In 1922, Mrs. Jessie Marshall opened a shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she made hand-painted parchment lampshades. In 1926, her son Nicholas and his wife Grace joined her in the business, and he began making hand-turned wooden lamp bases. During World War II, Marshall Studios, Inc. moved to Veedersburg, Indiana.
In 1951, Nicholas's daughter Jane and her husband Gordon Martz, both recent graduates of Alfred University, the New York State ceramics school, moved to Veedersburg, making her the third generation of the Marshall family to join the business. She and her husband added contemporary stone lamps and accessories to the Marshall Studios line.
In 1953, a Marshall Studios lamp was included in Edgar Kaufmann, Jr.'s
Good Design show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the business received coverage in several magazine articles. As the company grew, the accessories line was expanded to include textiles, mosaic furniture and wall decor, as well as dinnerware. In 1964, their dinnerware was featured in the March issue of
Interiors magazine.
The company enjoyed its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s but continued through the 1980s. During that time, a number of other family members joined the business. Most of the pieces produced during that time period were marked
Marshalls, although there were
other marks.
Most ceramic pieces had a matte finish, and walnut was the wood most commonly used.
Jane and Gordon Martz sold their interest and retired in 1989. They moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, and continued to produce studio pottery and ceramic sculpture in their retirement.
New owner John Stull changed the name of the company to Genesis Wood and Stoneware in the early 1990s.
From marshallstudios.net
All images from marshallstudios.net, unless noted
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Jane and Gordon Martz
commercialartisan.com |
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| Lamp, mosaic wall hanging and mosaic table |
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| Lamp and ceramic vase |
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| Mosaic tables |
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| Mosaic table |
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| Ceramic clock |
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| Platter |
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| Tray |
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| Bowl |
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| Bottles |
