Curl Up with some Chalet!

What good things come with curls? Let’s see – curly fries, fun hairstyles, elf slippers, pasta, ribbons … And, best of all – Chalet!

Before we get started, let us define “curl” for the purposes of this article. In it, I am referring to a piece of Chalet that had the molten glass hand-shaped into a decorative, circular sculptural element. A more tightly rounded, not merely bent, shape.

Honey gold “crazy arms” centerpiece at left (from the collection of Jo Highland) has both curled (see arrows) and bent tips. Honey gold “crazy arms” centerpiece at right (from the collection of Deborah Patterson) only has bent tips.

Pieces can often have both curls and bends.

Lovely curls and bends. From the collection of Deborah Patterson.

Or just one or the other.

This exceedingly rare, unique, *corroso* finished centerpiece is etched “Chalet Canada.” It curls up in the collection of Deborah Patterson.

Chalet curls are found on both small, delicate pieces as well as on larger, sculptural forms. In both hand-blown pieces and on hand-molded forms. They are found in a wide range of forms as well. Most typically, animals, baskets, bomboniere, centerpieces. On rare pieces and on the more common.

Chalet used curls three different ways – to add interest to a design, to create a variation from the typical, or as the major design feature in certain pieces or styles.

Let’s look at the first – adding interest to a design. Try picturing all the following pieces without their decorative curls. They just would fall flat – pun intended!

What would a poodle dog be without its curls? Obviously a rhetorical question!

From the collection of Deborah Patterson.

Or a Chalet elephant without a curled trunk?

Dimpled pink elephant (middle) retains its original N.C. Cameron & Sons Ltd label. From the collection of Kevin Hall. Chalet elephants at left and right from the collection of Deborah Patterson. Elephant at left bears the generic Riekes “Canada” sticker that was used post 1975 on Chalet pieces. Elephant at right retains the black palette-shaped Chalet Riekes branding. For detailed information and photographs regarding the lines carried and branding used by Chalet’s distributors, please refer to “Chalet Crystal Clear Continued” and see pages 169-226.

And the big guys!

Would these basket styles have as much “Wow” factor?

From the collection of 50 Shades member Dwain Robertson.

The iconic curled neck Chalet swan bomboniere just would not be the same:

It is quite amazing that both these pieces retain their original distributors’ stickers – Roycraft stickered (Tex Novelty) at left and Chantili stickered at right. From the collection of Deborah Patterson.

There are very few bomboniere styles with curls but I am able to provide two more examples.

A very rarely seen leaf *bomboniere* style. From the collection of Kim Tersteeg.

This *opaline irradato* candleholder *bomboniere* is from the collection of Michelle Grant Jeffers.

And I cannot imagine this showstopper without its curls. Don’t want to either!

Its curls and crystal casings work together so beautifully to emphasize colour and design. This very rare form has also been seen in amber. From the collection of Deborah Patterson.

Without curls, these “moustache gondolas” obviously couldn’t be a moustache!

Some rare Chalet curls:

This little ashtray oddity:

Yes – it’s Chalet!

Coloured Chalet prunts and curls – ooohlala!

A very rare Chalet centerpiece. This form has also been found etched “Chalet Canada” in olive green. This sapphire blue is not etched but does retain its Birks inventory sticker.

A second use of curls created variation to an iconic form.

Variation of V33:

The most iconic Chalet variation – the “hook and curl” centerpiece became the “4 curls” centerpiece with just a one curl design twist. Both literally and figuratively!

The “4 curls” centerpiece is found in 2 designs. Although the base style between the two is different, both designs feature four curled into the form pulls and both styles can be found in the common colours of the Chalet palette.

With a four-footed base:

Olive “4 curl” at bottom left from the collection of Kevin Kodak. Red, blue and amber “4 curls” from the collection of Dwain Robertson. Honey gold “4 curl” at bottom right from the collection of Deborah Patterson.

EDAG also produced a footed base “4 curls” form:

This Chalet grouping from the collection of Dwain Robertson.

With a “crystal swirl base”:

The elevation of this base shows variation in height from piece to piece. Base heights range from quite flat to noticeably elevated – you can see this here in this gallery sampling. Deep olive “4 curls” at top right from the collection of Rodney Lyndsay-Keg. Blue “4 curls” at bottom left from the collection of Suzanne Brooks McDonald.

A variation of the iconic BB1 Chalet basket – a “finger curl”:

The third and most familiar use of curls is seen in the creation of 2 distinct styles:

The “finger curl” forms. To date, we have found 7 different designs – see first example in the variation of a BB1 basket shown directly above. However,all the styles share common characteristics - one arching “finger” pull giving the piece vertical height and one inward curl pull over the bowl of the centerpiece.

Blue rimmed “finger curl” centerpiece from the collection of Pina Pina. The solid blue with crystal edge to its right from the collection of Jackie Lyn. This is a very rare piece. It is etched with the <E> branding for Eaton’s – a significant Chalet retailer.

This “finger curl” has a rarely seen coloured base. To date, all the coloured Chalet bases we have seen are this translucent icy, watery blue.

Honey gold rimmed centerpiece from the collection of Deborah Patterson.

“Finger curls” from the sapphire blue/olive green 2-tone line:

“Finger curl” at right from the collection of Deborah Patterson.

One of the most iconic Chalet forms is the “hook and curls” centerpiece – Chalet inventory number B2. Although the design details do not typically vary in this form, a design exception is found below. Moreover, there is a huge range and variation in height, diameter and colour. We have also found “minis”, unique colours and colour combinations, they were done using uranium… Shared common design characteristics - one arching “finger” pull giving the piece vertical height and three inward curl pulls over the bowl of the centerpiece. 99.9% of the time, base is the 4-footed pedestal – both the earlier and later designs. But “Never Say Never”

We do have a catalog page for this form. You will note that many of the forms on this particular page are “XS.” However, this does not translate to “mini.” These “XS” heights are still production pieces. Minis are even smaller versions of these forms and are not production pieces. Unlike the minis produced by Lorraine Glass Industries, Chalet minis were not a dedicated line nor do the Chalet piccoli appear on any catalogue page. Please see bottom row at right for the “hook and curl” listing:

The smallest production height was 7 inches. As stated above, many collectors think that these are “minis” of this form. Not so.

The following photo grouping shows a true mini “hook and curls.” It is featured with a “XS” 7-inch production height piece and a 9-inch production height piece.

Olive form at right in center ground is 7” in height. The clear crystal in foreground left is 6” in height. All pieces from the collection of Deborah Patterson.

To date, the only mini “hook and curls” found are clear crystal.

A Chalet “David and Goliath” vignette. My little mini is shown here with the largest “hook and curls” of which I am aware – this rusty red centerpiece is 14 inches in diameter and 14 inches in height. Note the earlier design regarding the footed base. You have to pick this one up with both hands!

This massive centerpiece was double marked – etched with both the iconic “Chalet Canada” signature and the etched <E> Eaton’s signature. Now in the collection of Kathi Norton.

Colours range from the typical of the Chalet production palette:

To the more unusual. This huge piece was a very deep “root-beer” amber.

In this grouping, it is seen at left in background. The huge rusty red 14” form shown earlier is at right in background.

This form has been found in rarer 2-tone Chalet colour combinations as well.

From left to right: these “hook and curls” are from the collections of Dwain Robertson, Jessica Reynolds and Faye Draper.

A most unusual 2-tone green combination – olive and emerald greens together! To date, have not seen another Chalet piece of any design with this colouring.

From the amazing collection of Steve Allen.

It has also been found in rarer solid colours:

From the collections of Kevin and John Hall (left), Gionny Gueli (middle) and Craig Brunetti (right).

And in clear crystal and in a colour-rimmed clear crystal:

Even found with the corroso finish.

Photograph of blue *corroso* “hook and curl” courtesy of Dan Lof. At the time of writing, this is the only non “pink” Chalet piece with the *corroso* finish of which we are aware.

“Fire and ice” uranium “hook and curls”:

From the ice cold blazing hot collection of Carter Hensen.

A “hook and curls” grand finale:

The design variation that proves the rule - this “hook and curls” has the Chalet crystal swirl base.

This piece bears a hand-engraved Birks signature. A handful of this style, all in amber, have been found. This piece from the collection of Deborah Patterson.

You will have noticed all the different brandings on these pieces throughout the article. For easy reference and because they are very interesting, I have summarized them here in galleries.

Some of the Chalet company markings on these article pieces.

Some very special, atypical markings:

The amber basket retains a Chalet company inventory sticker. Note that amber is the Italian “AMBRA.” The “ice” uranium piece retains a generic “country of origin marking. Photographs courtesy of Alex Wicks and Cathy Young respectively.

These pieces all retain labels from Chalet Canadian distributors.

3 different Chalet Riekes (the major American distributor for Chalet) stickers.

Birk’s marked piece as above. Olive green “hook and curls” retaining the Simpsons retail sticker from the collection of Kevin Kodak. Pieces at right bear Eaton’s branding. For more information on Chalet’s relationship with this critically significant retailer, please see this article. Detailed information with regard to Chalet company branding, Chalet inventory stickers, generic “Made in Canada” labelling, both American and Canadian Chalet retailers, original advertising and pricing and retailer’s stickers, please refer to “Chalet Crystal Clear Continued.” Information pertaining to Chalet retailing is found on pages 227-266 with original advertising and pricing included.

I want to end with a special focus on “curly Chantili” pieces. However, before concentrating on this, I must address some “Chalet confusion.” Specifically, what is a glasshouse, what is a distributor, what is a supplier, what is a retailer and what are importers and exporters.

A glasshouse is: simply, a place where glass is made. Depending on the workplace culture, size, and product output, it can be a workshop, studio, or factory. Chalet was a factory glasshouse.

A distributor is: an entity who purchases bulk amounts of product from a manufacturer and distributes it either directly to consumers or to retailers who then sell to the consumer. Distributors are also sometimes called "wholesalers." From 1962 until 1965, Chalet (the manufacturer) only had one distributor (Tex Novelty) but as the demand for its glass grew, the company acquired several more. Its major Canadian distributors were: Chantili, Tex Novelty, FASCINATION PAR C.M. and N.C. Cameron and Sons. Chalet’s best-known American distributor was Riekes Crisa. Another well known US based distributor was Schmid Brothers.

A supplier is: an organization that produces goods or materials that they then sell to other businesses for use in their own products or services. Chalet acted as a supplier as they sold their glass to many retail businesses and distributors. Some retailers had only one storefront such as Pommier Jewellers in Cornwall, but Chalet also sold to large jewellery chains like Birks and department store giants like Eaton’s.

A retailer is: a business that sources and buys finished products or services from multiple distributors and/or suppliers and resells them to consumers. Chalet also retailed directly to the public from their factory. Some Chalet distributors also were retailers as well. Chantili had a small retail store in their offices. FASCINATION PAR C.M. had two Montreal locations. One with a retail outlet.

So, now that it is clearly established that Chantili was not an independent glasshouse but a distributor of Chalet product, let’s move forward. Although Chantili did carry some distinctive pieces, the impression or belief that they were an exclusive channel for any one piece or line or colour of Chalet product is incorrect. No one Chalet retailer or distributor had exclusive rights – despite what their branding might have claimed. Chalet supplied many retailers with the same product and other distributors (such as Tex Novelty, N. C, Cameron & Sons, Eaton’s, Birks, FASCINATION PAR C.M. and Riekes spring to mind instantly) also carried the same Chalet stock that we have found Chantili stickered or etched.

That being said, Chantili marked Chalet is often very distinctive with strong lines, decorative pulls and heavy casings. However, colours are not out of the typical. Without further ado – some curly Chantili!

Amber basket (it is not the one shown above) from the collection of Deborah Patterson. Blue basket from the collection of Roger Lambert.

The “curly arm” stretches are also very commonly seen in olive. As well, I have seen a red and a blue. These two from the collection of Deborah Patterson.

A very commonly seen Chantili brandedcenterpiece.

Top left from the collection of Ella Hanks. Top right from the collection of Dustion Rusnell. Bottom left from the collection of Brad McGillivray. Bottom right from the collection of Cindy Bishop Laughlin.

The reverse Chantili signature is etched on the olive above:

Shown with another common style (at right in foreground)of centerpiece that is very frequently also found with Chantili markings.

A close up look in another typical colour:

Some Chantili stickered “hook and curls” centerpieces. The olive retains the large Chantili sticker while the red/orange retains the small.

Centerpiece on right from the collection of Ella Hanks.

Varying styles of the single “finger curl” form is often also found with Chantili branding. An example of another style, a variation of the BB1 basket, was shown earlier.

Another style.

This very rare Chantili marked 2-tone from the collection of Melody Carter.

This style is much more commonly found in honey gold.

This “finger curl” design is another often found with Chantili indicia.

From the collection of Brad McGillivray.

Some rarer Chantili with curls.

Courtesy at top left Alex Wicks. Orange centerpiece at top right from the collection of Ella Hanks. Blue piece at bottom right - Dawn Davis owner.

Now - for your “curling up” enjoyment!

Chalet Cranberry