posted 06-22-2010 07:07 PM            

In the business section of the Globe today was an article about Old Newbury and its future. It was by their reporter, James Sullivan, and did a very good job of telling the story of our situation.

Just thought you might all be interested and would find the article enjoyable.

middletom

quote:

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Historic craft looks ahead
Despite owner’s assurances, Amesbury (ONC) silversmiths fear company is in decline as market dwindles and prices rise
By James Sullivan Globe Correspondent / June 22, 2010

download the video (16.5 meg)- click here

AMESBURY — Patriot and silversmith Paul Revere would have felt at home at Old Newbury Crafters, a tiny silverware operation in the basement of an old mill building here. But time and technology have taken a toll on the trade, which has not changed much in centuries, and the company’s future is tenuous.

The hand wrought silver industry began to decline decades ago with the advent of mass-produced, machine-made silverware.

In recent years, it has been hurt further by the skyrocketing price of silver and the fading popularity of silverware as a wedding gift. Old Newbury, which was founded in 1915 and once had more than two dozen workers, is down to just a few employees. To keep their craft alive, they need to train new artisans. But time is running out.

Bob Lapham, one of two remaining silversmiths (the company also employs an office manager and two "finishers"), wants to retire in a year, when he turns 65. He has been a silversmith for 47 years, since graduating from Newburyport High School.

In his early years with the only employer he has even known, Lapham saw plenty of opportunity. Then-owner Swift Barnes built the company from a family shop into an internationally recognized name. Although the company made jewelry for a time and can still work with pewter, its signature product is flatware.

At its height of productivity, Old Newbury had accounts with Shreve, Crump & Low, Tiffany & Co., Cartier, and Gump's San Francisco. Blair House in Washington, D.C. — the presidential guest quarters — has Old Newbury silverware, and the company once sold some to actors Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.

Lapham remembers a visit he and fellow silversmith Geoff Blake, 63, made years ago to an upscale retailer on Madison Avenue in New York.

"To go in and see a wall covered with things we make, that was wonderful," Lapham said.

Today, the craftsmen have plenty of downtime. Blake turns to a pile of books on his workbench when there is nothing else to do. Old Newbury still has a few steady customers, including a member of the wine making Gallo family, who orders a dozen pieces of silverware to celebrate the birth of each grandchild. But it is not enough, and the silversmiths say the current owner, renowned handbag designer Peter Dooney, has allowed the business to languish.

Lapham and Blake believe there is still a niche market for top-notch handmade silverware.

"With just a modest amount of promotion, he might be surprised how much we could sell," Lapham said.

Dooney, speaking from Connecticut, acknowledges that Old Newbury has not been a priority.

It has "a really wonderful history," said Dooney, who still pays the bills and salaries. "Unfortunately, I've been busy with my other businesses, and it's been a little neglected."

When Dooney, co-founder of the high-end Connecticut accessories manufacturer Dooney & Bourke, bought the company in 1998, Lapham and his colleagues were optimistic.

The company had recently struggled through a period of turmoil, including a divisive vote to unionize, the departure of longtime owner Barnes, and the hiring of a manager who was eventually convicted of embezzlement.

Dooney's arrival, they hoped, would restore some sense of stability. "I was thrilled, frankly," says Lapham. "If you’re selling handbags for $650, you've got to know your stuff."

But after a couple of initial visits during negotiations with Barnes, the designer has not been back. Charlene Morin, the office manager and 14-year employee, said she often has a hard time contacting Dooney's staff.

Dooney, who started Dooney & Bourke with Frederic Bourke in 1975, first encountered Old Newbury flatware during a summer job as a polisher in a high-end Greenwich, Conn., store.

Swift Barnes, now in his 90s and living on Cape Cod, recalled doing a demonstration at the store. "There was this high school kid who was fascinated with my presentation," he said. "Turns out to be Dooney."

For years, Old Newbury’s competition was limited to the late Porter Blanchard, a well-known California silversmith. Products produced by the Amesbury company, which was once based in Newburyport, were sought by collectors.

"Big companies can make thousands of something very well," said Lapham. "But they can't make one of anything."

On the wall behind the silversmiths’ work area hangs a wide variety of tarnished brass templates for forks, spoons, and knives. A large American flag hangs on the opposite wall near the "foot drop," a heavy forging hammer operated by stepping down on, then releasing, a hanging loop of rope.

Beginning with a thin slab of metal that looks like a long stick of chewing gum, craftsmen hammer out a shape on an immaculately smooth anvil.

They heat the silver with a blowtorch and etch an outline into the metal.

For the bowl of a spoon, they use the foot drop.

After filing, the piece is given to a finisher for polishing.

An experienced silversmith can complete the process in about 40 minutes.

Blake, who grew up in Hampton, N.H., became interested in silversmithing while touring the company's workshop with his mother in the 1950s.

"We had regular silver at home, in a Gorham pattern," he said.

While serving in the Air Force during the Vietnam War, Blake wrote to Barnes, asking for a job. When he returned, he took an apprenticeship.

Today, with the focus solely on flatware, Old Newbury is fighting an uphill battle for survival, said Barnes. "I don’t think there's anything [Dooney] could do, frankly" to save it, he said.

Dooney admits that finding people willing to learn an antiquated trade is challenging. Silver "is a little out of fashion now," he said. "People don't want the maintenance. As a wedding gift, it's extravagant. Silver prices are up."

Still, he said he has "no intention of stopping" the business: "It's a gem, but it kind of muddles along. We need to take a fresh look at preserving those skills."

But Lapham and Blake worry that Dooney's renewed interest has come too late.

"It’s like, 'Last to retire, shut the power down,' "said Lapham. "That's where it's headed."

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posted 06-23-2010 05:58 PM            

We were looking at the "comments" today and you are quite right that some are unbelievable. The person with two college degrees was unable to read or didn't bother to.

We are quite pleased with the article and have hopes that it might change our course, though Peter Dooney seems to have a short attention span, so we will probably slide back into the shadows of his mind.

posted 07-01-2010 09:29 PM            

Perhaps if enough people contact him about keeping us going he will pay attention to what needs to be done.

posted 07-15-2010 02:56 PM            

The Kalo Shop, which started in 1900, finally closed in 1970 not for want of customers, but because, according to Kalo manager Robert Bower, they "ran out of silversmiths. In the last year we lost our three top silversmiths; men who could not be replaced. It was difficult trying to find men willing to learn silversmithing and it took years to train them."

Here's an interesting ONC item -- a portable "how a spoon is made" kit:

posted 07-21-2010 06:59 PM            

One result of the article in the Globe and the attention it brought to Peter Dooney is that he has allowed a young man, who has expressed interest in learning this craft, to come into our shop and watch us. The fellow apparently bugged Peter Dooney several times until he agreed that he could come watch. Well, we have decided that if he is going to be there and yet not likely to learn much by just watching, we are going to actually teach him how to forge silver flatware. The important thing is that he wants to learn and isn't bothered by the knowledge that it will take a long time to learn. So, I guess you can say that we have an apprentice.

Peter Dooney is like so many office people in not understanding how much work goes into learning a craft like this, rather assuming that because we work with our hands we are simpletons and what we do can be picked up and mastered quickly. After all, if we had any intelligence we would be shuffling papers, not pounding metal. All that is necessary is to whack the metal a few times with a hammer and a spoon or fork emerges. How hard can that be?

posted 07-21-2010 09:26 PM            

You know if you and our other silversmith members want to do a wanted post for additional apprentices that would be OK.

Perhaps you all could define the general requirements and specify just how long the average apprentice will need to be self sufficient.

posted 07-23-2010 03:16 PM            

The worst part of the Globe article was Peter Dooney stating that young people don't want to learn this and apprentices are hard to find, when in his eleven years of ownership, he has not made the slightest effort to hire new people, and in fact, has discouraged those who contacted him about coming here to apprentice.

Ah, but enough of me blowing off steam. I hope you are all having a good summer. Much better weather here than last year.

posted 07-23-2010 06:37 PM            

A woman came in yesterday afer having read the article in the Globe and when I told her that some others had said they would contact Mr. Dooney to urge him to perpetuate the comoany, she said she would also. So, who knows, perhaps we are going to see a renewal of interest on the part of Peter Dooney. I would be ecstatic for he certainly knows how to sell high end merchandise and could do a great deal for us with just a modicum of publicity.