High-End Wares With a Utilitarian Twist

We’re highlighting small businesses from around the country as nominated by you, our readers. If your favorite small business is using Twitter to communicate with customers, let us know about it @fbsmallbiz with the hashtag #mysbc, and it may be featured as an upcoming Small Business Spotlight.

Small Business Spotlight: Thomas Fuchs Creative

Who: Thomas Fuchs, @tfuchscreative

What: High-end glassware and barware designs

Where: New York City

When: 2011

How: Fuchs started his first company, Otium, nearly a decade ago, making Venetian glass chandeliers, table lamps, vases and more. However when the economy slowed down, he says he decided he wanted to make more attainable products for consumers. After launching Thomas Fuchs Creative, his new glassware lines were picked up by Saks Fifth Avenue and Barney’s Department stores.

“My new company, I wanted it to feel like a collection that felt like it was collected over the years,” he said. “It’s mostly barware… you get the feel its been collected over the years. That’s how people entertain now—they mix and match.”

Quote from the owner: “It’s important for me to use recycled material, and 98% of what I produce and design is utilitarian—it stirs a drink, lights a room, holds a champagne bottle,” Fuchs said. “And when you love something, you hold onto it, which is also very good for the environment.”