BRAND INSPIRATION
Our collection, Brothers Gregory, honors two extremely talented brothers and the effect the exposure to their creative genius had on designer Bryan Downey’s life. “I grew up spending summers at my great grandfather Glenn Gregory’s 500 acre lakefront resort/estate named The Ponderosa. It was a magical place full of creativity and wonder. From vast fruit orchards, tree houses, teepees, larger than life sculptures everywhere, art in every medium, odd inventions, tongue in cheek signs directing you around the property to his incredible collection of his brother Waylande Gregory's famed ceramic works. It was a source of endless fascination and inspiration. One brother was a little bit country, the other a little bit rock n roll. They inspired me to embrace my creative instincts from an early age and I’m forever grateful”.
COLLECTION HISTORY
WAYLANDE GREGORY (1905-1971)
Waylande Gregory was a world renowned master ceramist and is considered one of the most important American Art Deco ceramic sculptors of the period. His work is notably represented in the collections of the Whitney, Metropolitan and Smithsonian museums. His sculptural works, both the grand and the intimate, have been exhibited in over 170 shows in 11 countries. His fine decorative works were sold in Tiffanys, Dunhill and Bergdorf Goodman among other fine stores of the day. Waylande Gregory was also a pioneer in the studio glass movement of the sixties. However, one of his most important contributions in the field of glass came much earlier in 1944. His invention and patent (USA Original Patent No.2357399A) for the fusion of glass to clay was a much lauded technical and aesthetic achievement. Our updated version of this technique, fusing glass with lava stone, is the focus of our premier collection.