Even John Maguire, who has been managing director at Belleek Pottery for more than a decade, seems a little in awe of the dedication shown by Belleek collectors who just can't get enough of the company's traditional chinaware.

He recalls one collector who was overcome with emotion while taking a tour of the company's Fermanagh factory. When she saw her favourite piece - the "Round Tower" - being made, she collapsed into tears.

"These people are totally addicted to Belleek. People have rooms in their homes dedicated to Belleek in the US. It's just unbelievable," he says.

Having built up this kind of following, why has Belleek switched tack from what seems to be a winning formula, to concentrate on breaking into the difficult crystalware market?

"Basically it all started in 2001," says Maguire. "We acknowledged that the traditional side of our business and the collectibles side of Belleek, especially in the US market, was contracting, and we decided we needed to do something very new and modern and contemporary. And that resulted in the launch of Belleek Living in 2003 here in Ireland."

The Belleek Living collection includes giftware, casual dining and oven-to-tableware ranges - a far cry from the traditional shamrock-emblazoned china collectibles that made Belleek's name - and has surpassed all sales expectations over the last three years. In fact, it now represents 40 per cent of Belleek's total worldwide sales.

Belleek now hopes to tap further into the demand for contemporary gifts and homeware, and is set to go head-to-head with the likes of Waterford Wedgwood with the launch of its new range of crystal stemware, Belleek Living Crystal.

"The crystal market is still a very strong market," McGuire insists. "It still remains very popular on wedding lists. It's very popular as a gift, and it's also very important in the corporate market as well. So crystal generally still is a very big market, and that's why we're so excited about it."

With somewhere in the region of 25,000 weddings taking place in Ireland each year, and a gift market in Ireland and Britain which is estimated to be worth more than €450 million, Belleek expects this to be a lucrative move.

Although the Living Crystal range has only been on the shelves for the last two months, it is already starting to appear on wedding gift lists. It offers four different designs - Ice, Lines, Air and Wave - with prices ranging from €60 for two tumblers to €140 for a set of four crystal goblets.

Having invested €2.25 million in the new range, Belleek has managed to keep its cost base low by outsourcing production to a crystal manufacturer in the Czech Republic. The company also opted to design the range in-house, rather than drafting in big-name designers like John Rocha, as Waterford Wedgwood has done.

"We felt that we would stay loyal to the Belleek brand," says McGuire. "And we're delighted we made that decision . . . We feel the Belleek brand has contributed significantly to the success of Belleek Living, and will contribute even more so when we look at export markets, particularly in the United States, where the Belleek brand has been known for a long, long time."

Belleek has not really focused on the US market yet with its new collection, says Maguire. "If anything, demand has been greater than supply for Belleek Living in our domestic market so we really weren't ready to start looking seriously at the export market." But the company's US campaign will begin in earnest early next year.

"I think from the American market point of view, we'd like to see a stronger dollar. The dollar has weakened quite a bit over the last number of years," he says. "But we've got to get on with it. Who knows? The dollar may remain weak. I think the main thing is we've got to stay very focused on our own business."

The company, which is privately owned by George Moore, does not reveal profit levels, but Maguire says he expects turnover to exceed €12 million this year.

"We're looking at certainly double-digit growth from last year and we anticipate that continuing over the next number of years," he says.

The company expects that within the next two years, the Belleek Living brand will contribute the majority of the company's sales, overtaking its traditional business.

"It's been on a significant growth path," says Maguire. "This year to date has exceeded all our expectations."

Maguire says it is exciting times for the company he has worked with since graduating with an economics degree in 1987.

It is not ruling anything out in terms of further additions to the Belleek Living brand - flatware, linens and possibly even furniture.

This may be good news for the young, affluent generation looking for sleek, affordable homeware, but is Belleek forgetting its roots, turning its back on those devoted collectors with a weakness for shamrock motifs, who made the company a success in the first place?

Not quite. The year 2007 marks Belleek's 150th anniversary, and collectors from around the world are already saving up for their airfare to jet into Fermanagh for the International Belleek Collectors Convention, which is being held to mark the occasion.