Community Chat

[meallen616]

@beach-mom,

I forgot in my post to say that I have a few Lenox/Longaberger figurines, anyone remember them, or have them?

[JeanLouiseFinch]

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@missy1 wrote:

What are they going to do with their headquarters?

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@missy1  The Big Basket was sold to a local developer last year.  The Longaberger Company hadn't been using it for around a year or so prior to that.  

[Pearlee]

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@Pearlee wrote:

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@missy1 wrote:

What are they going to do with their headquarters?

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@missy1  That hasn't been their headquarters for quite a while.   They moved out of it and consolidated everyone elsewhere (can't now remember if it was Dresden or Frazeyberg; that bldg. is outside of Newark, Ohio).  It was on the market for sale for a very long time, and then was finally bought three years ago (according to an article I just found by Googling. ) From the article: "The structure and its surrounding 21 acres were purchased by developer Coon Restoration for a mere $1.2 million (its original price tag was $7.5 million) in addition to the payment of Longaberger’s back taxes on the building, in excess of $800,000."

By the way, I actually had to once to go a business meeting in that building (many of us came to that area from out of town).  It was still owned by Longaberger then although the meeting I went to didn't have anything to do with that company. For some reason, this business meeting was held in the downstairs auditorium of that bulding which, on the inside of the building, looked exactly like any regular office building!   From the outside, however, wowza!   I've read that it had caused some accidents on the highway that goes by it, with people gaping at the building and taking their eyes off the road.  Anyway, my meeting there was very interesting.

Link to the article (if the mods let it stay up)

https://www.curbed.com/2018/1/8/16862310/ohio-basket-building-sold-longaberger

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@JeanLouiseFinch  I posted this a few posts above yours.

[JeanLouiseFinch]

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@Spurt wrote:

The companies that sell their wares  by having "parties" never seem to last long...........kitchen, jewelry, candles....now baskets....

You feel obligated to buy something for the first party you are asked to attend....thereafter you find excuses not to go to anymore parties....at least that was the way it worked among my co-workers who had friends that sold these various lines.....

BTW what happened to that jewelry line that was briefly on QVC that had been sold at these parties.....and didnt last long and disappeared....Does anyone recall the name of the jewelry?

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@Spurt  Longaberger Basket Company, as a direct sales business, has been around for 40 yrs., not exactly a flash in the pan.  Believe it or not, when they first started all baskets were made to order so a customer would have to wait about 6 weeks for delivery.

[deepwaterdotter]

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@missy1 wrote:

What are they going to do with their headquarters?

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Remove the 'handles' and turn it into the world's largest laundromat?

[suzyQ3]

The mention of Peterboro rang a bell. I think they were on QVC when I first discovered the channel. I must have been rather vulnerable to their sales pitch because I recall buying one. I returned it for quality reasons that I have long forgotten. But the weird thing is that I am just not a basket person -- a basket case quite often but not into baskets.

Then there was Polish Stoneware. Now, that I did get into. I look back and think, yes, they're pretty, but what the heck was I thinking? And that's just the tip of the iceberg. It's difficult to live with obsessive-compulsive behavior.

But I digress. :-)

[JeanLouiseFinch]

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@puttypiesmom wrote:

This is sad, I hadn't yet had a chance to purchase one!  There is no one who can take over the business?   Such a beautifully made commodity and no one is stepping up??  What's going on??  

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No, @puttypiesmom, there is no one.  Dave Longaberger built an empire.  His heart and soul was in that business and the surrounding areas, having the largest impact on the local economy.  In its heyday, it was exciting to be part of it all with visits to the Homestead, the town of Dresden, touring the basket making facility, making baskets with the basketmakers, going to the Big Basket, meeting Tami, etc.  Dave's daughters stepped up after he passed away, but I don't think they knew what they were getting into or their vision was different from dear ol' dad's.  Lots of things happened, too many to enumerate, and eventually the company got bought by a company called CSVL, which later changed its name to JRJR.  JRJR made matters even worse, in many different ways, and now the end is here.  Lots to read on the internet if you are that interested and know where to look, such as newspaper articles.  

[VaBelle35]

When I moved into my house in 1993, it was home party central.

I have 3 baskets.  Two I bought myself and one was a gift.  I use all 3 all the time.

The Market Basket (I think I have the medium) is my most useful (and most expensive).  But I have gotten my money's worth out of it.

I have a small one that was given to me as a gift.  It has a plastic divider and the person who gave it to me made the liner herself.  I also have a break basket with a divider.

Love them.

[JeanLouiseFinch]

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@SahmIam wrote:

@JeanLouiseFinch  Classic Green here, lol.  I regret not purchasing the Traditional Holly as I have the linens and have not found a more classic holiday pattern than it. 

I bought the large, LE pieces. The Pot of Gold basket held toys for my youngest in his nursery (now gone). Many of the baskets you could only purchase if you attended the Jamboree I still have (small ones that can fit on a bookcase in a bedroom). My kids still have their Easter Baskets (best Easter baskets I have EVER seen). Bread baskets, Halloween pumpkins, book holders, baskets to hold makeup/items in the bathroom, to hold blankets/quilts in the family room....the ones I have left are used daily.

When the cookbook came out, I bought it and love many of the recipes. Still find their wrought iron to be the best (followed by SLAH, now also gone). So many beautiful and high quality items and now....

I wish I could get some replacement pieces; ebay is where I go to for the old stuff and the deals are excellent. Enjoy your Longaberger, my friend!  : )

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@SahmIam  LOL, I knew there was a reason I liked you - sister from another mother!

The best honey pecan chicken salad recipe for sure!  Loved getting that when we'd go to Popeye's (no, not the fast food chicken place, but Dave Longaberger's nickname) in Dresden.  I owned a ton of the wrought iron too, still have some but gave a lot of it to my sister.

[sfnative]

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@Sooner wrote:

Longaberger has gone the way of the 80's decorating and fashion look--out.  I had a number of baskets and kept two or three but the rest of them went out of the garage and to the Salvation Army a year ago.  A big SUV load of them.  I didn't use them because they collect dust around the house and are hard to clean.

They are well made, but were always way too expensive.  Which was ok when they were a popular decorating look I guess. . .

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@Sooner

Hi Sooner,

Hmmm, I never did see Longaberger as an '80s deco thing.  If you look into 19th century English "hampers," this is where the American picnic basket, etc., all started, and many other basket designs from there.

Though numerous past baskets in the U.S. were handmade of willow, the better ones, historically, were made of wood, as are/were Longaberger.

Re your dust issue, my Aunt Helen was a Longaberger rep for ages and told me upon the occasion of purchasing my first

basket:  give it a good dowsing in water twice a year to "keep it healty and looking good."

I never went to a party.  Lived in CA and she in MI, so she would send me a catalog.  I'd ask her which items were hot, etc.  I purchased to use and as an investment.  She purchased as an investment for retirement.  And on that note, upon her retirement, she placed an advertisement in a county publication that she was auctioning off all of her baskets.  She had quite a presence in her community, so scads of people showed up and she made way more than tens of thousands of dollars.

Me?  I really was never avid Longaberger, but found uses for all of my purchases and just love the Halloween baskets with lids in the shape of pumpkins.  About 18" from my elbow here in my recliner is the "Christmas Collection 1987 Edition Mistletoe
Basket" with fabric liner.  It's made of regular and red stained maple (I think it's maple?).  Anway, this very small basket is perfect for my nail care things and a top coat for my nails.  Use something out of there every day.  And the beat goes on...