Artisan Information

	DURAND Victor Durand was a contemporary of Louis Comfort Tiffany. His art glass factory was in Vineland, New Jersey. Though his glass is not as well known as Tiffany, it is beautiful and much more affordable. To enjoy his art, I suggest you conduct an internet search for Durand art glass images.
	BOHEMIAN Bohemian glass refers to the area around present day Czechoslovakia with Prague being the center. The boundaries of counties in this part of Europe have been redrawn often. Many call most Bohemian glass Mosser, however there were over a hundred companies that made glass in this area. It has been been a center for the industry for centuries.
	WARREN KESSLER Warren Kessler manufactured lamps in New York City beginning in 1941. He designed some of the finest lamps ever made in the US. American Embassies were furnished with his lamps. They can also be found in the White House. They were very exclusive and we're sold for an average of three hundred dollars each in 1960.
	MOORCROFT Moorcroft pottery proudly wears the label "Potter to the Queen". Pottery is still being manufactured in England today. Vintage lamps are very desireable. Collectors will pay quite high prices for rare ones. Their appeal is international with a large community of collectors in such far away places as Asia.
	LENOX Lenox was founded in Trenton New Jersey in 1889 by Walter Lenox. Lenox went on to win many awards nationally and internationally. Examples are found in the Smithsonian Museum. Lenox was especially popular in Twentieth century America. It is exceptional quality.
	MURANO Venetian glass that is manufactured on island of Murano is spectacular. Highly prized for centuries, early glass blowers were not allowed to leave the Island to protect manufacturing secrets. The 1950's through 1970's are considered the glory years. All the different companies had gifted craftsmen who continually tried to out shine each other. Pick up design magazine and if there isn't one on the cover, you will probably run across one in the articles.
	MARBRO Marbro began production of lamps just after World War II until the company was sold in 1990. It was founded by the Markoff brothers. Their lamps were made by craftsmen in a factory in Los Angeles. They were marketed by very exclusive furniture stores or sold directly to interior designers . Lamp bodies were ordered from around the world, but they were assembled at the factory. Marbro lamps are sought after in today's market place.
	FREDERICK COOPER Frederick Cooper was an artist from Chicago. He began designing lamps in the 1920's. The company is still in business today. His vintage lamps are very desireable and show the quality that a artist can bring to lighting.
	BITOSSI Bitossi Ceramiche began in 1921 in a town southwest of Florence Italy by Guido Bitossi. They produced domestic and art pottery. The period of time that I focus on is when Aldo Londi became the artistic director. He was the creative force at the company for thirty years until he retired in 1976. Aldo Londi was very active in the design and ceramic industry on a word wide basis. He attended trade shows across the globe. He predicted the direction the market was headed and was a market leader rather than follower. His lines included a wide range of styles. Stylized people, horse, birds, fish and goats and fish were are fun and always bring a smile to the viewers face. He also had pattern lines inspired by ancient languages, Moorish designs, Spanish patterns, stained glass windows and cubist works. As much as I love the designs, I am amazed at the colors and glazes of the pieces. A separate part of the business experimented on new colors and glazes and sold them to other companies. It was an especially successful branch. The glazes on Bitossi pieces can be very complicated with both glossy and flat glazes on the same piece.
	SONNEMAN Robert Sonneman is a lighting designer over the last fifty years. He is a world known designer and his lighting has been featured in many museums. At the beginning of his career he designed for George Kovac’s Lighting.
	EMPOLI GLASS Located twelve miles south of Florence, Italy; the town of Empoli has been producing glass since the fifteenth century. Many of the glass makers were trained in Murano. Empoli glass tends to have simpler designs than Murano.
	MID CENTURY ITALIAN CERAMICS Mid Century Italian is often bright, colorful and whimsical. The atmosphere was charged with healthy competition, which produced some fun and wonderful things. Painters like Picasso brought out the best in craftsmen. I love Italian ceramic lamps and have a collection from such makers and designers as : Desimone, Fratelli Fanciullacci, Fantoni, Fornasetti, and others.
For more information, I highly recommend the book Alla Moda by Mark Hill. It is a great and fun book to read. It covers Italian Ceramics of the 1950's-1970's. It is equally fun to search the internet for a certain artist and look at the images that pop up.