Welcome toSecond Life, a podcast spotlighting successful women who’ve made major career changes—and fearlessly mastered the pivot. Hosted by Hillary Kerr, co-founder and chief content officer at Who What Wear, each episode gives you a direct line to women who are game changers in their fields. Subscribe to Second Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts to stay tuned.
Sometimes, the best brand ideas are inspired by those closest to us. Case in point: Stephanie Summerson Hall founded Estelle Colored Glass—a luxury brand that offers exquisite, handcrafted glassware in a range of bold and beautiful colors—and was inspired by her grandmother Estelle, who had a beautiful vintage collection of colored glassware and a knack for entertaining. Summerson Hall launched the brand in 2019 with an assortment of cake stands and stemware in a range of jewel tones and soft pastels, each intricately handblown in Poland by skilled glassmakers with over a century of experience in their traditional techniques.
Since its launch, Estelle Colored Glass has quickly garnered a loyal following among interior designers, event planners, and entertainers who share the same passion for timeless elegance and versatility in glassmaking. Summerson Hall has also landed a number of impressive wholesale accounts, including West Elm, Anthropologie, and Nordstrom. Summerson Hall has built a brand out of love and admiration for her grandmother, inspiring others to adorn their tablescapes with jewels.
Yet before she began redefining the entertainment world through luxury glassware, Summerson Hall had a completely different career in business and corporate tax law in Washington, D.C., for over a decade. In fact, while she was practicing law, she founded her first business, a full-service event rental company based out of Charleston, South Carolina, that she intended to set up for her parents to run. But instead, Summerson Hall moved back to South Carolina to take the lead in operations and grow the business before finally venturing into starting a company entirely on her own.
Listen to the latest episode of Second Life to hear how Summerson Hall built a brand based on a passion that was passed through generations of her family that is reshaping the future of glassware. And keep scrolling to shop some of our favorites from Estelle Colored Glass.
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