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Introduction
Reco International was founded in 1967 by Heio W. Reich. It began as an importer of European porcelain collectibles but is today better known for its kitchenware, including brands like Romertopf, Nature's Oven and Recoware.
History
After spending 3 years in America while working for a shipping company in the early 1960s, Heio Reich, a native of Berlin, Germany, came back to the United States with his wife Frederique in 1967 and settled in Port Washington, NY.
Heio established Reco International to provide high quality European collectibles to the US market and did this successfully until the mid-1970s, importing elegant pieces from some of Europe's leading manufacturers and studios, like Dresden, KPM Berlin, Furstenberg, Royal Germania Crystal, Kings Fine Porcelain, Moser and others.
The weak dollar of the mid-1970s made importing from Germany more difficult. As a result, Heio looked for alternative porcelain collectibles in America. It was during this time that Heio met John McClelland, a talented artist with whom he developed a close relationship. John was an established illustrator and portrait artist and his artwork, particularly his child portraits, became the feature and inspiration of many Reco collectible and limited edition plates and figurines. The combination of Reco and McClelland was enormously successful.
Following the success with John McClelland, Heio identified a number of other artists to collaborate with. The most notable of these is Sandra Kuck, who he became aware of in the late 1970s. Sandra is an artist who combines romanticism with an incredible attention to detail. Her paintings feature many children, country gardens, angels, mother-daughter relationships and nostalgic images from the Victorian era. The Reco/Kuck collaboration has lasted over 25 years and led to recognition and multiple awards from the National Association of Limited Edition Dealers (NALED).
Other artists that have collaborated with Reco through the 1980s and beyond include Gregory Perillo, known for his Native American Indian themed art, inspirational and religious artist Greg Olsen, French painter Fran?ois Ledan, and many, many more.
Today, Reco still manufactures a wide range of collectible product lines, including collectible limited edition plates, figurines, ornaments, music boxes, dolls and vases. Reco also manufactures an innovative line of 3D paintings known as "Rooms with a View". These are sculpted and hand-painted plaques, combining elements of a traditional painting with heavy relief that provides a real depth to the image.
Reco has evolved its product lines further from the pure collectibles market into the home d?cor and gourmet houseware arenas. It is now probably better known for its brands of cooking accessories than for its collectible lines.
Heio Reich still presides over the company, with his son Steffen actively engaged with the sales side of the business.
(c)2008-2009 Woolvey LLC |
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