Lights, Camera, Fenton!

August 2, 2005

By KATIE SABATINO

WTAP News, Parkersburg, WV


The cameras rolled at 10 a.m. on the dot. Williamstown was live to the nation and it was a show many Fenton collectors won't forget.

"I'm a Fenton collector and a QVC addict!" says Julia McCormic from Alabama.

And she's not the only one. More than 500 people packed the small tent to catch a glimpse of the action.

Fenton officials say it was the perfect way to end the family business' centennial celebration.

"I was here at 3 a.m. this morning to help get things set up and at roughly 5:00 we had a line that went all the way back and out the end of the parking lot," says Scott Fenton, National Sales Manager.

Fenton Art Glass has seen record numbers of folks wanting to come out and see the QVC show.

They sold over 400 tickets to be exact, and folks saw some great items.

The show is featuring 26 of Fenton's finest art glass, and QVC officials say that's no easy task.

"Everything that we sell has had to go through very strict quality controls before it even makes it on air. Big companies won't even deal with us because they can't handle the quality control issues," says Kelly Walker, Sales and Broadcasting Coordinator for QVC.

But after 17 years of dealing with QVC, that's never been a problem for Fenton.

"They are very high quality and they are American made. The people, these artists that create this. They really care about what they do and it really shows in their work," says Walker.

And that was apparent through the massive amount of phone calls and Internet sales with most of the pieces selling out within minutes.