ART GLASS
is HOT. Utilitarian, affordable DRINKING glasses
would be a VERY SMART thing to make abroad at third world factories, at
local, small glassworks where they already have ovens and blow glass http://www.electroglass.com/egflinks.htm
This page has many artists and their websites/ work. I picked
out just one, SATAVA glass in CHICO, California. http://www.satava.com/
the jellyfish sculpture, fabulous! Anything handblown that had a space
for illumination, perhaps from a BASE, so light built in underneath, would
be an ocular treat.
These things always seem to cost thousands. The sculptures. The drinking Glasses cost hundreds each. So you make similar stuff in CHINA or MEXICO, you can put a 50$ price on it, still high but competitive. .
There is, interestingly, a list of galleries that rep the SATAVA glass,
dozens of names, which they give to you.
No reason you couldn't give photos to chinese workers, make the glasses
for 5$ or l0$ a piece. Maybe less by the hundred. Then you'd find your
US market by going to GIFT STORE OWNER CONVENTIONS for the GIFT INDUSTRY,
Share a booth, find buyers that way. Or go to head office of the big home
furnishings chains like CRATE AND BARREL, SONOMA WILLIAMS. LEARN
from those who work in the gift show conventions how to do billing. If
you hve a gift convention attend it. make friends now with those who run
gift stores. or the gift dept of local dept store. http://www.satava.com/gallery/paperweights/
PAPERWEIGHTS at SATAVA are $200 each. not hard to undercut this price in
China or Mexico. There are glassblowing factories in Tijuana, I've
been there. Probably do paperweights for 5$ each by the hundred. A Big
art glass blowing area is just outside of guadalajara in Tlaquepaque. VIDRIO
AVALOS is huge. A five minute drive outside of Guadalajara. Their
work usually looks like the vase at top of page here. But this one designer,MARIO
REAL can imitate MURANO glass. So click on this URL here.
A TYPICAL LIST OF those you'd sell to once you have some designs, original ones, too, would be http://www.satava.com/local_galleries.php