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Collectors Gather in Virginia For International Paperweight Convention
Updated: Thursday, 19 May 2011, 6:49 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 19 May 2011, 6:49 PM EDT
By BETH PARKER/myfoxdc
McLEAN, Va. - The Washington area hosts lots of visitors, but there is a convention in town right now that is an unusual treat.
It is a gathering of people who collect paperweights. It turns out they are not just for holding down papers anymore.
It's called the International Paperweight Collectors Association Convention and it's happening now in Tysons Corner.
Paul Stankard has been working with glass for 50 years.
"What's so sweet is that people look at my work, which takes 300 or 400 hours, and they think it's real, but it's all glass," says Stankard.
His colorful intricate scenes from nature are crafted from tiny slices of glass. They have captivated Rockville collector Robert Minkoff.
"It's very calming to me, yet it's different every time you look at it, whether it's different light, different position," says Minkoff.
Jan Smith is the Executive Director of Bergstrom-Mahler Museum in Wisconsin. They have 2,500 paperweights in their collection. She says the paperweight was born in the 1800s and it was born out of necessity.
"Big Victorian houses had windows for air conditioning. This was a way of accessorizing your desk," says Smith.
Some paperweights have sold for six figures in the last decade. Even if we're heading toward a paperless world, there will always be paperweight passion.
Information on the convention:
Open to the public
Saturday, May 21st
Noon to 5 pm
Hilton McLean Tysons Corner
7920 Jones Branch Drive
McLean, Virginia 22102
$5 admission fee
Online:
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