Canada gone wild...well in a Mid-Century Way!

While Swank Interiors has an encyclopedic assortment of mid-century design in furniture, art, lighting and accessories, we are always discovering new finds.  In the past month we had located some unique pieces of hand blown glass.  Exuberant in form and vibrant in color, they were not Viking or Murano.  Lightly sand blasted on the base was Chalet. 

Chalet was a Canadian glass company that had it's beginnings in 1958 when Angelo Tedesco, a Venetian glass blower who had immigrated from Murano, Italy to Montreal in 1952, established a small glassblowing factory.

With other Italian glass masters from Murano, artisans at Chalet were inspired to produce art glass with smooth, fluid lines, dramatic shapes and striking colors.  These pieces were created by techniques rooted in Venetian tradition but evolved into free-form hand worked translations of the art form.

Mid-Century Murano

As Chalet grew, additional glass artists from Murano joined the company.  And Chalet glassware was exported to the USA and Great Britain.

Mid-Century Chalet

Chalet's greatest moment came in 1967 when given worldwide exposure at the Expo 67 World's Fair in Montreal.  Chalet Glass was showcased in the official Canadian Habitat Pavilion.

Chalet closed for business in 1975. 

But these vintage hand blown, unique pieces can still be found at Swank Interiors -- so stop by next time you are shopping and dining in down town Palm Springs -- we are on the south end across from the iconic E. Stewart Williams Bank now occupied by Chase Bank.