"Outside Factory" Decorated Fenton
by John Gager (Copyright © 2003 - Fenton Fanatics)

For the past few years since I have been on eBay, I've seen several pieces decorated by independent artists. Some of these people, like Marilyn Wagner, are retired from Fenton and supplement their retirement income by selling their uniquely decorated pieces. Although it's hard to predict the current market value of this glass, I'm always amazed by some of the prices usually brought by some of these items at auction. Although Fenton has posted letters discouraging buying glass decorated by independent artist, I've found that they have never vigorously pursued stopping such practices. My philosophy now is to collect what you enjoy and the market will take care of itself.

However, there are some things you should be aware of. First off, many times the blanks purchased by the independent artists is not First Quality glass. Often times they are seconds, either marked as such or unmarked. Even if they were marked as seconds when purchased, it doesn't take much grinding or sanding to remove the mark. Although Fenton does have blanks that are overstock, most of the good blanks are used for their decorated first quality pieces.

One of my pet peeves is the prolific use of the term "One-Of-A-Kind" when it comes to independent artist creations. True, any piece painted by a independent artist can be considered a "One-of", but these eBay sellers take it to the extreme. For example, they hype their eBay ads claiming that you will never find this piece anywhere else, and you will be missing out by not buying it. Give me a break :) Most often, they don't bother mentioning the piece was decorated by a independent artist that could lead to a new collector believing this "One-of" was handpainted at the factory.

To help the new collector determine if a piece was decorated by a independent artist, I've compiled a list of known independents that have appeared on the market. Some of these people hide their true identities by using such names as Jim E., or Jess T., but you can be sure they are probably current or former Fenton decorators.