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Radko Christopher
the life of a creative genius
I once had the pleasure of meeting Christopher Radko at a show in Atlanta. There's no reason he would remember me, but I have to say, there was an air around him, not the sort of "air" movie stars might "put on" for the press. I mean a palpable feeling that this person was one of those rare individuals who had something extra special about them, something extraordinary to
share with the world.
It is said that the "crash" of the family Christmas tree in 1984 resulted in 1000+ of the Radko family's European blown glass ornaments crashing to the floor and breaking. However, with a little research, one can quickly determine that the European ornaments available from 1950-1980 were rather simple, not-so-colorful affairs. These original ornaments look nothing like the ornaments sold even at Walmart today. Such is the story some people tell behind Mr. Radko's motivation, but whatever the truth, beyond the early marketing hype, what we do know is that Chris Radko has a flair for the exciting and an insatiable talent for designing extraordinary ornaments.
After several re-finances, selling on HSN, and even finally selling some very dumbed-down designs to Target, Starrad--the official company name--sold out to Rausch industries in 2005. Since that time, Mr. Radko has been in a two-way, aggressive legal battle against Rausch to defend himself. In 2008, Rausch attempted to sue Mr. Radko for unpaid debts the judge in the case affirmed were not in fact Mr. Radko's bills, but belonged to Rausch as they were incurred prior to Mr. Radko joining Rausch's Board of Directors or in any capacity de facto.
Wondering if the consumer world would still be able to buy genuine Radko ornaments, I went to Atlanta to the Radko showroom to do a little investigating. To my pleasant surprise, two of the original designers hired by Chris are still working at Rausch. I had met them years before, and I'm thrilled to affirm that the original quality, craftmanship and design is alive and well in the Radko Christopher Division at Rausch.
These days, Mr. Radko does all he can to stay out of the court houses of the land. While Mr. Radko certainly has no financial need to ever work again, I am keeping my fingers crossed that he'll find a new venue for his rare talent. Bed sheets by Radko? You bet. I'd buy them in a heartbeat. We don't need Chris on TV selling gift-basket-making tips a la Martha Stewart, but I sure would support him in the direction of designing for the home. You can catch up with him on his blog at Christopher Radko.
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