FEBRUARY 5, 2011

MEYDA MAKES IT!

17 years ago we restored Beardslee Castle and selected 19 fixtures from Utica's Meyda Tiffany for lighting the main floor and Dungeon dining rooms. Over the years some of the plastic lamp sockets in our Tiffany-style pond lilly chandeliers started to crumble. After we were unable to discern a safe, non-destructive way of rewiring the pieces ourselves we decided to bring one down to Meyda on Oriskany Boulevard to see if it could be fixed. Incredibly, even after 17 years, they stood 100% behind their product, explaining that in the early 90’s they occasionally were shipped bad batches of plastic sockets and offering to replace the sockets and rewire our fixtures. No Charge. My jaw dropped… right out of my head. Oh, while they were at it they would replace the old discolored shades. I pinch myself. I can’t find my jaw.

It seems each week I run into some ‘customer service’ department either in person or over the phone that unapologetically explains their ‘policy’ and why they can’t help me with my particular concern or problem. I often comment (and Lynn has to listen to my rants) that there is no service left in customer service. It might even be a stretch to label the practice ‘customer servicing’. More often it’s a case of ‘consumer processing to maximize frustration and discourage future calls’. It has literally been years since I’ve been handled so efficiently, confidently and with a generous and immediate solution to my problem. All without asking.

So when the staff at Meyda offered to fix our broken fixtures I was not just thankful or surprised, I was shocked to my core. In a good way. Now being fairly numb, Lynn and I were invited to take a short tour of the Meyda factory. “Factory?” I asked, “I thought you imported your fixtures now.” I recalled the old Meyda shop out on Bleeker Street where they created original works of art. We bought our fixtures when they were based at what is now Carl’s furniture in Utica. When I toured that facility they were growing rapidly and starting to import quite a bit so naturally I assumed that in the 17 years since the process of outsourcing was completed. Not so. We hear day after day in the media “we don’t make anything in this country anymore”. We do at Meyda Lighting in Utica. And although they do continue to import some of the components of their beautiful art, much of the work, including the newest, most creative and custom work, is all done right here in Utica. So now the surprise that came with their genuine offer of service made complete sense. They stood behind their product because it was their product. They have the pride of an artist.


Max Cohen took us on a tour of their impressive facility where 85 employees create masterpieces not even limited by imagination. As we walked through we saw artisans soldering copper-wrapped glass in tiffany style lights, welding frameworks for lantern lights, using computerized plasma cutters to render silhouettes in steel of Adirondack scenes, fusing glass into modern sconces, assembling replicas of the chandeliers they created for the Stanley theater in preparation for powdercoating. Pretty cool. At the back of it all is a huge warehouse reminiscent of the final scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark where the Ark is wheeled into a maze of crate filled aisles towering to the ceiling. We were impressed. Along the way we learned that the facility was the largest user of bubble-wrap in the state. Who doesn’t love bubble-wrap? At each station where we stopped the people of Meyda were fun, courteous and deeply invested in their work. In short, the place had a great vibe. An awesome vibe. It reminded me of a fine dining restaurant (like Beardslee Castle) where there is emphasis on focus, excellence, creativity, and pride. I’m thinking we’re onto something here.

Since we’ve been so big on Buy-American at the Castle lately it now only made sense that any lighting needs we have in the future should be filled by the wonderful people at Meyda. Two days after dropping off our fixtures…four chandeliers and three wall sconces, they were back in the Castle with new porcelain light sockets and shades. And we were now Meyda customers for life. After 17 years there are a few other non-Meyda fixtures we have that are sorely in need of replacing. Maybe it’s justifying what would otherwise be a guilty pleasure in shopping for new pieces in such a beautiful showroom but now the guilty part of the pleasure is gone. It makes absolute sense that investing our lighting dollars in a local business that stands behind their product is the smart approach, not just the indulgent approach. So by spring you can expect some new eye-candy lighting when you visit the Castle, happily purchased from Meyda Lighting.

Please visit the incredible Meyda showroom at 55 Oriskany Boulevard. They’re open Monday through Friday from 10-6 and Saturday from 10-5. You can call them with questions at 315-768-3706. You can visit their website anytime at www.meyda.com. Try entering Meyda into an ebay or Google search and you can buy from one of the hundreds of businesses that sell Meyda products. If you visit the showroom you can see it all in person, which is so much more compelling than seeing a picture on-line. Their work is incredibly beautiful and comes in an dizzying variety of styles from Adirondack Rustic to Tiffany to City-Bling-Modern. Plan to spend at least 30 minutes. We have a lamp base from a reverse-painted shade Meyda lamp that broke years ago that we are matching with a new Tiffany style shade. You can’t do that on-line. If you have a special place in your home for a true work of art there are unique ‘couture’ pieces that are only available at the showroom, early bird gets it. Treat yourself, you won’t be sorry. So please take an afternoon to visit Meyda and even if you don’t buy right away (picking just one may be difficult) I’m sure you will not regret any purchase you make there. You will be treated to a wonderful work of art as you support a local, family-owned manufacturing business that supports local artisans. Utica should be proud that Meyda continues to make it’s home here. Just as we are proud to make Beardslee Castle a home for so many of their dramatically beautiful lights.

A big thank you to all the sales staff and artisans at Meyda. Bravo.

December 20, 2010

BUY AMERICAN !

190 years ago this month, Augustus Beardslee, builder and original owner of Beardslee Castle, was a student at Union College in Schenectady. The following excerpt from The Union Alumni Review, written by Joseph Brown, class of 1903, details the formation of The Franklin Society, initiated by Augustus Beardslee and fellow students on December 4th 1820, in his senior year:

“Our domestic manufactures, which had grown to large proportions during the Embargo and the War of 1812, were so seriously threatened after the war by the competition of foreign-made goods, that Congress passed the tariff act of 1816 as a measure of protection against these products of cheaper labor.

Believing that domestic manufacturers should be protected and that economy in dress should be encouraged, the students of Union College met in December of 1820 to form a society, whose organization and purposes were described in the Cabinet, a Schenectady newspaper, of December 20, 1820 as follows:

“At a general meeting of the Students of Union College, December 4th, Mr. Beardslee in the Chair – resolved, that we highly approve of a Society for the purpose of introducing Economy in Dress.”

“Being sensible of the beneficial effects which must result from the encouragement of Domestic Manufacturers, and conceiving it to be the duty of every Youth to contribute, what is in his power, to the promotion of national economy, we, members of Union College, have united ourselves into a body; which we propose to call The Franklin Society. In order to be perfectly independent, we should be indebted to no foreign nation for a single commodity. To this effect, there appears at present, no better way calculated than to give preference to all productions which are exclusively American, and to assume the simple apparel of her manufacturies. With respect to dress, whatever may be a sacrifice in laying aside fashions, it exhibits patriotism of the highest nature. It ennobles the mind, by rendering subservient all those ephemeral distinctions, which arise from extravagance in dress, and the pomp of Courtly Parade. With this view, and in order to systematize our designs, we have formed our Constitution.

The following is the Article of our Constitution respecting dress:
All the members of this association shall dress in the following manner, viz., In a frock-coat and pantaloons of a light grey. The coat shall be made with a standing collar, trimmed with cord, with buttons covered with the same cloth. The pantaloons may be made according to the fashion of the day; coat and pantaloons must be of American Manufacture. The whole suit must not cost more than $15.”

Mr. Brown’s article goes on to list an abbreviated biography of Mr. Beardslee.

“Augustus Beardslee, ’21, chairman of the first meeting, was a lawyer. He was elected to the Assembly [State of New York] in 1834; appointed a judge of Common Pleas in 1828 and again in 1842.”

From records we have received from the archives of Union College it is interesting to note Mr. Beardslee’s bill for tuition, room rent, servants hire and graduation fees for his final semester at Union College. The bill, addressed to his father, John Beardslee, was $28.41. Not quite twice the maximum cost of an American suit allowed by members of the Franklin Society. The bill included fines of $.41 for being late to prayers 13 times and late to recitations 4 times.

In the spirit of Augustus Beardslee and in our effort to “contribute, what is in our power, to the promotion of national economy”, we are making great progress in our goal of offering a dinner menu of American sourced products. To date, all of our meats and seafood are American sourced. Produce is more difficult given the growing season or lack thereof during the colder months. We are pledging that during the months of May – November the entirety of our nightly dinner menu will be American products.

BUY AMERICAN, SUPPORT YOUR NEIGHBORS, SUPPORT YOUR FAMILIES