A Short History of Stennett-Willson Glass
Ronald Stennett-Willson was born in Padgate, Cheshire in 1915. He did not train in business or design and yet has done more than any other British designer to transform the glassware we have in our homes.
Stennett-Willson started work in 1935, when he took a job as an office junior at a company that imported decorative glassware, mainly from Sweden. He got on well and developed a passion for modern glass. In 1951 he joined J Wuidart & Co, a Scandinavian importer, where he became sales manager.
He travelled to Sweden in the early fifties to see the glass being made there. It was a revelation – Sweden, as a neutral county, had been untouched by the war and by the early 1950s the people were rich and life was good. Selling the innovative Swedish glasswares to retailers in Britain was not easy. British glass was still much as it had been in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, colourless and with historic cut glass patterns.
Ronald decided that he needed to create hybrids that would give a British slant to Swedish colours and forms. His first design was a re-modelling of the classic Paris goblet. It was produced for 34 years in sold in the millions. Some of his more innovative pieces had to be made by Bjorkshult in Sweden, as many British glassworks refused to make his modern designs. Continue reading »
Filed under Glass | Tags: Glass, glassware, Sheringham, stennett-willson, swedish glass | Comment (0)Collecting Art Nouveau Stemmed Glasses
While glasses are a popular collector’s item in the UK, collecting Art Nouveau stemmed glasses has never gained much popularity. They are relatively inexpensive and can make a stunning display. I can never understand why people spend a lot of money on modern glasses when they could have antique glasses at a reasonable price.
The Art Nouveau movement had a dramatic effect on the design of drinking vessels. If you would have had a glass of Hock in 1895 it would have been served in a glass that was not much different from what would have been used in ancient Rome. They were usually made from green or brown glass with a hollow, ribbed stem splayed at the bottom to form a foot. They were often enamelled or cut with town scenes or plants and birds. The shape was functional rather than aesthetic. Ten years later a glass of Hock would have been served in a totally transformed glass, which would have been constructed with a proper foot, a long, graceful stem and a stylish bowl which might have been enamelled with elegant flowers and hand cut to heighten its sleek appearance. Continue reading »
Filed under Glass | Tags: Art Nouveau, art nouveau glass, art nouveau glasses, Art Nouveau Stemmed Glasses, Fritz Heckert, Moser, Theresienthal | Comment (0)