West Virginia: When glass is made, attention is clear-cut

MILTON, W.Va. — At the Blenko Glass Co. factory, glass is handcrafted as it has been for more than 100 years.

The famous products are bought, collected and recognized throughout the world.

Blenko made stained glass for St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. Its tableware is found in the White House and in various museums. The company also designed the trophy for the Country Music Association Awards.

The glass factory, in Milton just a few minutes off I-64, has an on-site museum, displaying some of its innovative designs, and an observation area.

Visitors watch workers heat, shape, blow and cut colorful glass pieces into vases, bottles and other items.

Signs explain the process, which involves several jobs: One worker gathers just the right amount of hot glass. Another blows, shapes and molds the material. The piece is then removed from the blowpipe, and a finisher completes the work by cutting off ragged edges and working with the soft glass to match a master design.

Because each one is made by hand, no two pieces are exactly alike.

The company was founded by William J. Blenko, an immigrant from England.

He opened his first factory in the 1890s, in Indiana, but didn’t initially find success: At the time, Americans wanted not domestically made glass but glass made in Europe.

After several ups and downs, he chose Milton in the early 1920s partly because of the abundance of inexpensive natural gas to fuel the furnaces.

He eventually produced not just sheet glass and stained glass but also tableware. The switch was prompted by the Great Depression, when a downturn in church construction ravaged the market for stained glass.

The innovative Blenko craftsmen began to be honored in the mid-20th century with awards for their handcrafted tableware designs.

Despite the recognition, the company hasn’t always prospered.

It recently emerged, in fact, from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The gift shop offers many types and colors of bowls, vases, bottles, glasses and other items as well as handmade Christmas ornaments, small statues and even a bit of jewelry. Most of the pieces are made by Blenko, but a few — such as the jewelry — are produced by other manufacturers.

The museum awaits upstairs from the gift shop.

Free monthly events, with vendors and demonstrations, focus on glass. Classes are often conducted then for a fee.

The annual glass festival is scheduled for Aug. 5-6.

The biggest yearly Blenko gathering, though, is keyed to the anniversary of the date on which West Virginia became a state — June 20, 1863. The company creates commemorative glass pieces in a limited edition to mark the occasion, and the sale takes place on a Saturday close to the anniversary (June 18 this year).

Collectors start camping in the company lot the Monday before the sale just to get a space in line.

The number of pieces and their price are determined by the birthday: This year, for the 153rd celebration, the company will produce 153 works at $153 each.