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Steuben Glass Sold

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

In March I mentioned that Corning was planning to put its Steuben Glass division up for sale. Now it looks like the deal is done. USA Today reports that the luxury crystal company has been bought by a private equity company. Corning will continue to maintain a 19.9% equity stake and the company intends to continue operations in upstate New York. Steuben will be part of the Schottenstein Luxury Group portfolio. The Ohio-based Schottenstein Stores has stakes in American Eagle Outfitters, Retail Ventures, which is the parent of DSW, and other stores.

Steuben has lost $30 million over the last five years and in March Corning had said the would consider shutting the factory if they couldn't find a buyer. The employees at the Steuben factory will get the same salary and benefits under the new ownership. Steuben Glass is currently the only luxury lead crystal still handcrafted in the United States.

Gallery: The Kiki Smith Collection For Steuben Glass

Tattoo Vase

Snake

Bird on Branch

Eve's Apple

Cat with Daisy

Tags: decor, glass, steuben

$400,000 Diamond & Crystal Champagne Glasses

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Dining

Champagne is always considered a fairly luxurious drink (even when it's the cheap stuff) but any champagne, cheap or not, is sure to get a class upgrade when it gets served in one of these two glasses. Valued at $400,000 and blinged out with 1,700 white and pink diamonds the glasses were chiseled out of 8kg blocks of rock quartz crystal and it took 5 jewelers 3 months to put them all together.

The set was designed by John Calleija and although they'll be present at the opening of his second store in London they'll eventually be returning to the home of the Melbourne businessman who bought them and plans to turn them into family heirlooms.

Tags: champagne, diamonds, glass, glasses, glassware, most expensive, MostExpensive, stemware

More Fire Glass Studio Jars

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Art

These hand-crafted jars come in such vivid lollipop-like colors they seem almost lickable. They are created by Elizabeth Lyons of More Fire Glass Studio and have inflated stoppers that give them the look of game pieces. Each one measures 19" x 8", they come in green, orange, or ruby and sell for $775 each.

More Fire Glass Studio is located in Rochester, New York and they also offer classes in making glass beads, jewelry and more.

Tags: art, blown glass, decor, glass

The 7 Deadly ... Glasses?

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

The seven deadly sins are now represented in wine glass form in a set created by Kacper Hamilton. Intended to "celebrate passion" and "encourage the user to be sinful in a theatrical fashion," each sin (wrath, greed, gluttony, sloth, pride, envy, and lust) has its own artistic interpretation that will have you drinking your wine in the most interesting ways (the aggressive and dangerous looking pointed rim on the glass above represents wrath). The "Deadly Glasses" come all together in a set, packaged neatly in a velvet-lined mahogany case.

Via Denzeen

Gallery: 7 Deadly Glasses

Sloth

Sloth

Envy

Envy

Wrath

Tags: 7 deadly sins, 7 sins, 7DeadlySins, 7Sins, glass, glasses, glassware, kacper hamilton, KacperHamilton, seven deadly sins, seven sins, SevenDeadlySins, SevenSins, sin, sins, wine

Art Glass Sculptures by Anthony Biancaniello

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Art

I've never been a big fan of fake fruit as decor but these fruit sculptures of glass by Anthony Biancaniello are really beautiful. Each of Biancaniello's designs have a common theme, be it a uniform shape or color scheme, used throughout and he usually works with pairs or groups of objects to create the desired artistic effect. He also, apparently, really likes fruit.

These sculptures are a great way to have the classic beauty of a fruit still life in your home without the often associated tackiness. Prices range from $245 to $1150.

Gallery: Art Glass Sculptures by Anthony Biancaniello

Opal Gold Leaf Avocado Fruit

Fruit Bowl Centerpiece

Spring Fruit

Opal Gold Leaf Paprika Fruit

Pedestal Fruit Bowl

Tags: anthony biancaniello, AnthonyBiancaniello, art, biancanciello, fruit, glass, sculpture, sculptures

Steuben Glass Up For Sale

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

Luxury collectible glass company, Steuben Glass has been put up for sale by longtime owner Corning. Corning has owned the business since 1918 and Steuben is now the only maker of luxury lead crystal left that is still handcrafted in the United States. Unfortunately, the company, which creates a variety of special edition pieces including a most recent partnership with artist Kiki Smith, has been unprofitable for a decade, losing around $30 million over the last five years. Corning has said that the company will be unloaded this year even if they have to shut the company down. Steuben Glass generates around $25 million in annual revenue and employs 150 people. Another option Corning is considering is selling the brand name but keeping the factory in operation. A move that I think would be a shame since part of the prestige of Steuben is its heritage and tradition. Sadly the beautiful glass collectibles aren't considered fashionable and appeal mostly to an older generation. Steuben has tried to attract younger consumers through collaborations with high-profile designers such as Smith and Ted Muehling but so far that hasn't been enough to generate profitability.

Gallery: Steuben Glass Fall 2007 Collection

Gallery: The Kiki Smith Collection For Steuben Glass

Tattoo Vase

Snake

Bird on Branch

Eve's Apple

Cat with Daisy

Tags: collectible, corning, glass, luxury, steuben

The Kiki Smith Collection for Steuben Glass

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Jewelry

Kiki Smith and Steuben Glass have come together in a collection of 5 beautiful glass creations for home. Inspired by her long-standing relationship with tattoos, Kiki Smith incorporated her own personal interpretation of classic tattoo symbols like snakes, butterflies, moths, stars, birds...

The collection includes this grand scale mouth-blown vase (shown, $60,000), plus 4 smaller sculptures that incorporate silver accents that double as jewelry -- i.e. there's a snake with three silver rings on its tail that can be removed and worn, and a cat playing with a silver flower that doubles as a brooch.

Gallery: The Kiki Smith Collection For Steuben Glass

Tattoo Vase

Snake

Bird on Branch

Eve's Apple

Cat with Daisy

Tags: glass, kiki, kiki smith, KikiSmith, steuben

Diamonds in Glass

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Jewelry

Here's a unique idea: diamonds that are suspended in glass. Natascha Marx and glass artist Tobias Berger have partnered up to create Diamonds in Glass. The concept has a lot of applications including luxurious stemware, caviar dishes, napkin rings and ashtrays as well as jewelry items like rings and bracelets. There are two main types: the pure, which has the diamond in clear glass, or the black edition, where the backside of the diamonds is embedded in black colored glass and the diamond has the diamonds against black velvet effect.

The pieces are made of borosilicate glass which has a melting point of around 1200 ºC, (diamonds burn at a temperature of about 800 ºC). The glass blower introduces the diamond into the viscous glass mass and places it in the desired position. The Diamonds in Glass website has a video of the process. Prices start at around 1620 euros for a small glass. Check out the gallery below for examples including the most expensive Champagne glass I have ever seen.

Gallery: Diamonds In Glass

Imperial Champagne glass

Diamonds in Glass Napkin Ring

Diamonds in Glass Ring

Tags: diamonds, diamonds in glass, glass, glassblowing, luxury

Thames Glass Gift Box Ornament

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

Matthew Buechner of Thames Glass in Newport, Rhode Island has been a glassblower for over 20 years. At Thames Glass he designs all the prototypes and trains a team glassmakers in the art of handcrafted glass. This gift box ornament is just one of the beautiful and delicate ornaments that comes out of the Thames Glass studio. This ruby ornament with gold leaf sells for $44.

Tags: christmas tree, glass, handblown glass, holidash, holiday, ornament

Whimsical Glass Faucets from James McKelvey

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

Not only is this faucet beautiful but it also appeals to the whimsical child inside of me that still secretly gets a kick out of using silly straws. Bright vibrant color combines with the natural beauty of glass for a unique visual impact. Standing tall above the vanity the James McKelvey collection of glass faucets feature a ribbed hand-blown design in lead-free crystal that is easy to clean and bacteria resistant. And they're not only beautiful to look at, but to use also as the water will stream down from such a high vantage point. Available in a variety of heights, colors, and single or double-twist designs, you can easily fit it into almost any color and decorating scheme.

Via Trendir

Gallery: James McKelvey Glass Faucets

Black

Cobalt

Forest

Amethyst

Gold

Tags: bathroom, faucet, glass, hand blown, HandBlown, james mckelvey, JamesMckelvey, sink, whimsical, whimsy

to22 Says No Martini Without an Olive!

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Spirits

Don't take olives in your martini? Well then this is definitely not the glass for you, because this martini glass by to22 can't do without at least one olive. When designing this glass the thought was that "the olive has become the signature element of a martini, and yet it is treated almost as an afterthought."
Now when to22 went to give the olive greater importance they weren't messing around! The olive is so important to a drink in this glass that you can't have one without it, literally. The olive is used to plug a hole in the bottom of the glass.

Great idea and I love it! But I will say this: this is not a glass I'll hold over my lap or walk around with...you know, just in case.

Tags: alcohol, drink, drinks, glass, glasses, glassware, martini, olive, olives, spirits, to22

Uranium Thickie Vase by Esque Design

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Art

The vase shown here won't be sitting on your table anytime soon unless your table is very very sturdy. This heavy glass vase from esque design was made by layering thin veils of color-including greenish uranium glass amidst clear glass and it weighs a hefty 40 pounds. The exterior has a rough surface created through careful carving and polishing. The vase sells for $6,400.

Tags: art glass, ArtGlass, esque design, glass, vase

Oiva Toikka Owl Collection

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Art

Some things just make me smile to look at them, and this nerdy-looking little owlet is one of them. It's part of a whole collection of owls, and I really think I want more than just one. Each piece is individually mouth-blown and hand-crafted of glass in Finland, with obvious great attention to detail. Would make a great gift for bird lovers and art lovers alike, with each owl catching the essence of its corresponding inspiration amazingly well. This owlet, for example, really does look like a young baby bird! And the others, the Barn Owl and Little Barn Owl, are just as detailed. £60-£153 each.

Gallery: Oiva Toikka Owls

Via Retro to Go

Tags: barn owl, BarnOwl, glass, little barn owl, LittleBarnOwl, mouth blown, mouth-blown, MouthBlown, oiva toikka, OivaToikka, owl, owlet, owls

Toikka Festive Pheasant

by Sandy Maple (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

Oiva Toikka's beautiful art-glass birds have been prized by collectors for many years. Crafted at Finland's iittala studio, each mouth-blown piece is a one-of-a-kind work of art. This pheasant is one of the most colorful from the 2007 collection, standing tall and proud with a subtly patterned body offset with glowing green and a touch of red. It is also one of the largest Toikka birds, measuring 15" L x 9-3/4" H. From a limited edition of just 2,000, this signed and hand-numbered Festive Pheasant sells for $985.

Tags: art-glass, bird, decor, festive-pheasant, finland glass, FinlandGlass, glass, glass-bird, glass-decor, iitala, mouthbolown-glass, pheasant, toikka, Toikka Festive Pheasant, ToikkaFestivePheasant

Infusion Art Glass Sculptures

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Art

I'm one of those people that really buys into the way something is described, and I love how these Infusion Art Glass Sculptures are explained as "juicy drops of color trapped in ice." That's really perfect! Created by Jamie Harris, special glass blowing and carving techniques are used to mold colored and clear glass pieces together for a light-catching artistic result. Available in 3 sizes and a variety of color combinations you're sure to find either the single perfect one for your home -- or buying a group and displaying them together would be great too (that's what I would do, I don't think I could decide!). $1600-$2200

Tags: art, decor, glass, hand blown, HandBlown, jamie harris, JamieHarris, sculpture, sculptures

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