The Annieglass Story:  Table Art with Exceptional Durability.

Limited Edition Cone Vase
Shown in Gold. Platinum also available.

Annie Morehauser, creator of Annieglass, took her inspiration from Santa Cruz where she first saw glass blown on the beach.  Now over 30 years ago, that convergence of art and ocean proved life-changing.  The young art student set down roots in Santa Cruz and founded the luxury tableware company known as Annieglass.

Annie’s original tour de force was a piece called “Roman Antique,” a glass plate with a widely painted gold rim.  At a tradeshow back in 1983, she astounded the country’s retailers with this entirely new look.  Fusing the precious metal into the glass made it tarnish free, chip resistant and even dishwasher safe.  This combination of art and durability was a real breakthrough for her business. 

Today “Roman Antique” is an oft imitated industry icon that is sold by luxury retailers such as Neiman Marcus, Barney’s New York, Bergdorf Goodman, and Bloomingdales as well as leading hotels and restaurants.  Private collectors include celebrities such as Oprah, Jennifer Aniston, Christina Aguilera, and John Grisham.  Roman Antique is the “starter elegant set” for many brides.  It is enormously popular with Southerners who have been mixing china and glass for a long time. 

Annie adheres to the Japanese expression, “Dining should be a feast for the eye as well as the stomach.”  She believes that delighting your guests with a beautiful presentation before the food arrives puts everyone in a festive and receptive mood.  In her blog, Annieglass Blog, Mix & Match 7-30-13, she suggests using plates that don’t match or varying each place setting slightly. “Mixing and matching can add fun to the table.  It’s a way of more closely reflecting your personality and allows you to indulge in your love of tableware without feeling guilty about buying multiple patterns.” The following tricks can give a cohesive quality to the look:

·        Embrace the chaos with confidence.  You can make it work by seeming 100 percent intentional.

·        Have a unifying theme.  Maybe a color theme or accent color like a metallic trim on the plate. 

·        Plates for each course should be of similar weight.

·        Tie it together with an accent for a more unifying, harmonious look.

Ultramarine Bowls

In a recent interview with Diane Dorrans Saeks, The Style Saloniste Blog, Style Alert:  Heart of Glass - Annieglass 7-15-2013 , Diane posed the question “What was the most dramatic response you ever had to a new design?”  Annie:  “The Smithsonian asking for two pieces to become part of their new museum; having one of my pieces sent to the Pope as a gift was pretty awesome; customers making sinks out of my ultramarine blue bowls; seeing one used as a baptismal font was pretty impressive.  Some of my customers recently bought my new limited edition cone vase sight unseen.  That was dramatic.” 

Annieglass is sold in more than 500 stores worldwide including Chelsea Passage at Barney’s New York, Gump’s in San Francisco and boutique retailers like LCR.