Wednesday, January 24, 2018

TIARA: The Glassware...Not The Crown

When I was in my mid twenties, a young married mother, I began selling Tiara glassware as a part-time side job...I've always loved glassware, dishes, and such....so this seemed like a perfect side job for me.  I loved the Tiara glassware, and earned many pieces from selling at home parties. 


Here's a little background about the company...in a nutshell...
Tiara Exclusives began operation on July 1, 1970, in Dunkirk, Indiana. It was a spin off company of the longtime Indiana Glass Company which gave Tiara an edge in the glass industry. Tiara was started to capitalize on the growing popularity of party plan companies, such as Home Interiors, Tupperware and Mary Kay. Tiara's product focus was on decorative and tableware items. Early catalogs mainly showcased dinnerware and beverage set items. Later on, Tiara expanded to include many novelties and accessory items. Later catalogs still marketed the company's bedrock, dinnerware lines, but they also included new items featuring candleholders, frames and figurines.
Tiara Exclusives was strictly a retail company, they did not manufacture any glass. Indiana Glass had the hand shops - handmade vs machine-pressed glass, they bought the molds and handmade the glass for the party plan industry. Tiara bought most of their product from Indiana Glass, who in turn bought molds from a variety of glass companies, such as Imperial, Federal, Fenton and Fostoria. Tiara warehoused, sold and shipped glass, but they did not manufacture glass.  Tiara Exclusives closed in November 1998. Home Interiors & Gifts, a Texas direct sales company, purchased the rights to the Tiara name and now sells some of the dinnerware pieces.

Selling Tiara was something new for me...I had been to some "home parties" but never thought I'd be the one selling anything to others.  As I said before, I've always loved glassware and dishes, so this is why I "jumped" onto the "home parties" wagon!

And look at these beauties....



I always adored the decanters. . . I especially loved the amber color.
 
Since I had young children, I was especially interested in the sweet Nursery Rhymes set.   I had a sweet set of my own, but unfortunately after several moves, I no longer have it which makes me sad. 




When I was doing home parties for Tiara, I gave away door prizes at each party.  My door prizes were these sweet little heart trinket dishes and/or mini "Last Supper" plates.  There were large Last Supper plates that could be purchased. 
I gave a lot of my "earned pieces" to my Mom, because she really loved the pieces . . . and she was SO sweet to open up her home to host for me on numerous occasions!   When I see the pics of either of these, it makes me smile....it was a FUN time. . . selling these sweet dishes, meeting new people, and gaining confidence in myself while selling Tiara.  A lot of years have passed since I sold Tiara glassware.  It's hard to believe, but to this day, I don't have any pieces to show for my time with Tiara . . . so all of these pics were found on the web . . .
  However . . . . Good News . . .

I'm happy to find out that I can find pieces of Tiara on a dish/glassware replacements site.  I think that soon, I will own a few pieces of this glassware that I sold. . . and owned . . . many years ago.

I'm linking to...
Make It Pretty Monday
Cottage Blessings,

5 comments:

  1. It was nice to know more information about the Tiara company. My grandma loved it and had quite a few pieces. I have sold pieces over the years but don't have any of my own.

    xo Dianne

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  2. What an interesting story. I'm not into such fancy glassware, but I do appreciate your story. That was at least one home sales party I was never invited to!

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  3. Rebecca, That was very informative. I love to know the history of stuff. Thanks for sharing. Sylvia D.

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  4. I have seen many of these gorgeous pieces, but had never heard of Tiara glassware. I'm pretty certain that they did not have parties in UT. I sure went to plenty of Home Interior parties. :) I especially love the pink, green, and children's sets! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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