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“I started Peggy Karr Glass in 1987 at my home in Morristown, New Jersey. I had majored in art and biology at college in the 1970’s, with a focus on ceramics and I later started working in stained glass. I was a “starving artist”, supporting myself with odd jobs by day and doing my artwork by night. I came across an old piece of enameled glass by Maurice Heaton, who, along with Michael and Frances Higgins began the resurgence of enameled glass in the late 1940’s. So, no, I did not invent the process but I fell in love with it and have worked hard to master and improve enameled glass.”
Since these humble beginnings in 1987, Peggy Karr Glass, Inc. has grown from a one-woman studio to the largest enameled fused glass company in the world. |
Peggy Karr with kiln: 1987 |
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Peggy Karr Glass Studio: 1989 |
In this era of automation and cookie-cutter art, Peggy Karr has taken the best of both worlds and created a modern manufacturing atmosphere to support a beautiful hand decorated product. Supplying the nation’s demand for functional art, “Handmade in America” is our goal.
Our products are a perfect blend of design and technique; our research and development keep us in the forefront of our industry; we have a workforce of professionals, artisans and other dedicated employees; these are just a few of the things that make Peggy Karr Glass, Inc. unique.
Brightly decorated serving pieces, display pieces, ornaments and small occasional tables are the mainstays of our business. Whether it’s a design rich with the beauty of nature or one filled with the whimsy of a holiday season, the use of pattern and color in this unique medium is without compare.
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With thousands of retailers encompassing every state, Peggy Karr Glass’s wholesale customers range from small independents to major, upscale gift stores. Peggy attended her first trade show in February of 1987. Her immediate success forced a move from her home studio to a studio in an industrial park in East Hanover, New Jersey. With trepidation, she signed a two-year lease. She had finally achieved one of her life's goals, to make a living from her art. The first pieces were animal depictions on a checkerboard motif. The first plate was actually a cow. Soon fruits and vegetables on checkerboards became best sellers. Flowers, which today are a major part of her line, arrived on the scene in 1989. Shortly thereafter she branched out into other areas such as "Tropical Fish", "Solar system", "Southwest" and a Gay '90's series entitled "Old Timey".
In only eighteen months the fledgling company had outgrown the space! Peggy had to move to still larger quarters in Cedar Knolls, New Jersey. Over the next ten years she kept increasing her space in that building. During this time Peggy became the nationally recognized artist she is today. The art created in this period by Peggy and her staff artists include over 100 designs and over a dozen new shapes and sizes. This propelled the company’s growth to an extent that in the late 1990’s we began looking for larger quarters
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Peggy Karr Glass 2004 catalog. |
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“Bursting at the seams”, the company finally moved to their new home in Randolph, New Jersey in January of 2000. With “room to breathe” Peggy Karr Glass, Inc. is poised to enter the new millennium with new products and designs to brighten your home.
Through the last fifteen years, Peggy Karr has taken her business to the pinnacle of the craft industry with "Art that has a place in your life."
Peggy Karr Glass, 1999.
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