Fenton Art Glass
and QVC: The Beginning
 Fenton Art Glass and QVC have established a very strong
relationship over the years. Though the precise date of Fenton's
first contact with QVC is uncertain, it was 1987 when
Shelley
Fenton Ash was contacted by Whitney Smith of QVC to explore the
possibilities of marketing Fenton products on QVC. Soon after,
Shelley and Bill took off to West Chester, PA. Once they arrived,
they met with QVC officials to further discuss selling Fenton
 products
on QVC and to show them samples of glassware they brought from the
factory.
The Birthstone Bears were decided to be perfect for QVC because
they made excellent gifts and had considerable collectible appeal
too. These bears were the FIRST Fenton product to ever appear on
QVC. QVC ordered a quantity of Birthstone Bears for all twelve
months. The bears sold briskly and were quickly reordered by QVC.
Since that first bear, over 1,400 different Fenton pieces have
been sold on QVC. What started off with one item, has turned into
multiple-hour broadcasts of Fenton Art Glass each year. Fenton and
QVC have built a strong and multi beneficial relationship that
tells the story of Fenton, and begins to communicate the "Fenton
Experience" to existing and new collectors nationwide.
 What
are Shelley's Keepsakes?
Shelley's Keepsakes are
a special collection of
limited edition handpainted items chosen by
Shelley
Fenton Ash, granddaughter of company founder, Frank L. Fenton,
for
QVC.com.
Shelley has been
involved with product development for Fenton Art Glass since 1982.
In 1988 she and her father,
Bill Fenton,
began working together to develop art glass items for QVC. While
Bill was a guest on many QVC shows from 1988 until his retirement
in 2002, Shelley remained behind the scenes focusing on new
products. "I will always have wonderful memories of sitting in
Dad's office dreaming up different items for QVC. Dad was so
creative, but often had to interrupt and tell me a joke or story
during our work sessions. He was so fun to work with!"
Upon her father's
retirement, Shelley began working closely with
Nancy
Fenton, Director of Design, to create the beautiful products
you see on QVC. "Nancy and I also have a great time working
together. We have similar tastes and normally see eye to eye on
most things. This is probably one of the most enjoyable parts of
my job...bouncing ideas off each other for new products." George
Fenton is also very involved in the approval process of new
designs.
Shelley started working
on the development of items for QVC.com a couple of years ago and also has appeared on QVC as
a representative for Fenton products.
"This collection is
designed to offer the collector beautiful handpainted art glass
pieces which are numbered and very limited in quantity."
 QVC
helps celebrate the
Fenton Centennial
QVC broadcast live from the
Fenton grounds in Williamstown during our Centennial Celebration in 2005.
The broadcast went out to over 95
million households!
Collectors and enthusiasts didn't
want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in the live
broadcast from the Fenton grounds. Many lined up for hours in anticipation
of the broadcast.
 QVC
today
Many Fenton family members have appeared on QVC.
Bill Fenton was
the first guest from any QVC vendor to appear on the show back on
August 5, 1989. In the late 80s and early 90s, Bill appeared on
most of the QVC shows, but his son
Don and nephew
George also made
several appearances. As of today, appearances have been made by
Bill, Don, George,
Scott,
and Nancy
Fenton and
Shelley Fenton
Ash.
For an excellent
reference book the history of Fenton Art Glass and QVC, featuring
products made exclusively for QVC since 1988,
click here.
|
Latest
News