NOTE TO DIANE and other readers, All Blenko Collectors love photos, and nothing is more exciting than seeing someone else's' glass. Well maybe finding an item for cheap in great condition is more exciting, but not much else. hjh
Hillary: Here’s a good sample of my collection. I’ve got a number of lamps, but only a few in use at the moment. I don’t have time to go through and give item number, color and price paid (that I can’t always remember, and I should record it but I generally don’t), but it will give you an idea of the things I have. Fireplace decanters, L – R: 6103 amethyst/cobalt; 3103 in orchid, not a catalog color, sample stock; 1804 in kiwi; 6103 in topaz/emerald. Hope you enjoy the photos. If you think the bloggers would enjoy them, feel free to post them. Diane
25 comments:
Thank you
I adore seeing everyones glass.
You DW have an artistic eye.
Lovely home, and beautiful glass
is everything Blenko?
Thank you
I adore seeing everyones glass.
You DW have an artistic eye.
Lovely home, and beautiful glass
is everything Blenko?
2 questions
what is your most valuable item of blenko
and what was the most interesting find?
Sol
Hilary
I sent my collection last month, did you get the photos?
Calif
How did blenko get to Calif?
Damn beautiful collection, I didn't hear of blenko until recently the glass is beautiful, later I learn my Mom knew about blenko.
Taylor Books in Charleston has their water bottles (for sale) stacked in rainbow order similar to the way you have your collection above the kitchen cabinets. Stunning, stunning, stunning.
I love the way all of the crisp white in your house puts the visual emphasis on your BLENKO glass.
Thank you for sharing.
Happy Holidays to all, especially to Hillary. Also to Margie Hale who treats us all as treasured friends.
WV Janis
Everything pictured is Blenko. In the beginning, I got most things on eBay, and usually got the smaller, less exotic pieces. My first "find" was in an antique shop in Ventura, walking up the row of booths with a bazillion pieces of junk, and at the end of the row on the front counter sat a beautiful rose 6310. I had to stop in my tracks and breathe - that, and check it for five bumps to be sure it WAS what I thought it was. The most expensive piece was probably one of the big decanters on the fireplace, or the 6138 that sits next to my wall of glass. As for most valuable, I'm not sure. I paid nowhere near book price for some of the older pieces, as most of those were found locally and the seller didn't know what they had. I'd say probably the 555 pitcher in ruby - it wasn't in the photos I sent to Hillary - or my cat decanter. I love the water bottles for a couple of reasons - they're easy to find, usually don't cost that much, and since they've been made since 1938, you can find them in most colors Blenko has produced. I've deliberatly left the walls white in the rooms where the Blenko lives, so it will stand out. Thanks for all the questions and the kind comments!
Great Collection Ren?. Wonder how long did it take for you to achieve this?
Also how did you learn about your glass I'm new and it all seems so confusing.
Ellen
Diane:
Do you collect anything other than BLENKO? You seem so focused. It has paid off as the collection and display leave me breathless. These photos are a gift to us! Have you ever visited the Visitors' Center in Milton?
WV Janis
I started collecting in 2000 - my first piece was a PBS pledge break 6143s bowl, signed and dated. I got involved with the BCS as it was forming the next year, and was the secretary for awhile. Unfortunately, my work duties got so heavy that I couldn't devote the kind of time to the BCS that I felt it deserved. I've gotten all the Pina books on Blenko, have copies of original catalogs from 1973 on, and have studied the shapes and colors. I have found other collectors to be generous teachers on what to look for in Blenko, be it labels, pontil marks or colors. I have discovered in scouring antique malls that not every dealer can know everything about ALL the items they sell. I know a lot about Blenko, and can make good buys based on my knowlede, and their lack of same.
Also a P.S. - the ruby pitcher I was talking about in my earlier post is a 544, not a 555, which is a little cocktail pitcher.
HOW MANY PEOPLE STARTED WITH PBS ?
I DID. I MISS RICK BLENKO.
I LIKED THE TUX AND RICK
THAT OLD FILM THERE WERE 2 RIGHT?
I ALSO BOUGHT TWICE ON QVC BUT MY GLASS WAS SO GOOD THAT TIME BUT I ALWAYS WATCH THE PBS BLENKO WHEN I AM ON THE ROAD WORKING IT IS FOR EVER PLAYING IN ATLANTA OR SEATTLE IT SEEMS. IN MY MEEK OPINION PBS DID ALOT FOR WV GLASS. WHAT DO YOU THINK HILARY? AND OTHERS?
MOUNTAIN RITA
TAMMIE HOW DID YOU START?
LARRY HOW DID YOU START?
SOL HOW DID YOU START?
EVERYONE HOW DID YOU START COLLECTING?
BRIDGETT? PHANI? ANA?
PBS I learn of the company from a PBS program.
Was Rick old enough to retire?
He looked so young.
Rick is over 60 so yes old enuff for retirement.
My mother collected Ruby Thumbprint from Indiana Glass. Too old fashioned for me. I used to collect Mosser salt dips (cats, ovals and lug nut shaped), but I think I've got every color they made, and then I discovered Blenko. I also scrap, and make cards with rubber stamps. I even have some stamps of Blenko glass, but I'm not sure if they're still available. I will check.
Rick is in his middle 50's several years younger than me. He still stops by my store to visit when he is in TX.
I got started in 1990 with WV glass by unpacking some boxes of items my wife inherited from her mother. In these boxes we found a small collection of Fostoria American. We grew that collection to several hundred pieces all the while growing an appreciation for handmade American glassware. I too saw the Heart of Glass video on PBS and began looking harder at BLENKO. A visit to the factory and the surrounding area hooked me on Blenko glass.
Its all about color to me. Larry from TX
Update - I checked with the gentlemen at Acme Rubber Stamps in Dallas - they still carry the Blenko stamps. Contact Terry or Bob at (214) 748-4707 to order.
I became aware of Blenko as a child in the late 1950's, thru ads in my mother's magazines. I received a couple of pieces as gifts in the 1960's/early 1970's. Then it seemed to disappear. In 2000 I saw it at a local signing event, and bought a signed piece. Then I found out about the PBS shows. (I don't watch much tv) I've collected other glass and china all my life, mostly antique and vintage.
Color is what first catches my eye, then the design. I don't have great amounts, lots of small items, less expensive and easier to display.
I have become very fond of WV thru my trips to the BCS conventions and hope someday to have enough time to go farther afield.
A happy holiday to all, from snowbound West Michigan.
Car Girl
THANK YOU LARRY FOR THE WORDS OF REASON ABOUT RICK
HE IS A VERY YOUNG 50 AND HE WILL HAVE A LIFE LONG AFTER BLENKO IS DEAD
THOSE PEOPLE WILL SEE THE STUPIDITY OF LETTING HIM GO IN FAVOR OF A 24 YEAR OLD AND I DONT CARE WHAT YOU SAY HILARY
THEY NEED TO HAVE SOMEONE RUNNING THE PLACE WHO KNOWS WHAT IS GOING ON AND WHO KNOW ABOUT BUSINESS AND THIS HAS NEVER HAPPEN NOT WITH RICK AND NOT NOW
MOUNTAIN RITA
I also started with PBS stuck watching with gparents saw Rick Blenko fell in love I was 13 and decided then and there I would give up The BackStreetBoys
Don't laugh its true.
Long long ago on another planet.
We now live in the Carolina I have a large collection of blenko and still find RB handsome. He was here several years ago.
Linda Smith
Often on business I find blenko in Calif
Southern more than northern and the prices are usually good the pieces unusual.
I think the high end stores carried blenko in the 50 60s.
Your collection is very lovely.
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