glasshouse
selling vintage Blenko and Empoli glass since 1998
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Rainbow Maker |
By Christopher Mount |
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European glass manufacturers Venini, Orrefors, and Iittala have for many years been revered for producing innovative and beautiful objects for the home. They have stayed at the vanguard of international glass production by rigidly adhering to a philosophy that encourages - at much expense - creative freedom. It may come as a surprise to many that this situation is not unique to these companies or even to Europe . In the very small town of Milton , West Virginia, resides one of the last surviving glass-blowing factories in America , called Blenko. Founded in 1921 by the Englishman William J. Blenko as Eureka Art Glass, a stained-sheet-glass manufacturer, the company has produced some of the most delightful, offbeat, and affordable domestic glass objects of the last century. Shortly before Blenko's death in 1933, his son, Bill H. Blenko, Sr., introduced a tableware line to save the company from bankruptcy during the Depression. Bill fostered an atmosphere in which, according to the former head of design Wayne Husted, "The designer came first." The company's original designer, Winslow Anderson, hired soon after World War II, sparked the creative spirit that continues today. Trained as a ceramicist but with no previous experience in glass, he designed basic utility wear as well as more elaborate decorative pieces. These sculptural work were made of Blenko's trademark thick, brightly colored glass. But it was not until the early '50's, when Husted came to Blenko, that the company began to make its most remarkable architectural pieces. Unlike anything else produced in this country, these decorative decanters, pitchers, and bottles often exceeded three feet in height. And with no apparent function, they seemed more appropriate for some futuristic space station than for nice middle-class mid-century homes, Since Husted's departure, other noted designers, including Joel Philip Myers, John Nickerson, Hank Adams, and Matthew Carter, have maintained the diversity of production, as well as the spirit of experimentation so important to the company. |
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