Press
Xander Blue Among Ten Best
[Skaneateles, NY] Of all the new glass products, from chandeliers and showers to martini glasses and decorative jewelry - ten items were selected by Glass Quarterly magazine as the best of the best. The Kaleidoscope table by Xander Blue was among those so honored in the magazine's Winter 2003/04 issue.
The table earns its colorful name from its innovative base constructed of large glass ingots of every shade held in place by a stainless steel frame. Each ingot, eight inches by twelve inches by one inch thick, is hand-poured, creating unique texture and transparency characteristics. The piece is finished with a thick glass top that fully reveals its colorful design to diners.
"Using a kaleidoscope as a child, you could change what you saw by twisting it," says Xander Blue founder and designer Andy Ramsgard. "This table works the same way. The vase can be arranged in a variety of configurations that change the interplay of colors. And by adjusting the lighting in the room, you can create dramatically different looks."
While the Kaleidoscope table is the most colorful piece in the Xander Blue line, other items create an equally dramatic effect in a different way. The Cool Blue desk relies on varying shades of rich blue ingots; the Ruby bed is a symphony of reds and pinks; and the Winter Green bar celebrates a wide range of greens.
Ramsgard describes his style as Biblical Contemporary, a marriage of classical renaissance design and invocative stained glass colors blending form with contemporary function. "The architects of early cathedrals quickly learned that scenes that were powerful when painted on a wall were infinitely more beautiful, emotional and inspirational as stained glass," says Ramsgard. "Now, centuries later, we're achieving the same mythical effect with glass furniture. When you put one of these pieces in a room, it changes everything."
"This selection is a great honor," says Ramsgard. "The editors at Glass Quarterly see hundreds of new items every year. We're excited that they viewed our line as something special."
