Steuben Glass

Upstate New York is Steuben country. Two years ago I featured a Joel Smith menorah in a Buffalo Spree column. I appreciated the simplicity and how it must have weighed like lead, and at $4,500 it qualified as a "keep the kids away" piece, a solid sign of value. Smith has created this year's hand cooler, tchotsky for those who suffer from sweaty palms and the constant obligation to get up from a desk chair to meet clients. (Less wise for a conference or business lunch. A fist-sized wallop of glass in the shape of an cow, whale, or bunny is tough to hide in your pants or jacket pocket, although I'd appreciate watching someone try.) But as much as I'm a Smith fan, it is Peter Dronby's Glade series that has me contemplating how many quarters I have to pilfer from co-worker's desk drawers. I can't remember the last time I looked at a piece of glass art about the size of piece of letterhead and thought, "It is so worth $9,000." Cate