This past week I presented a Carder talk at The Mansion at Strathmore in Bethesda, MD. The
Strathmore promotes these type programs as “Engaging, Interactive Education Events for All
Ages”. To supplement my power point talk, Dick Stark brought some of his Carder Glass and a few examples of Stevens & Williams and other competitive makers of the time. Take a look at a few pictures of some of Dick’s great examples.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cardersteubenclub/sets/72157604252611023/

It was a fun day. I didn’t realize how many glass collectors live in the Washington-Baltimore area. Francis Allen who attended told me that there are something like 9 local glass clubs in the area. It is always great fun to see the reactions of attendees who have never seen Mr. Carder’s glass and their absolute amazement to discover superb art glass.
As I’ve related before, these kind of talks are easy to present, but what is important is that they open the eyes of the public to a medium they don’t realize exists; and they always get excited about Carder Steuben glass. To continue some of the discussion that has been swirling around in this newsletter about the affects of the current Steuben Glass Company being sold or closed, John Clayton reacts to the last comment about the importance of keeping the name of glass form before the public, he says:

Thank you, Gordon Hancock, for your observation. The name “Tiffany” has high brand awareness (whether for jewelry, silver or glass) because (1) they advertise their brand in newspapers, magazines and other places where upscale clients go for information;
(2) they have made sure the name “Tiffany” is synonymous with fine objects that are well quality-controlled and (3) they have retail showplaces on 5th Avenue, Wall Street, and at least 52 locations outside of Manhattan worldwide. In addition, Tiffany Glass is owned (and, more importantly, actively displayed) by dozens of museums worldwide. The collectors‛ circle slowly shrinks as brand awareness diminishes.