Stuart Crystal

continued. . . 

It is with new programs and time to heal that Jay knows Stuart will glow once more, an incandescence that has illuminated since 1788. The Stuart story – like many businesses with an expansive history – is intriguing.

The setting is Stourbridge, in the midlands of England, which became the heart of Britain’s glass industry when religious persecution drove glassmakers from France’s Alsace-Lorraine to Stourbridge. The region was ideally suited to glassmaking: a network of canals made for easy transport, and there was an abundance of clay and coal, which earned the region the nickname Black Country. With this as backdrop, Richard Bradley Ensell opened a factory to produce glass bottles and windows. It was dubbed the Redhouse, thanks to the 100-foot, red-brick, cone-shaped kiln that housed the 12-pot furnace.

Amid a Dickensian climate, it was in 1827 when an 11-year-old orphan, Frederick Stuart, was sent to Redhouse to apprentice as a clerk. There he remained until the age of 24, when he left to sell glass. Life on the road took its toll and at the age of 40, Stuart joined two partners to purchase the foundry adjacent to Redhouse. By the time he was 60, Stuart was successful enough to purchase Redhouse, returning to the site he worked almost half-a-century prior. Stuart proved a savvy entrepreneur. One fortuitous business decision, in 1876, was becoming the crystal supplier to many luxury ocean liners, the mode of travel in the late 19th century. (Trivia alert: Stuart’s biggest contractor was the White Star Line, whose most noted vessel, the ill-fated Titanic, went down in 1912 with a bounty of Stuart Crystal stemware.)

At the time of his death in 1900, the orphaned Stuart was at the helm of a thriving enterprise that would employ five generations of Stuarts. In the ensuing century much change was afoot: factories closed and opened, designs came and went, and Stuart Crystal no longer manufactures in England. As a member of the Waterford Wedgwood family, Waterford took over the Stourbridge factory to produce its mega-selling Millennium flutes before closing the factory altogether. (Redhouse is now a tourist landmark.) The WW Group assures Jay that Stuart will continue business as usual, as its own brand, despite the marked similarities between Waterford and Stuart. "They do realize that the U.S. is a growth market for them and have been wonderfully supportive," says Jay. Still, the Group was not interested in adding the brand to its U.S. family. "Stuart," Jay allows, "is a small drop in the bucket for Waterford. [Stuart generates $15 million in global sales, pocket change for the acclaimed crystal maker.] It wouldn’t get the exposure it deserves. I applaud their decision to keep the brands separate. Stuart has a wonderful following and, despite problems, there is a market for it here."

Jay further acknowledges he along with overseas management and design cohorts are proactive about carving their market niche here. The first few years have been dedicated to rebuilding the infrastructure, laying the bedrock for years to come. "There was a time when Stuart stopped introducing designs, and they had only brought minimal giftware to this market," Jay says. That thinking just won’t wash anymore, so an extensive giftware line, complementing successful stemware – like the floral-etched Cascade, the linear-cut Prism, and the crosscut Shaftesbury – have launched Stuart’s foray into gifts, more than 200 items thus far, $45 to $300. "Key to our success is Stuart being a full and complete line," Jay affirms. "Giftware opens us up to many new stores." Giftware – serveware, vanity, executive accessories, candleholders, salt and peppers, and vases – is already generating 40% of sales, and by 2006, Jay expects that figure will jump to 60%. Collections like Jasper Conran’s will go a long way in achieving that goal. The U.K.-based fashion designer has collaborated with Stuart on a contemporary stem and giftware suite. Conran notes he used the same approach designing clothes as he did in his first crystal collection. "The cut is everything in producing clothes," Conran says, "and I adopted the same attitude to crystal. Use the best materials and keep it simple."

continued . . .