Sad Day

This was in my email inbox this morning:

Dear friends of Fenton Art Glass,

As you may have heard last week, our company announced the cessation of production of our collectible and giftware lines on Wednesday, July 6.

Our QVC shows (July 14 at 6-7 a.m. and July 16 at 4-5 a.m.) will go on as scheduled. The glass required for these two shows was made and decorated several weeks ago so that it could be shipped to the warehouse facility at QVC. For a preview of items to be offered during these two shows, click here.

Here's what's going on now at Fenton. The gift shop's annual Tent Sale began last Friday, and, over this past weekend, lots of folks found glass items they liked. The Tent Sale is scheduled to go on through August 7. When you visit us here in Williamstown, you can see our beadmakers and decorators at work (Monday-Friday), and you can enjoy the historic glass in the Fenton Museum and the Experience Fenton video or the Fenton episode of Mike Rowe's Dirty Jobs (Discovery Channel© program) in our theatre.

In case you haven't seen it, here is the text of our press release from last Wednesday:

FENTON ART GLASS TO CEASE TRADITIONAL GLASS PRODUCTION AND SHIFT PRODUCT FOCUS

(Williamstown, W. Va., July 6, 2011). The Fenton Art Glass Company announced today that it would wind down production of its collectible and giftware glass products. The company has faced financial challenges since its restructuring in 2007, and recent developments combined to force the shutdown of its traditional glassmaking business.

"The market for our pressed and blown glassware has diminished," company President George Fenton said. "We cannot sustain the overhead costs. Our employees have worked hard and efficiently, so this is a very sad day for us. Shortly, we will begin the process of shutting down our main furnace. Remaining employees will be finishing existing glassware from the company's inventory that will be available through the Fenton Gift Shop as well as the company's web site and Fenton dealers across the country."

As a part of winding down the traditional business, Fenton Art Glass is exploring the sales of one or more product lines.

"We know that our many customers and friends will have questions," Fenton said. "Our web site www.fentonartglass.com will be updated regularly beginning the week of July 11."

Inquiries regarding sales of equipment and other assets should be directed to Fenton Art Glass at assetinfo@fentonartglass.com

Management at the Fenton Gift Shop is evaluating the impact of the termination of traditional glassmaking at Fenton Art Glass. "The Fenton Gift Shop is in discussions with Fenton Art Glass, the glass manufacturing company, to provide customers with a wide range of samples and special decorations as well as final quantities of limited edition pieces," said Randall Fenton, President of the Fenton Gift Shop. "The annual Tent Sale in Williamstown starts July 8, and the Fenton Gift Shop and the outlet store in Flatwoods, West Virginia, remain open."

Founded as a decorating company in Martins Ferry, Ohio, in May 1905 by brothers Frank L. Fenton and John W. Fenton, the Fenton Art Glass Co. constructed its factory in Williamstown during the fall of 1906. The first glass pieces were made there on January 2, 1907. During its 106-year history, Fenton introduced the first iridescent ware (now known as "Carnival glass") as well as classic patterns such as Hobnail and a wide variety of handmade colored art glass as limited editions.

The best way to keep up to date on any news about Fenton is to go to our web site and sign up for the regular eNewsletters (look for the brown box in the lower right of the home page). These are scheduled for every Monday and Thursday, and there may also be special issues if the need arises.

All of us here are grateful for the messages of support we have received in the past few days.

Sincerely,

George W. Fenton, President

Can't say I'm exactly surprised about it.  Fenton announced that they were closing a few years ago, then a number of employees got together and attempted to keep it going.  It looked like they had a chance, then the economy crashed and the rumors have been flying for a while.  As far as "exploring sales of one or more product llines", that means that Fenton itself will no longer be in business but possibly another company might be willing to still produce some of their lines through purchasing it.  But Fenton's essentially gone now.  This time, I think it's final.