Collecting Blenko

2009-02-03T12:29:00.002-06:00

It's been a very long time since I've posted anything. I've come to the realization, that unless I have several hours of free time it's very difficult to find time to devote to this blog. With my job taking a chunk of my time (not complaining I'm blessed to have one) and with Karin working every day since the day after Christmas (she has started a new job) I just don't have the time I did before. The sad part, is that there is so much news one doesn't know where to begin.

Blenko Glass Company, Inc.
P.O. Box 67
Milton, WV 25541
January 30, 2009
For Immediate Release
Blenko Glass Company announced today that it is shutting down production and is discussing with its counsel whether it should consider filing for bankruptcy. The Blenko Visitor’s Center will continue to remain open. The Milton based manufacturer of hand made glass was sued by Big Two Mile, its former gas supplier, four years ago because of a disagreement about the payments due for gas used at the factory. A court found in favor of Big Two Mile and entered a judgment against Blenko for more than $500,000 in September of 2005. Several proposals for settlement of the case were made by Blenko; none of the proposals was accepted.
Over the past three years members of the Blenko Family were in contact with members of the Maier Family who are the owners of Big Two Mile. Blenko was led to understand that Big Two Mile would not take steps to shut down Blenko. Relying on those assurances Walter Blenko of Pittsburgh PA and Don Blenko of Wellesley MA invested more than 2 million dollars in Blenko in an effort to return the company to profitability. In recent months the company’s losses had been reduced and Blenko management was looking forward to seeing a positive cash flow in the company’s operations.
On January 15, 2009, Big Two Mile took steps to seize “all amounts, deposits, and moneys” in the Blenko Glass bank accounts including its payroll and withholding accounts. Blenko first learned of Big Two Mile’s action on January 23, when Blenko’s bank reported that the bank accounts had been emptied.
Blenko had issued a check on that day to pay for gas that it used in its glass making furnaces. When Blenko learned its funds had been seized it was able to recover the check which was already in the mail. Because of nonpayment Blenko’s gas supplier has refused to supply gas for the glass making process after January 31, 2009. Blenko has therefore shut down its furnaces and some of them will be destroyed due to the loss of heat.
Blenko employs approximately 50 employees. Walter Blenko, President of Blenko Glass, said “I want to thank and pay tribute to the many loyal employees of Blenko Glass who worked diligently and faithfully against bad economic conditions to keep the company operating and producing world renowned Blenko Glass up until the last day.”
For further information please contact: Walter Blenko, President, or Katie Trippe, Assistant Vice President, at (304) 743-9081.

Changes at Blenko

2008-10-01T08:58:00.003-05:00

The Blenko Glass Company sent out the following press release:

Blenko Glass in Milton has made organizational and management changes in response to changing market conditions. Richard Blenko, Gene Weekley and Brent Aikman are no longer with the company. During a stockholders meeting Monday, William H. Blenko Jr., Walter J. Blenko Jr. and Don B. Blenko Jr. were elected directors. William Blenko was elected chairman, Walter Blenko was elected president, and Don Blenko was elected vice president. The Blenko Glass Company will remain, as it always has, a family owned and run company continuing to make hand blown glass in West Virginia.

I have received a report that along with the three employees mentioned above several other employees have been dismissed including 18 year Blenko employee Rodney Wade, who was served as shop foreman. Rodney was apparently dismissed on 10/1/08.

As far as we can tell these changes will not have any effect on the Blenko Collectors Society, but we will keep everyone posted.

Photos from Milton

2008-08-26T21:26:00.008-05:00

The view from driving in to Milton

After I took this picture I realized this is the exact spot a photo from one of Blenko Glass postcards was shot.

A special thanks to John and Kay Homburg for inviting us to visit their wonderful garden with several thousand pieces of Blenko Glass.

Russell Harris and Diana Dickson get a preview of the vintage glass sale.

The glass right after opening the doors

Mr. Bill Blenko and Deloris with and his nephew Andy Blenko with his wife Tricia Blenko and their family.

Raffling off a $2000 piece of Blenko Glass. The color looks like a Juniper/Plum combo.

Karin and Mr. Blenko near the end of the festivities.

Images from Milton, WV

2008-08-21T23:20:00.006-05:00

Karin picks up a few things in the warehouse. We're gonna need a bigger car!

Is that the West Virginia Anniversary Piece? Yes it is and it is a beautiful as everyone has said.

GREAT STREET NAME!

A special Sneak Peek at future designs?

What's that?

2008-08-21T23:15:00.000-05:00

Yes, we have arrived and have been to the factory where we came across this little beauty. That's right it's the "Mistral" piece in Seabreeze. It's more beautiful up close.

We're here having a quick breakfast

2008-08-21T06:10:00.004-05:00

We arrived at 10pm local time (9 pm Dallas, time) dog-tired, but excited to back in West Virginia. Expect the photos to start being posted today. Now we are off to a quick breakfast and then to the factory.

I love a Rainy Day but...

2008-08-20T09:28:00.003-05:00

We drove in the rain all the way from DFW to Memphis Tennessee. Not a sprinkling, but a good old fashion gully-washer, toad strangler, well you get the message. The skies are are clearing. Now for some more antiquing.

On the Road Again

2008-08-19T14:41:00.002-05:00

Here we are on another road trip. On another road trip related to our Blenko collecting hobby. What do normal people do? Why do normal folks take vacation or road trips? We wll be arriving sometime tomorrow. Until next time.

The Beauty of Mistral

2008-08-05T09:23:00.002-05:00

"Mistral" in Seabreeze

First piece in the Blenko Celebration Series

Mistral -inspired by a new color and a wind that blows in the Mediterranean.
The new shape and rippling optic surface was designed by Arlon Bayliss as the first piece in the new "Blenko Celebration Series". This piece will be introduced during the "Festival of Glass" on August 23, 2008.
"I wanted to create a piece that was just perfect for the new color, "Seabreeze". The surface undulates with ripples, like the surface of water in the wind, and the multiple curves of the shape capture light and intensifies this amazing color. The lively form is also reminiscent of Mediterranean and near Eastern vessels." -Arlon Bayliss Blenko Designer

Limited Edition of 300 - $150.00 each (Limit 1 per customer)

#1-#150 of the Blenko Celebration Piece will be available for purchase on Saturday the 23rd at the Visitor’s Center, 151-300 Available 8/25/08 over the phone and online for purchase. This piece will be available on a first come first serve basis at the VC. The pieces will also be numbered and the mold will be struck after all 300 have been made.

Special Stamped Sun catcher will be available for collectors at the Visitor’s Center (Festival of Glass)

The Luck of the Glass

2008-07-27T19:57:00.006-05:00

As with most Blenko collectors we hit a dry patch every now and then. If you are a collector you understand the feeling. You visit your usual haunts and turn up nothing, not even a petal bowl. You go to antique shows and flea markets and get very close to a nice score and then it evaporates in the heat of the Texas summer. Then you have eBay and it is no better, either all the good stuff is out of your price range or all the stuff you can afford is the common pieces. This is what I call a Rut. The only good thing about ruts is that they never last forever. Friends, our rut has passed.

On Friday we followed up on a call to an antiques/collectibles dealer who told us about a Rose' decanter he had. When we laid eyes upon the piece our dentures almost fell out (btw we don't wear dentures). The #6316 decanter has been a goal of ours for a long time.

On Saturday after we scored the jewel of the Rose' crown, we went shopping on a lark, it was a lazy hot Saturday and it was either that or stay at home where it is cool. We chose the former. At our first stop we found this "monster" as it was called in the shop. A #5717 floor vase in Charcoal in excellent condition with the original label still attached.

No sooner did we leave that shop when we were offered a #5415 large floor vase, again in Charcoal at another shop. Unlike the other pieces this was no bargain, but I let a friend in on the piece if he was interested. Here's a #5415 from a catalog.

The very next place we stepped into we saw a beautiful 964L Rose' horn vase, that alas would not be going home with us for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we already have one and secondly, it was marked as being made by another glass maker and they were asking over $300.

To all who may be interested, I will be selling the #5717 Charcoal floor vase. Reasonable offers welcomed. Otherwise next week it's going on eBay.

Good Morning Glass

2008-07-21T10:40:00.004-05:00

Our cats woke us up this morning at 5:30 AM demanding to be fed breakfast. We tried to ignore them, but there are three of them and only two of us. Karin and I were stumbling around bleary eyed trying to feed them. When Karin look toward the living room, she was struck by how it glowed even though the sun had not fully risen (contrary to how it appears). Anyway Karin grabbed a camera and snapped a photo (focused?) just to capture the moment as our glass "woke up".

Aug 21 -23 BLENKO GLASS CONVENTION

2008-07-18T16:58:00.002-05:00

The event has tentatively been title Festival of Glass There will be several classes and demonstrations throughout the weekend. As it stands now registered collectors will have any class fees discounted. The visitors center will be full of goodies at great prices.

As for a special collectors piece here's the deal: 150 of the Blenko Celebration Pieces will be available for purchase on Saturday the 23rd at the Visitor’s Center. 150 will be sold over the phone and internet prior to Saturday; however the lowest numbers (1-150) will be allocated to the Visitor’s Center. This piece will be available on a first come first serve basis at the VC. The pieces will also be numbered and the mold will be struck after all 300 have been made. In addition a special paperweight will also be available to collectors at the visitors center. There are still a few surprises to be revealed. We have a tentative schedule, just as soon as everything is buttoned down we will get that out as soon as possible. Keeping checking for updates the news will be coming fast a furious.

It's days like this...

2008-07-14T20:59:00.004-05:00

I often hear from non-collectors and some Blenko collectors as well. What motivates you getting out to flea markets, thrift stores and shops during the hot Texas summer? There are occasional days when you strike out, and then there are those when you get very lucky. It's days like this where we found several pieces of Blenko at ridiculously low prices that keep us looking.

More Blenko For Sale

2008-06-23T21:36:00.003-05:00

Here is the next batch of Blenko glass for sale. For those who purchased some of the other glass. Thanks ! Please let me know if you see anything you like.

5815S Turquoise Genie Decanter 16" tall. $185

569P Turquoise pitcher $65

9315 Adams Opaline head vase. $130.00

537 Husted Chartreuse Biomorphic "Bicycle Seat" bowl. Some water stains. $45

439S Turquoise Crackle vase $35

704 Myers Tangerine optic vase $30

Blenko For Sale

2008-06-08T22:24:00.002-05:00

Blenko For Sale

Local Blenko Collector/Dealer Marilyn Maddox has several pieces of Blenko she is offering to Texas Blenko collectors. If you are interested in any of these pieces please send me an e-mail. If you need to see more photos let me know also.

#6423 Tangerine decanter. Designed by Joel Myers. It is 18" tall. Has a small chip on the stopper. $150

#561 Gold decanter. Designed by Wayne Husted. It is 22" tall.. Stopper a little off center. $125

#939P Amethyst pitcher. Designed by Winslow Anderson. It is 14" tall. $90

#7033 Tangerine optic pitcher. Designed by Joel Myers. It stands 16" tall. Great color and distinct optic. $115

#3752 Sea Green fan vase. Pre-designer 5" tall. $30

#445HB Amethyst highballs with prunts 14 in all. Will sell as sets only. No
singles. Set of 6 -$120. Set of 8 - $160. All 14 glass for $250

#949M Pre-designer Emerald dent vase 7.25" $60.00

Hey Timmy we hardly knew ye'

2008-06-08T21:52:00.002-05:00

What happened? Where have I been? Alien Abduction? Trouble with the Mafia? Nope on all counts. My kitty Kurn, named after a character on Star Trek (more on that later) has been very ill. He was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Disease. I'd never heard of it before, but man did my kitty get sick. Bottom line he could digest his food properly since his digestive system was inflamed. Not a task I would wish on my worst enemy, but I cleaned up after my angel dutifully. I've been feeeding him almost anything I can to get his weight stabilized. He is on his 10th day of steroids and his 10th day of all natural kitty food NO GRAINS! He's doing better now, but he has caught a kitty cold and has given it to his brother Worf and sister Lursa (more Trek names) Now we've got humidifiers, noses drops and a bulb syringe doing battle with the case of the house of Kitty Sneezies. It's been a tough month for all of us all the way around, but I see my vet drives a Ferrari. Good for him.

Collector in Chief?

2008-05-12T19:09:00.002-05:00

This past weekend former President Bill Clinton, who was campaigning in West Virginia, did some shopping at the Blenko Glass factory in Milton, WV. It seems he needed to do some Mother's Day shopping and one of his security detail recommended Blenko. The former president loved the idea, since the family apparently collects glass. Sources at the factory said among his purchases were several pieces from the Bravo line (designed by the Bayliss Team) and Blenko paperweights. More info about President Clinton can be found here.

Glass Karma

2008-05-09T22:28:00.002-05:00

When I found this really nice decanter, a 639 decanter designed by Wayne Husted. It was grungy, dirty and appeared to be "sick" (more on that later) I paid an appropriate amount for such a piece. However when I got home, I cleaned and scrubbed it and to my surprise it totally cleaned up. Under most circumstances I would be ecstatic I had scored a great piece way under priced because of its perceived issues. In this instance I went back to the private seller and paid a little extra. This is not the first time I've gone back and paid more. I don't do this because I feel guilty, but rather I like to think of it as "Glass Karma". I never expect anything in return, but I feel good about it.

Another Close Call

2008-05-05T08:42:00.002-05:00

Karin and I took Friday May 2 off from work to attend First Monday Trade Days in Canton TX. Although it's called First Monday It's actually the weekend before the First Monday. Confused yet?
At any rate we had planned to get there at 8:30 AM. Well one thing after another and we are running a couple of hours behind schedule. When we finally arrived we saw several helicopters and quite a few law enforcement officers in the area. Finally one of our favorite dealers told us the full story.

"Around 8 AM the sky became dark and stormy. Then around 8:30 AM everything got very quiet and dark that's when the twister touch down in the area of Hwys 64 and 19, a mere few yards from the unreserved section near the Civic Center. Several trees were uprooted, cars damaged, merchandise lost or destroyed, a couple of injuries, but it could have been much worse. Luckily it stayed off the Trade Day grounds or no doubt there would have been folks severely hurt or killed."

As it was several dealers had "I survived the Canton Tornado Sales" Here's a link to the story

Bad Gas

2008-04-28T08:58:00.002-05:00

This past Saturday my wife and I travel one hour outside of Dallas to shop for Blenko. We ended up running into some friends. All in all a great Saturday until we stopped for gas. We stopped at a a large retail chain's gas station whose name I will not divulge Wal***t. As we started driving on the highway m y wife's PT Cruiser started bucking, surging and slowing. Then the check engine light came on. GREAT! 45 minutes from home. Then I suddenly remembered the only thing we had done is buy gas at Wal***t. The gas was bad i.e. had water in it. Luckily my wife had only half filled the tank with the bad gas. I pulled into a well known gas station and filled it up the rest of the way with premium gasoline. I even bought some gas treatment. Unfortunately none of this seemed to help much. 1 hour later as we stopped to buy cat food I went to an Autozone and explained the situation. The manager said a lot of that is going around and told me I should buy a product called Sea Foam. I guess it was my lucky day there was only one left on the shelf. I tried it and less than 10 minuted later I noticed the car doing much better. By Sunday everything was back to normal even the check engine light went out. I guess it's karma. Blenko has a delicate green color called Sea Foam. Thanks Sea Foam !

After the Storm

2008-04-24T08:42:00.002-05:00

Springtime in Texas be both beautiful and quite scary. The words of last night- lighting, storm and tornado. When I woke up the sun was shining. As I started out the door I looked at my Blenko shelves. What a beautiful display of reds, blues and yellows with shades in between.

"I finally figured out the only reason to be alive is to enjoy it."

-Rita Mae Brown

Recycling

2008-04-22T09:24:00.005-05:00

It's a funny thing when one is a collector/obsessive. You find a way to shoehorn your interest into what is going on at the moment. As I was thinking about ways I could be more Earth Friendly at home and lessen my carbon footprint, I realized that my glass collection is recyclable. As a matter of fact the Blenko Company recycles leftover glass, broken pieces or misshapen designs. They call this product cullet. When needed they get a some of the cullet and remelt it and start over again. Buy Blenko Glass they recycle. Happy Earth Day!

Blenko For Sale

2008-04-20T20:08:00.007-05:00

Blenko Glass For Sale
4-20-08

Here are a few pieces of Blenko Glass we are offering for sale. We're offering them to members of the Texas Blenko Collectors group first. Hopefully, we have something for everyone. If they don't sell here, we will put them up for auction on eBay next Sunday. The pieces are for sale, we will not be taking bids for these pieces, although reasonable offers are welcomed. Please e-mail any question to tkalonzo@gmail.com or if you'd like to see them in person, we can do that as well.

.
#5713 Footed Bowl in Jade. Jade was only made one year. It's a hard-to-find beauty, but I'm keeping our other one. This one still has the Blenko label. The piece is over 10" tall

Price: $250

#5422 Vase with Blow Out Decoration in Chartreuse. This is another piece you don't see very often. Stands 13" almost 5" across. Very very light water mark. Price $150

#5711 Footed Pitcher in Turquoise. Pristine condition. Great Husted design. It stand at 14 1/2"tall. The handle is superb. Price $150

#448-R Vintage Ringed Old Fashion glasses. Color is Sea Green. Selling as a pair 4" tall.

Price $20

Shopping For Blenko

2008-04-19T22:13:00.004-05:00

I often hear folks say that they can't find Blenko when they visit local antique shops or antique shows. They say the best place to find Blenko Glass is on eBay. I find one-third of my glass at antique shops, one-third at antique shows and flea markets, and one-third on eBay. On eBay you can find a wide variety of Blenko Glass, but I have more luck searching for pieces that are not listed as Blenko. The same goes at flea markets and shops. One tip for folks who regularly attend antique shows or flea markets, let the dealers know what you are looking for. Here in Dallas we have Buchanan's Antique Show and we have several dealers who are looking for us. Give them as much detail as you can, but more importantly buy the pieces if they find them for you.

Here are several pieces that dealers found for us.

Here are Ruby Air Twist Wine Goblets that were misidentified at an Antique Shop

Why do I collect Blenko Glass?

2008-04-18T13:16:00.002-05:00

When you see Blenko Glass being made, or when you see a grouping of it, or Blenko in stained glass you will see the allure. The richness of the colors, often transparent and translucent at the same time. The unique designs that span the range of design. From Art Deco, to Modern to Post Modern and even a Studio aesthetic. The heft and texture as well as the delicacy. Knowing that each piece of Blenko Glass took six craftsmen to create. The fact that I know I am merely the temporary custodian of this glass, most of it older than I am. I suppose I could collect matchbooks, they don't take up as much room, or coins, since they usually bring a higher return. But my collection is not an investment per se, it is my hobby and if I were really worried about my return I would have found another avenue for investment. To answer the question more bluntly I collect Blenko Glass because it is a hobby my wife and I both enjoy doing as do many of our close friends and because the glass is not perfect but in spite of its imperfections it's still beautiful.

This is a hard-to-find Blenko 384-H (handle). It is one of our favorite pieces