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Partners Develop Formula For Success
J.C. Glassworks is two businesses under one umbrella owned by partners Janet Carlin and Jane Crowley. Carlin runs the retail gift store at 1090 Main Street, Branford while Crowley, a stained-glass artist, runs the studio at 96 Indian Neck Road in Branford.
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Business New Haven
9/6/1999
By: BNH
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How long have you been partners, and how did you meet?
Carlin: I was surgical intensive-care nurse. I moved to Guilford took a stained-glass course at the Guilford Handcrafts Center and Jane was my teacher. We hit it off really well. I practiced every day for hours because I found something I really loved. A year and a half later we went into business together.
Crowley: That was in 1980. I had been doing stained glass for some time and already had a business going.
Describe your business.
Carlin: We're really two businesses. The retail store carries contemporary hand-crafted items: glass, wood, kaleidoscopes, jewelry. We've been selling moderately priced clothing - an artsy look - since July last year. I don't work in studio since the fire because the store is bigger and more responsibility. I manage the retail end.
Crowley: I do the stained glass in a separate studio, making custom stained glass for private homes and businesses. I also do restoration work for churches, for example, and I'm working on making a memorial window for synagogue. I do cabinet doors and some pieces for the store.
How has the business changed over the years?
Carlin: When we started we sold our own work and about eight years ago we started carrying other people's work and kept expanding. We look for the funkier stuff, the more unusual. We travel across the country attending crafts shows looking for artists. Sometimes the best resources are the little shows that might go unnoticed by some, and recommendations from other artists often lead to wonderful resources for the unusual. We also have the room now to do shows featuring a particular artist. We try to do two or three special showings every year.
When did the fire destroy the retail store, and how did the community respond?
Carlin: The fire happened on January 28, 1998. I watched the fire and thought my life was over. But we received over 800 letters and 500 phone calls. People tried to give us money. The community started a fire fund. I got to see how much we had - you can't put dollars and cents on that kind of caring. We were closed three months and moved two blocks down the street.
What are the biggest risks in the retail business?
Carlin: We do about one-third of our business during the holiday season, and buying has to be done many months in advance. With some artists as long as two years is required to get the product. Everything has to be completed by February. I get very excited - 'Did I do it right? Did I pick the right products?'
How do you account for the success of your business and the length of time you've been partners?
Carlin: You have to really want it with every fiber and love it. You also have to be prepared for the hard work and long hours. For first time we're getting every other weekend off in summer.
Crowley: We've worked our way into what we both prefer. We've only worked in separate spaces for three years. We're both fairly easygoing: If there is a problem we can discuss it and resolve it. Making a success of a business means years of toil. You can't survive without sense of humor. You have to be able to laugh at yourself. It's the key to success.
Arts at the Crossroads
MERIDEN - The Meriden Arts Council will hold Meriden's first annual outdoor arts festival, Arts at the Crossroads, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on September 18-19. The juried festival will take place on West Main Street, which will be closed to traffic between Colony and Grove streets. Included will be live dance and acoustic-music performances, guest artisans, works in progress, children's art stations and fine arts and crafts. The vent will follow Meriden Public Library's seventh annual Evening of Celebration, which takes place on September 17 in several downtown Meriden locations. Admision buttons to the evening celebration are $5 until September 16 and $7 from then on, available at the Meriden Public Library, Friends' Bookstore and city clerk's office along with a complete schedule of entertainment an events. For information call 203-238-2344.
Naugatuck Expands Courses
WATERBURY - Naugatuck Valley Community-Technical College is offering express courses in a number of subjects that can be completed in eight weeks. To meet the overwhelming demand for homemaker/home health aides, Naugatuck is offering several HHA training sessions for the fall semester. The Behavioral and Social Science Division will offer three new options to students interested in careers in criminal justice/public safety: law enforcement, corrections and security. The Behavioral and Social Sciences Division has created a child and family services option for students interested in careers in human services. Included are disabilities specialist, gerontology, mental health and social work. For a course schedule call 203-575-8049.
Crack Down on Parking
NEW HAVEN - People who park illegally at bus stops will receive $25 tickets in an effort to prevent hazards for bus riders and wheelchair-bound people. The pilot program, the only one in Connecticut, was announced by the city's Department of Traffic & Parking and Connecticut Transit.
Celebrate Wallingford
WALLINGFORD - Wallingford Center Inc. will host the 13th annual Celebrate Wallingford festival, a celebration of the revitalized town center. The event will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on October 2 and noon to 6 p.m. on October 3 in the Johanna Manfreda Fishbein Park at Hall Avenue. Additional activities will take place on Center Street and North and South Main streets. An old-time trolley will link various sites and parking areas. The festival will include a crafts show, children's activities, live entertainment and a "Taste of Wallingford" featuring Wallingford restaurants. The event is sponsored by Cytec Industries. For information call 203-284-1807.
Bloomin' in the Livable City
BRIDGEPORT - The Bridgeport Regional Business Council and the Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce are throwing a party, "Bloomin' in the Livable City," a celebration in honor of Bridgeport's winning the U.S. Conference of Mayors 1999 City Livable Award. The Park City won the award for its "Clean & Green" program, in which blighted buildings were removed, parks refurbished and new ones built, trees and flowers planted and new signage erected. The party will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. September 8 at the new Victorian Gardens section of the Beardsley Zoo, 1875 Noble Street, and will include food and entertainment. Admission is $15. Call 203-335-3800.
Lunchtime Fun Continues on the New Haven Green
NEW HAVEN - The "Do Downtown" series of fun things to do for downtown workers and visitors continues on Thursdays on or near the New Haven Green from noon to 1:30 p.m. The free entertainments are sponsored by the Town Green Special Services District. In addition to the outside entertainment, "Do the Game Show" will be held from 12:10 to 12:50 p.m. on September 9 in the Aldermanic Chambers of City Hall, 165 Church Street. On September 23 tours of the Yale University Art Gallery and the Center Church crypt will be offered from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m.
Ethiopian Cuisine Comes to New Haven
NEW HAVEN - Lalibela, a restaurant featuring Ethiopian cuisine, recently opened at 176 Temple Street. Owned by Yonas Asfaw, the eatery's servers wear traditional Ethiopian garb. The setting includes furniture imported from Africa to give the restaurant a traditional old Ethiopian feeling. Lalibela is open for lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Betty Boop & Friends at MidState
MERIDEN - Herbert and Gloria Barker of Barker Animation Art Galleries have donated original artwork of Betty Boop, Pudgy, Casper, Popeye, Wimpy and Swee'Pea to the MidState Medical Center. Fifty pieces will be on permanent display at the medical facility.
A Taste of Scotch
NEW HAVEN - Scoozzi Trattoria & Wine Bar at 1164 Chapel Street will host a program called the "1999 Classic Malts of Scotland Tour," to be given by Scotsman Evan Cattanach, a renowned whisky expert. The restaurant will offer dishes to pair with the scotches. The program will be held at 7 p.m. on September 8. The price is $30. Reservations can be made by calling 203-776-8286.
Mary Wade Celebrates Anniversary
NEW HAVEN - The Mary Wade Home's Skilled Nursing Facility at 118 Clinton Avenue will host a series of events in celebration of its tenth anniversary. The public is invited to share in the celebration, which will take place from September 17 through the 17. Activities include a tag sale, historical display, a tree planting, a reception and an ice cream social. For details call 203-237-8084.
Fleet Adds Business Solutions Centers
HARTFORD - Fleet Bank has added 14 Business Solutions Centers to branches located in Connecticut. Each is managed by a specially trained branch manager and small-business specialist to help process loan applications, open new accounts and answer general inquiries for small-business customers. The new locations include East Haven, Guilford, Milford, New Haven and West Haven.
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