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Heart of Glass - Blenko Glass

Blenko Glass is a West Virginia treasure that spans generations. Nothing symbolizes the state of West Virginia better or more beautifully than Blenko Glass. We will discuss current and former craftsmen and designers and how important it is that Blenko and West Virginia glass be appreciated and valued by the younger generation.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Holiday Ornaments - What do you Collect?


Blenko has two new collector ornaments - Seasons is the theme -
See the website for additional info and to order.
What Holiday Ornaments do you collect? My family does a combination of Waterford, Older Sterling ornaments and WV Glass, the ornament collection grew to include WVU ornaments - we now have three theme trees filled with ornaments (a 34+ year collection) each ornaments comes with a story. Whats your tree made up of? Please send us photos for the Dec 23rd Holiday Tree / Ornament Blog.

Ever wonder about the history of Christmas Ornaments? I do - I ask webmaster Steve to assist and he suggest you check out : http://www.worldofchristmas.net/christmas-symbols/ornaments.html Steve says their description (see below) and many links are the answer to many Holiday Questions and gift giving solutions:
Glittering and sparkling, Christmas ornaments make Christmas tree look much more magical and fun. They can be added to any decoration around the house during the holiday season, can be used to give your gift wraps an interesting holiday look and can also be given as party favors to your guests. There are traditional holiday ornaments along with the ones that keep adding themselves to the Christmas ornament collection and make the holiday decorations look livelier than ever. Many people keep some of the best and most expensive Christmas ornaments they have as keepsakes and collectibles and even pass them down in their families as heirlooms to be used year after year on Christmas.Christmas Ornaments first became popular around 1880 and instantly became hit. At that time, the only ornaments that were in the market were German hand-cast lead and hand-blown glass decorations. Until 1925, Germany had almost a monopoly over the Christmas ornament market. Japan gave the first significant shove to Germany's supremacy by producing ornaments in large quantities in newer designs that were more colorful and had an oriental touch and exported them to the United States. Later, Czechoslovakia also entered the competition with several fancy Christmas ornaments. By 1935, more then 250 million Christmas tree ornaments were being imported to America. The first American company started producing Christmas ornaments significantly only in 1939, due to the outbreak of World War II. Christmas ball and bauble ornaments have been quite popular since then. Keepsake Christmas Ornaments first appeared in 1973 as decorated glass balls and yarn figures. Later, they expanded to include Christmas ornament handicrafts such as bone china, porcelain, paper mache, wood and acrylic ornaments. Glass angels, stiff spun glass butterfly wings, flower baskets and vases decorated with tinsel, air balloons with tinsel and egg zeppelins have been the hot favorites during the holiday season.Some people like to display their Christmas ornaments even after the Holiday Season is over, just to remind them that there is happiness and cheer around the corner. Special ornaments can be enjoyed year after year and some of the most popular ones are Christmas Stars, Santa Claus and his elves ornaments, Snowflake and feather ornaments and Christmas angel ornaments. The variety and styles of Christmas ornaments has increased to a much wider collection since then as they have evolved into much more sophisticated and expensive decoration items. Homemade Christmas ornaments also caught on as cheaper and creative substitutes and they were often embroidered with silk, wool, chenille and tinsel to add glitter and colors to them.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very interesting,however, too much knowledge for an early morning.

Anonymous said...

Jnana Yoga means turning the negative part of your mind inward to achieve identification with formlessness; Bhakti Yoga means turning the positive part of your mind outward to achieve identification with formlessness
Yoga is necessary for good life and good collections ie Blenko.
Annu

Anonymous said...

Note to Glass Doc
Not everyone can afford
a tree
silver ornaments
WV Glass ornaments
or Waterford.
There is a recession, we are hurting.

Anonymous said...

Any news of Don Lemley?
What happen and why did it happen?
Is antique still up and running?

Anonymous said...

Hillary
Did Roxie see the Christmas Angel?
My guess is she will want this for her grandbaby.
Margie Hale

Anonymous said...

Hills
Did Blenko send you photos of the
stainglass 3 sided stars they created for the Alliance WV Education Alliance fundraiser?
I have one if you need photos, but I would assume Blenko sent you photos and a story.
Sol

Anonymous said...

Sol
You are full of it!
I read the article on line, was surprised to see a designer from Blenko designed the stars - my stain glass class did a very similar project last year during the holidays.
Katie Trippe is to have said : 'it is one of those real neat creations'. . . we have a lot of creative people here."
My glass class also had a lot of creative people - not me- but many people who did the dimensional glass ornaments.
Sad! Very Sad! You know I love and collect Blenko, but unless they do get a designer, we shall all be collecting Husted, Myers, Anderson. I also buy Hank Adams after Blenko anytime I can afford his work.
Hilary did Blenko send you this info and if so why did you not publish?

Dr.BOB said...

Does anyone know if Lemley retained a lawyer? Not a Milton lawyer but from out of state?
Even a 'family' owned business can't fire without justification, documentation etc.
This may be the straw to break the camel's back.
Chitrakahn I disagree with your statement and agree with KT Blenko does have creative people. Now if the office will stand back and allow them the money and time to create.
Blenko is a giant, that has out lived its local competitors . Long live Blenko.

sweetdoc said...

So sorry to learn about Don Lemly.
Does anyone know if others were retired?
Also what does this mean for stain glass consumers?