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Goats, Glass, and the Upstate Connection: Corning Museum of Glass partners with Beekman 1802

Ready for the season, Beekman 1802 in Sharon
Spring, NY. Photo courtesy of Beekman 1802.

Have you ever visited Sharon Springs, NY? Or, do you like to shop on QVC from the comfort of your own home? Have you ever tried goat milk soap? Or have you been obsessing over everything Schitt’s Creek-related like just about everyone else these days?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then there is a good chance that you’ve already discovered Beekman 1802, a small mercantile with a larger-than-life story. Founded in 2008 by New Yorkers Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Dr. Brent Ridge, winners of the 21st season of The Amazing Race on CBS, along with a friendly herd of baby goats, Beekman 1802 is the realization of a dream to escape the city and enjoy the beauty and peace that only country living can bring. And where better to do that, than in tiny Sharon Springs, 50 miles west of Albany in upstate New York?

12 years later and Beekman 1802 has become a thriving beacon for homegrown quality, unique artisanal products, and a good-sized dollop of kindness. Not to mention the goat milk soap that has put the Beekman name back on the map. And you’ll find plenty of other products for sale too, like delicious gourmet foods, sumptuous bath and body items, and things for the home, including, most noticeably, handmade glassware.

So, when the team at Beekman 1802 reached out to The Corning Museum of Glass earlier this year to collaborate, we thought it could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Freda Diamond, “Designer for
Everybody.” *Life Magazine*, April 5, 1954.

In the decades after the second world war, millions of Americans unknowingly allowed a communist into their homes in the shape of innocent housewares. How? Through the designs of Freda Diamond (American, 1905-1998), industrial designer and tastemaker with almost unmatched influence in the post-war American home. Diamond’s greatest success was her work with Libbey Glass, designing almost 80 glassware patterns between 1946 and her retirement in 1988. Despite her influential and prolific career, only in the past twenty years has her legacy in the history of design begun to be cemented. But one question that has yet to be asked is whether Diamond’s political and social beliefs influenced her body of work.

Diamond was born in New York City in 1905 to Russian Jewish immigrants. After her father departed when she was only three-years-old, Diamond was raised solely by her mother Ida, a costume designer and anarchist. Ida soon began a relationship with Moe Goldman, brother of prominent anarchist political activist and thinker Emma Goldman. Moe became a surrogate father to Diamond, and Emma a lifelong friend. Diamond studied decorative design at the Women’s Art School at Cooper Union and soon after worked for the high-end interior design firm William Baumgarten & Co. Designing for New York’s ultra-elite proved unfulfilling, so Diamond worked at the mid-market department store Stern Brothers for six years before starting her own design consulting business in 1930.

When the Museum temporarily closed due to COVID-19 earlier this year, our glassmakers found themselves suddenly without access to the material they spent nearly every day shaping into beautiful objects. More than three months out of a hot shop meant they had to find new outlets for their creativity, and Museum glassmaker Chris Rochelle did just that.

“Glassmaking is therapeutic to me,” said Chris. “It’s active, it’s engaging, and it keeps my attention and focus. Not having that was tough. I missed the studio so much that I got busy making my own glass shop for a fun project during quarantine.”

Having spent more than 20 years in various hot shops—with 10 of those years at the Museum—Chris knows hot shops like the back of his hand. He could envision every piece of equipment, every tool, and all the materials that come together to enable the magic that occurs when a maker meets molten glass. Of course, creating a functional hot shop at home would be out of the question for most glassmakers for a variety of reasons. But that didn’t stop Chris from getting creative with his nephews’ Lego sets.

“I’ve always loved Legos but haven’t built anything with them since I was a kid,” said Chris.

Chris’s Lego furnace complete with a color rack (left) and pipe warmer (right).

Women in Glasshouses: The Menace of the Unorganized Woman

First, a confession: I love organizational newsletters, newspapers, and magazines in general, so when I began research for this post on women and organized labor in the American glass industry, I started with union periodicals, many of which we have at the Rakow Research Library and some of which are available to read online via the HathiTrust Digital Library.

Cover of the October 1913 issue of *The Glass Worker*.

The Glass Worker, official publication of the Amalgamated Glassworkers’ International Association, and The American Flint, official magazine of the American Flint Glass Workers’ Union of North America, provide glimpses not only into the labor struggles in the glass industry in the early 1900s but also into the labor movement as a whole, nationally and internationally.

Tools for Building Solidarity

These publications weren’t intended to provide unbiased news; they were vital tools used to organize and inspire workers, to build solidarity among workers, and to educate members in the principles, rules, and procedures of trade unionism.

Rob Cassetti, the creative way

2020 has been a monumental year. There have certainly been times of difficulty, but also moments of innovation and progress. And for some, that change has been positive, a steppingstone to new roads and new adventures. This is certainly true for Rob Cassetti, who announces his retirement from The Corning Museum of Glass after more than 20 years of service.

A career of creative excellence is something we can all strive to achieve. For Rob, that endeavor has been essential; it’s a deeply rooted way of thinking, a calling, and a joy for him to practice. It’s the only way his brain works. Rob’s professional life has been one steeped in creative people, energy, places, and experiences, and for many of these moments, he has been the instigator, the spark that brought it all together.

The Corning Museum of Glass has lost one of its warmest, kindest smiles. It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of our own Victor Alexander Nemard, who died suddenly on March 17, 2020. He was 61.

Victor joined the Museum in 1996 and began his career as a buyer for the Museum Shops, which was known as the Glass Market at the time, before taking the reins as Senior Manager, a post he held for more than 20 years.

In that time, Victor oversaw two major renovations. The first was an expansive redesign of the retail space during the Museum’s 2001 renovation, which created one of the largest museum gift shops in the United States with eight boutiques devoted to various glass shopping experiences. The second came in 2015-2016 with the redesign and renaming of The Shops in conjunction with the opening of the new Contemporary Art + Design Galleries, creating the world-class retail experience we know and love today.

Walking through The Shops, Victor’s presence was felt in every small detail. From the seasonal bouquets and decorations to the visionary strategy that makes The Shops unique. And if you were lucky, you might have found Victor slowly walking the aisles, his hands clasped behind his back, carefully looking at the displays, the positioning of a piece of glass and the way the light fell on it, or the way a glass-beaded scarf was draped across a hanger. He was a quiet, ever-smiling presence and if you found him ruminating in this way, he was always one to stop, to talk, and ask you how you were.

CMoG Keeps You Busy: Things You Can Do at Home

Are you at home and in need of new sources of inspiration? Have you already exhausted your to-do list of house projects, cleaned the kitchen multiple times, finished several books, and asked everyone you know what’s good on Netflix? Well, don’t worry, The Corning Museum of Glass has some fresh ideas for you and the whole family.

We’ve searched our blog archive for a selection of unique things you can do from the comfort of your own home while still practicing social distancing, so let’s see what’s on the agenda for today.

Perhaps it’s time you dusted off all the old Pyrex you have stored away in various cupboards and hidden in the attic and gave everything a thorough clean.

Read this blog about how to correctly clean your Pyrex collection and restore everything to its former glory. Maybe you’ll want to start baking afterward!

CMoG Keeps You Busy: Things You Can Do at Home

Perhaps it’s time you dusted off all the old Pyrex you have stored away in various cupboards and hidden in the attic and gave everything a thorough clean.

Read this blog about how to correctly clean your Pyrex collection and restore everything to its former glory. Maybe you’ll want to start baking afterward!

Goats, Glass, and the Upstate Connection: Corning Museum of Glass partners with Beekman 1802

Women in Glasshouses: Communism in a Juice Glass – the designs of Freda Diamond

Piecing Together a Hot Shop: One Glassmaker’s Adventure into Building a Hot Shop out of Legos

Women in Glasshouses: The Menace of the Unorganized Woman

Featured News

Rob Cassetti, the creative way

Going His Own Way: Victor Nemard, a memorial

CMoG Keeps You Busy: Things You Can Do at Home

Rob Cassetti, the creative way

Going His Own Way: Victor Nemard, a memorial

CMoG Keeps You Busy: Things You Can Do at Home