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Blenko Glass Company, known for its artistic hand-blown glass, is located in Milton, West Virginia. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ...
Milton is a town located in Cabell County, West Virginia. ...
Early history
The founder of Blenko Glass, William J. Blenko, was born in London, England in 1853 and worked in a glass factory in his youth. In 1893, he emigrated to the US to Kokomo, Indiana, where he established the first American factory to produce "antique" sheet glass for stained glass windows. Year 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...
Kokomo (IPA: ) is the county seat of Howard CountyGR6, Indiana, United States, Indianas 13th largest city. ...
Blenko was forced to close his factory and returned to England in 1903 due to an economic downturn. He made a second at attempt in 1909, this time in Point Marion, Pennsylvania. This venture quickly failed, as did a third attempt in Clarksburg, West Virginia. At this Point William Blenko found work at other established Ohio and West Virginia glass companies and purportedly received a job offer from Louis Comfort Tiffany. 1900 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...
Year 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...
Point Marion is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. ...
Clarksburg is a city located in Harrison County, West Virginia. ...
In 1921, Blenko again attempted to start a sheet glass company, this time setting up in Milton, spurred on by news of low natural gas prices in the area, a major concern for glassblowers of the time that drew many prospective glassblowers to the area. His new company was originally christened Eureka Glass Company before a later name change to the current name. Until the arrival of his son William H. Blenko in 1923, he had no employees, making and selling all of his glass himself. Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ...
Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Due to the Depression, which decimated the stained glass market, Blenko began to produce stemware and tableware after finding two expert glassblowers to work for the company in 1930. However, this did not mean the end of Blenko’s stained glass industry. In fact, to this day, Blenko Glass Company still produces hand-blown sheet glass for use in stained glass windows as well as other architectural glass. Stemware is drinkware that stands on stems above a base. ...
Tableware are the cutlery, eating utensils, glassware, and dishware used when setting a table for dining. ...
Increasing popularity The company's early successes include providing glass for the stained glass windows of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, helping the company earn national renown. Prior to 1946 Blenko's tableware output was largely functional and classical in form. Change came in 1947 with the decision to hire a full time design director, Winslow Anderson. The work of the company's first designers achieved much critical acclaim, including having several of Anderson's designs receive the Museum of Modern Art’s Good Design Awards in 1950, thereby ensconcing Blenko as a leader in modern American glass through the 1950s and 1960s. Blenko's classic period, the focus of collector and historical interest, begins with Anderson in 1946 and includes the work of John Nickerson up to 1974. The second designer, Wayne Husted, did much to propel the company into the forefront of cutting-edge design, notably including pioneering the concept of "architectural scale" designs. Husted's successor in 1964, Joel Phillip Myers, a founder of the Studio Glass movement, further improved the company's importance and reputation by directly engaging Blenko with Studio Glass. View across garden, in new MoMA building by Yoshio Taniguchi. ...
Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
A new wave of public interest in Blenko began with the opening of the Blenko Museum in 2000, the first independent organization dedicated to research and education of the company's historical work. Aside from curating several year-long exhibitions of the company's work, the Blenko Museum worked with the Corning Museum of Glass in 2005 to include Blenko in a small but powerful survey exhibition organized by Tina Oldknow, Curator of Modern Glass, titled “Decades in Glass: the ‘50’s”. With strong interest from collectors and nationwide exposure on PBS television specials the company's reputation has grown to reach new audiences. “Blenko: Hearts of Glass” and “Retro Blenko; Three Designers of American Glass” , two Blenko documentaries, gave the company national exposure and lead to Blenko glassware being frequently featured in PBS pledge drives nationwide. Fourth-generation company President Richard Blenko often personally participated in these pledge drives, generating a sharp spike in publicity and positive effects on the company. Despite increased fuel costs and a rapidly changing industry and marketplace, the company has survived recent downscaling and still enjoys a great deal of popularity.
Blenko’s most visible special commissions include the Country Music Awards trophy and numerous sculptures by the contemporary Studio Glass artist Hank Adams, represented in many museums nationwide. The Country Music Awards are voted on by business members of the Country Music Association. ...
The Blenko factory The Blenko Glass Company building is a multi-building facility including a Visitor's Center, office building and manufacturing, shipping and warehouse facilities. The Visitor's Center's first floor contains items available for sale while the second floor is a showcase for Blenko's historical work including a gallery of stained-glass windows. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixel Image in higher resolution (1845 × 1230 pixel, file size: 984 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Blenko Glass Company...
Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixel Image in higher resolution (1845 × 1230 pixel, file size: 984 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Blenko Glass Company...
Attached to the Visitor's Center is an observation area adjacent to where the glass is blown, allowing visitors to watch as the glass is formed and molded. Beside the center is also a “garden of glass”, a swath of land on the shore of a small man-made lake bordering the factory strewn with colorful glass shards which border a small trail that winds around part of the factory and adorn various structures that reside near the lake shore.
References Excellent online resource for Blenko Collectors. They make every effort to make sure that all information is correct.
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