Christmas decorations don’t grow on trees.
So where? to do are they coming You can answer that the dollar store.
Or – in the case of exquisite handmade baubles made Sincerely yours — from several dozen elite boutiques that present a new line of jewelry from ace designer Christopher Radzko.
“Every year when you unwrap the Christmas decorations, it’s like seeing old friends,” said Radzko, one of the industry’s most recognizable names, who is making a triumphant return to ornament design this year after a 10-year absence.
Shiny red and green globes, shiny Santas – these are the decorations most of us remember from childhood.
Many were associated with the Shiny Brite brand, which was produced in the 1940s and 50s in places like Hoboken, Irvington, North Bergen and Western New York. In the 2000s, Radzko revived the name and began creating retro jewelry in this style. “They were the most popular brand,” he said. “They were in every Five and Dime in the country.”
But what he’s really famous for are the intricate creations that are genius in their own way, like Fabergé Easter eggs. And as collectibles.
The 250 new pieces in his Sincerely yours range are typical: glass seahorses and nesting birds, snowmen riding polar bears, gilded butterflies and ornate frogs and globe nativity scenes. Most retail in the $30-$80 range, though some can go as high as $200.
“There’s one called December 24th — it’s a very classic, elegant Santa holding a gold teddy bear and a shiny green sack of toys and presents, and he’s just beautiful,” Radzko said.
Another novelty of 2022 is a slender nutcracker standing on top of a ball. “It’s two ornaments in one,” he said. “It’s called Hampton Court. It’s beautiful, it’s one of my best sellers.”
Return to source: Central Europe
Part of the secret of Radzko’s success is that he does know where glass jewelry comes from.
Originally, they came – and the best of them, including his, still come – from Central Europe.
True, Radzko invents them himself. He designs them here in the US, but in Germany, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and Ukraine – yes, Ukraine – craftsmen and artisans bring them to life. Each one, says Radzko, is made by hand for seven days.
“Every year I spend five weeks in Europe doing workshops,” said Radzko, a Putnam County resident.
Store-bought Christmas decorations are, historically speaking, a new development.
The Christmas tree itself is a late custom. They did not become widely popular until 1850, when Queen Victoria introduced them to England. And it was only after 30 years that someone began to think about commercial decorations for them.
At first, people made bracelets and baubles themselves. Charles Dickens in 1850 described one early tree.
“Everywhere there was glitter and glitter of bright objects,” he said. “There were toothpicks, chants, needlepoints, wipers for pens, scented bottles, postcards for conversations, stands for bouquets; real fruit, artificially dazzling with gold leaf; imitations of apples, pears and walnuts.’
People decorate their trees with whatever they want. Jewelry, cameo frames, popcorn garlands, knives and forks can all be seen in old photos. One lucky prospector decorated his tree with gold nuggets.
But it was in the 1880s in Bohemia, in what is now the Czech Republic, that glass tree ornaments changed the game.
“Central Europe has a tradition of glassmaking since the Romans taught people in these areas how to make glass,” Radzko said.
Blown glass
Italy—most famously Murano—had excellent furnaces where glassblowers could produce heavy vases and statuettes. But in other places, the masters could not heat the molten glass to thousands of degrees. On their smaller, cooler flames, they created thinner glass. Christmas glass.
– It is blown out of hollow glass tubes, – said Radzko. “They use a Bunsen burner to cover the bottom end. The tube itself becomes a decoration.”
In Bohemia, since the 1830s, there was a tradition of making jewelry from glass. Glass beads and pearls were sewn into folk costumes and wedding dresses. Some of these tiny gem-sized ornaments also found their way onto Christmas trees.
When the Czech artists spread across Europe, they came into contact with the Thuringian toy makers. In Germany, toys were made according to shapes. Why, they say, can’t the same be done with glass Christmas ornaments? “They said, why don’t we make uniforms, make more of them,” Radzko said. – They do not necessarily have to be beaded.
These thin, lightweight, hand-blown Christmas ornaments began appearing in Europe in the 1880s when – the story goes – FW Woolworth was on one of his shopping trips. He brought some of the glass ornaments home for his shop. They were sold out in two days.
“Soon he was making regular trips to Germany and ordering fifteen hundred ornaments at a time,” writes Bill McKibben in his book, The Hundred Dollar Holiday.
Made in America
This is how German Christmas decorations conquered the world. Until the end of the 1930s, that is, until the time when the world was under threat of conquest. Germany.
In 1937, importer Max Eckardt decided it would be wise to develop an American alternative in case the coming war cut off the market. His decorations, in collaboration with Corning Glass, were designed to be cheap and easy, on already existing electric light bulb machines. Hence the name of the brand: Shiny Brite.
“They were made by machine,” said Radzko. “Then in a rudimentary way they dipped them in lacquer. The machines could churn out 500 pieces of jewelry an hour.”
The work was outsourced to – among others – several plants in New Jersey. Americans, to help the war, canned light bulbs, buying less. Shiny Brite has provided bulb plants with new revenue.
“Christmas has always been a big opportunity for retail in this country,” Radzko said. “Santa sells everything. If you slap Santa on the box, you’re going to sell whatever’s in it. The Shiny Brite box was designed with Santa shaking Uncle Sam’s hand, so you had the best of both worlds. They were made in America.. You don’t want those nasty ones from Germany.”
Most Americans grew up with this kind of jewelry in the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. Radzko, who was born in Yonkers in 1960, grew up with them.
And then one day in 1984 – by then the family had moved to Scarsdale – he broke them all.
This is a rout
“I wanted to decorate the Christmas tree myself,” he recalled. He had grown up by then, and so had the family tree. Actually over 12 feet tall.
“I decorate this whole tree, and the next morning the tree breaks,” he recalled. “One of the legs of the stand broke under the weight. It broke 95 percent of our family collection. It was a pretty loud bang. Everyone came in. My grandmother said: “What have you done? You ruined Christmas forever! ‘ “
You say heavy guilt to put on a young man? It is possible. But Radzko thinks he knows why his grandmother was grieving.
“Behind each ornament was its own story,” he said. “This is a reindeer I had when I was 5. These snowmen were when your parents got married. This cat was from your great uncle Max in Vienna. It was like a family diary on the Christmas tree. When it fell, she felt , which lost the family album.
“Even today, people are very sentimental about their jewelry. They remember where they come from.”
Feeling guilty, Radzko began going to flea markets and garage sales, trying to find duplicates of the vintage jewelry he had lost. This was the seed of his own business, which he built, starting in 1986, into a name known around the world.
Katharine Hepburn, Whoopi Goldberg, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Andy Warhol, Gregory Peck, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and, think Woody Allen, are among the celebrities who have purchased his glass globes and tree canopies. Princess Diana once wrote him a kind letter.
“Princess Diana was a collector,” said Radzko. “She bought them at Harrods. She wanted to share the beauty of her tree with the boys.”
Any resemblance is coincidental
By the way, don’t confuse Christopher Radzko with Christopher Radzko.
There is a company with that name that also makes Christmas decorations. And no wonder – because the company was originally Radzko.
“Christopher Radzko’s brand and the person are two different things,” he said. “They are no longer connected.”
In 2005, the company was sold, and two years later, Radzko left – with a severance package that included a refusal to compete. For 10 years, Radzko contractually agreed not to participate in the business of Christmas decorations.
In August 2021, the validity period of this clause expired – and since then, Radzko is in no hurry to leave. Sincerely yours: Congratulations on his return to the profession — and the season he loves.
“I live and breathe Christmas,” Radzko said. “It’s my passion. I get plugged in. I’m the guy who gets a direct feed to the North Pole.”
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