any of his weights, must have little knowledge about the actual manufacturing process. Even some of the very best weights Perthshire produced were not that expensive and they involved a great deal more work from several people, including myself.
Let's compare a couple of his millefiori weights priced around £60 and one which would cost more than £800!
Look at the three weights above!
The least expensive one of the three might cost you around £60, another would cost around £70, and yet another around £800. That is not a misprint, one of these shockers really is priced at over £800!!
The first one contains more special canes than the other two
The middle one has fewer special canes and some blue rods in between
The one on the right is very similar to the middle one, but with a different background.
It would take roughly the same amount of time to make each one,
it would take roughly the same amount of time to assemble the pattern for each one,
none have any lampwork,
none have any facets,
and they all contain similar canes, including special canes, and two have blue bits separating the canes.
Although unlikely, there could be an argument made for a price difference of maybe a few £s, But a difference or around £800! Someone is definitely having a laugh!
Just so you know, because there is little obvious difference between them in design, content and manufacture,
and remember, I did work at Perthshire for 30 years, so I do know, not only how things are made,
but how Peter's unusual pricing strategy works!
the first weight is priced at around £60,
the middle one around £800,
the one on the right around £70.
If anyone out there gets a chance, please, please, ask him why the middle one is priced at more than £800, and what it is that makes it ten-times better than the other two. Then, please email and tell me, cause I have no idea!
Who is responsible for the facetting of P McD Paperweights?
As well as Peter McDougall's weights not being up to the standard of Perthshire Paperweights, the standard of the cutting also leaves a lot to be desired!
Have a look at the cutting on these weights.
When a weight has an odd number of facets, the space between the facets should be directly opposite the facet on the other side of the weight and with an even number of facets, the cuts should directly opposite each other.
The facet is directly below the butterfly's tail, so the space opposite should be right between the antenna; you shouldn't me to point out how far off it is! The example with six facets is actually worse!
I was the main cutter at Perthshire for more than 20 years and know better than anyone what I am talking about.
practices employed at perthshire
It is also worth dispelling the myths about the percentage of weights which were rejected at Perthshire. I have an email from someone in which he says someone high-up at Perthshire Paperweights quoted Figures of 50% of all weights were rejected. I would say that that figure had been greatly exaggerated in order to make it look as though some of the prices could be justified, especially when used in relation to double-encased double-overlays I can confirm right now that there were very, very few encased double overlays rejected despite Peter's inept manufacturing. I regularly spent hours redesigning the cutting to remove the mistakes he made whilst making them. If you are someone who owns one of these, one good way to tell some of the weights which I had to repair extensively is to look at the cutting on both the inner and outer weights. Ideally, I would make both the same to make a match. You can be absolutely sure that where the cutting doesn't match or where there are lots of little cuts around the top, Peter had made a massive cock-up and I had to do extensive repairs.
There were some other tactics employed at Perthshire which were a little suspect to say the least.
One was the shop shelf. This was a place in the stock-room at Perthshire where weights, which were considered not fit to be sent to some customers, were set aside with the intention that they be sold through the Crieff Visitor's Center. Such weights were sub-standard, but the thinking was that if the people in the center didn't spot anything wrong, it was OK!
And by the what I have seen some web sites, some of the P McD pieces there make it look as though that practice is still being used; Of course it is possible that all of his weights look as bad as the ones I have seen!
the bonus system and how peter was ok
Perthshire Paperweights used to have a bonus system which should have benefited all of the employees. These bonuses were paid every three months and could be several hundreds of pounds each time. Unfortunately, shortly after Peter became manager, they stopped for no apparent reason; at least for everyone except Peter that is!
Whilst the rest of us didn't get any extra for many years, Peter made sure he was OK by making white glass, which he then sold to the company.
Now you might be thinking there's nothing wrong with that,
the manufacture of white glass can be expensive and it's only fair that Peter shouldn't be out-of-pocket.
If you were to say that, I would agree completely.
However...
The recipe used was acquired through his position in the firm, so should have belonged to the company
The chemicals used were paid for by Perthshire Paperweights,
The furnace used was owned by Perthshire Paperweights,
The gas and electricity used to melt the batch was paid for by Perthshire Paperweights,
Peter didn't even empty the furnace himself,
Perthshire Paperweights paid people over-time to get the glass out of the furnace.
So, what did Peter do, Oh yes, after the furnace was emptied, he weighed the amount and then charged Perthshire Paperweights a lot of money per kilo; and it wasn't cheap! So, while the rest of us were being denied any bonus for years, Peter made sure he was OK.
Peter spent most of his time sitting in the stock-room, or entertaining guests (mostly some of his friends) in the visitors center. He didn't make too many weights and hardly ever, if at all, worked for a complete day. This wasn't a problem though as there were a few others who could make better paperweights than he could.
In my opinion, Peter McDougall was not the person who produced the best weights at Perthshire Paperweights! I base that on the amount of rejects he produced and the number of weights which I had to rescue; i.e. facet in such a way as to remove all the defects!
real PP weights V P McD glass
If, you have been looking at Peter McDougall's weights for so long, you can't quite remember what a quality Perthshire Paperweight looks like, which I think would be understandable, have a look at The Pictures Page of this site to see some weights made at Perthshire, and compare these to the sub-standard dross Peter produces; examples further up this page.
this site
I created this site to put the record straight. I do not mind having things attributed to me if I actually said them, but am less than happy to be accused, by Peter, Gordon and Calum in particular, of things which I did not do or say.
If you have any comments or disagree with anything I have written here, let me know, by sending an email to .
a small selection of Perthshire Paperweights
What was produced by Peter McDougall was NOT Perthshire Paperweights, it was PmcD Glass.
If you are interested in quality Perthshire Paperweights, you should concentrate on finding REAL Perthshire Paperweights; you can see a small sample of what Perthshire used to produced by going to this page.