Glendale Glass Plant Strictly Family Affair; Crystalite Products

Just Like Blowing Bubbles

These men blow glass like soap bubbles. Fred Glassen has just puffed a breath of air into a glass bubble and is lowering it into the pit where Robert Bolinger will mold it.

The goblet in the crystal may not look like much now, but it will sell at $75 a dozen. It's a special design by Olive Reed blown in singing crystal of a new smoke shade.

GLENDALE GLASS PLANT

STRICTLY FAMILY AFFAIR

Out at the Crystalite glass factory in Glendale the Glassens speak only to the Bolingers and the Bolingers speaks only to the Glassens.

There's nobody else to speak to. It's what is known as a family affair. If a man isn't a Glassen or a Bolinger or a Hatton, then he's the cousin of a Glassen & Bolinger or a Hatton or he doesn't blow glass.

THEY KNOW HOW

The success tale of Morris Miller, young president of the concern and son of John B. Miller, the late president of the Southern California Edison Company, hangs on this family solidarity.

"The Glassens, the Bolingers and the Hattons," he said yesterday, "and their cousins and uncles can blow glass like nobody else in the West."

The family was putting its best foot forward at the time for one of the newest customers, Miss Olive Reed, who has just designed a new line of glassware. They call it fumee, French for smoked. So far they've only got a starter on the line, champagne glasses, goblets, red wine, brandy and sherbet glasses.

MAKE MORE VARIETIES

When they really get going they'll put out fumee Rhine wine, white wine, port, sherry, cocktail and liqueur glasses in addition.

Miller keeps even the executive brunch pretty much in the family. He's president and general manager and as his first assistant he's hired Ford Stewart his brother-in-law.

BUSINESS GAINS

The Crystalite concern struggled alone about six years as a Miller family enterprise without making a great dent in the market. Two years ago Morris took over active control.

Now he says he makes 95 per cent of the illuminated glassware in the West, and his factory is one of the very few in the country making table glassware which commands a price of $25 to $100 a dozen glasses.