A Charleston Grandmother Inspired This Popular Glassware Brand

Stephanie Hall, the founder of Estelle Colored Glass, is bringing her grandmother’s style of Southern hospitality to the masses.

Stephanie Hall Estelle Colored Glass
Photo: Catherine Hurt Photography

We just can't get enough of Estelle Colored Glass, y'all. One of the hottest glassware companies in the country, this four-year-old South Carolina upstart draws on Southern hospitality, timeless style, and a one-of-a-kind grandma.

Founder Stephanie Hall credits her love for colored glass to her grandmother Estelle, an amazing cook and skilled entertainer whose friends and family knew as "Big Mama." Hall accompanied her on weekly antiquing trips around Charleston when she was a child.

After a decade-long career in law, Hall returned home to Charleston in 2010. Hoping to fill her home with glassware that reminded her of her grandmother, she struggled to find heirloom-quality pieces that fit her modern tastes.

"I wanted to have some pieces of colored glass in my house, because they were pieces that I loved, and I wanted them to fit with my aesthetic. I was really disappointed that what I could find in terms of colored glass was on the secondary vintage market," she told Architectural Digest in 2020.

That's when Hall decided to make her own "minimalist-chic" colored glass. After five years of research and design, she launched Estelle Colored Glass in October 2019.

Today, the brand carries hand-blown glassware and cake stands in 16 pastel colors. The brand's signature glass cake stand was inspired by the one Big Mama used to display her signature vanilla pound cake during Sunday dinners.

In addition to creating beautiful, heirloom-quality glassware, Hall hopes to share the art of Southern hospitality with the world.

"Under my grandmother's tutelage, I learned my first fundamental cooking techniques all the while spending invaluable time side by side with her in the kitchen and accompanying her on shopping trips. Most of all, I am indebted to her for teaching me the gift of being a fine hostess," Hall writes on the company website. "I hope our heirloom-quality pieces help create special memories for you just like the memories I have of time spent with my grandmother."

Visit EstelleColoredGlass.com to purchase your own special, memory-making pieces.

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