John Walsh Walsh bought a glass factory in Birmingham in 1850. He claimed that his strange name came about because the sponsers at his baptism were rather nervous and instead of saying just the Christian name John, said John Walsh which made him John Walsh Walsh for the rest of his life! He insisted on very high standards and the business filed various patents around the turn of the century as they challenged basic processes of glass making. Their pieces ranged from vases, flower holders, lampshades and all types of dining room table glass. Often the designs were based on the form of flowers including rose, tulip, crocus, honesuckle and water-lily.