A new generation has moved into the house of Villeroy & Boch, and the walls of the venerable German tableware company are already shaking. Oliver van Boch is the first of the ninth generation of von Bochs to be involved with the 249-year-old family business, and he has wasted no time making his mark.
It was an accident, really. Van Boch, whose official title is U.S. product and marketing manager, was approached by a California art glass studio about producing private label designs for Villeroy & Boch. “The designs they showed me were horrible,” he confesses, “but the technique of fused glass was interesting.”
Interesting enough for him to jet to Santa Cruz to check things out for himself.
At the studio, von Boch got a first-hand look at the fusing process. He saw how recycled pieces of glass were separated by color and melted down into sheets. Shapes were cut from these sheets and pieced together in flat designs that were fire for five hours at 1,525 degrees, fusing the pieces of glass.
After the fused piece was molded into a form (i.e., a bowl or vase), it was fired again for four hours, and after cooling, finished by hand-polishing.
This meeting, which he thought would be a creative exchange of ideas, metamorphosed into much more. By the end of the visit, he had designed and produced samples of what would become the first-ever collection of art glass for Villeroy & Boch, which is known for its upscale, casual dinnerware.
“I’m fascinated by extreme things,” says the 28-year-old former banking strategy consultant who has been known to speed 90 miles per hours head-first on a toboggan down the Cresta run in Switzerland.
That`s pretty extreme. The art glass is not quite that extreme. It is, however, bold with bright colors such as red, cobalt blue and lime green, and geometric, eye-catching designs.
The two most popular patterns (all are being issued in limited editions of 1,500) are based on circular themes. The Concentric platters feature a solid background with white polka dots that progressively increase in size as they branch out to the rim, creating an uneven edge. Bullseye is a simpler design. The center is a solid disc of color, framed with clear glass, then two arcs of color forming the edge.
For those who know von Boch, this creative spurt was not surprising, for he was no stranger to the art world.
“Oliver was always very interested in art,” says his father, Wendelin von Boch, who heads the company’s worldwide tableware division. “I think he has a talent for design.”
So what was Dad’s reaction to his son’s Art Glass designs?
“He went bananas,” exclaimed the younger von Boch. “He said, `I didn’t send you to the States to do this.’ I thought he’d take away my return ticket.”
Wendelin von Boch admits to being a bit surprised by what he saw. “I was afraid that Oliver would make a fool of himself by doing something that would be a commercial disaster,” he concedes. “I had to calm down some of my colleagues who felt the same way. But I remember when I started here, some of my ideas were rather weird, strange and different.”
The younger von Boch, however, believes his father was persuaded by a figure wielding way more influence than mere business colleagues. “My mother told him to stop being so conservative and let me do what I want to do.”
So, Dad agreed to give his oldest of four children a chance by testing the reactions at the New York Tabletop Market last October in New York City. The Art Glass was not displayed in the main showroom, rather it was relegated to an adjacent conference room.
Despite their seemingly stepsister status, the designs turned out to be Villeroy’s Cinderella of the market. “It was massive,” says von Boch. “It was the most exciting introduction we ever had.”
“This is a departure, a new venture for them,” explains Joel Kaplan, Trend Director for the Home Division of Dayton’s, Hudson’s and Marshall Field’s stores. “We like it because it combines art glass with serveware in a way that is unique. Our sales staff is very excited about it.”
At the tabletop market, it was hard to tell which created more of a buzz, the Art Glass or the designer himself. Dressed in a dark, four-button suit, he worked the room, greeting buyers with an earnest handshake and friends with a Euro-style kiss, one on each cheek.
If he was nervous about the new introductions, he didn’t show it. He smiled easily and spoke with an accent that was more English than German. And he blushed when complimented on his designs.
Beyond that, he was exceedingly articulate, about both Villeroy & Boch’s current line and future plans.
“Dinnerware is never anyone’s priority. People get it as a wedding gift and don’t think about it again for 14 years,” he explains. “We want to get people thinking about it more often, and we’ll do that by being more exciting and more sophisticated than the mainstream brands.”
At the spring market, Villeroy & Boch embraced the trend toward minimalism by introducing what Wendelin von Boch calls a “white relief shape”–white earthenware with a slight relief pattern on it. This, too, was suggested by the younger von Boch.
“He has very good, clear judgment and precise ideas for the American market,” says Wendelin von Boch of his oldest son. “It is not easy to compromise with him.”
One area where he seems willing to relinquish some control is the future of the art-glass designs. “I’d like to invite other artists to have a go at it,” he says. “The more input we have, the more exciting it will be.”
Villeroy & Boch’s Art Glass line of limited-edition bowls, platters and vases are signed and numbered and are sold at Marshall Field’s State Street and Old Orchard stores. Prices range from $35 for a 5-inch bowl to $250 for a vase.
VILLEROY & BOCH
Established as a pottery in 1748 by Francois Boch, Villeroy & Boch now produces not only 50 dinnerware patterns (in porcelain, earthenware and bone china), but also crystal, cutlery, decorative accessories and, now, art glass.
1754. Francois Boch dies and leaves his pottery to Pierre-Joseph Boch bottom) and his two other sons. In 1836, the Bochs acquire the pottery of Nicolas Villeroy (top), who specialized in engraved decorations.
1768. Vieus Luxembourg is introduced. It is the oldest V&B pattern still available in the U. S. While no other 18th or 19th Century pattern is sold in the U.S., some ate still available in Europe.
1970s. Design Naif. Villeroy & Boch’s “country chic” offering was made from artwork commissioned from Gerad Leplau, The French artist also created winter and bridal scenes for V&B.
1973. Basket. Designed by Helen von Boch, Oliver von Boch’s aunt, this pattern became V&B’s signature pattern and was made popular by the nouvelle cuisine chefs of France.
1995. Provence. V&B introduces a create-your-own-setting concept. Provence shared details with two compainion patterns (Provence Miramar, inset left, and Provence Cassis, inset right), enabling mixing and matching.
1997. Art Glass. Oliver von Boch’s Banana Leaf/Night is part of the company’s new art glass collection of plates, platters, bowls and vases.
