Gillespie Public Relations Files

Summary: Selected files primarily relating to public relations, kept by or for Alice J. Kolator, who served Lenox successively from 1982 as Special Events Manager (1982), as National Tabletop Consultant (1983-1986) and, from 1986, as Director of Public Relations (later termed Public Relations and Training) for Lenox China and Crystal (later Lenox Brands).

Bridal Files: Arranged alphabetically by topic.

Documentation, dating from the 1970s to 1986, of public relations efforts relating to the bridal market. The documents in this sub-series pertain to bridal market research, sales and public relations events, gift offers and giveaways, bridal registries and mailings. Included are memoranda, magazine clippings, press releases, mailing lists, registry forms, reports, event programs, invitations and advertisements. Several items produced for Brides magazine were apparently produced for the bridal market as a whole, and not for Lenox specifically.

Subject Files: Arranged alphabetically by topic.

Varied documentation pertaining to events, initiatives and products that are, at least loosely, related to public relations. The files pertain to various topics, including the bridal market, exhibitions, special services and presidential china (including services for the Pope, President Carter and President Reagan), corporate organizational changes, staff training, product lines, special events (such as the Editors' Tea, the Papal visit to New Orleans and the Columbus Quincentenary) and specific public relations programs (such as the Signature Gallery Program). Included are memos, letters, press releases, news clippings, conference programs, invoices, newsletters, notes (handwritten), reports, and guides and manuals (unbound).

Filed at the end of this sub-series is a scrapbook of bridal and event material, including advertising tear sheets, press releases, event schedules and ephemeral publications.

Releases about Personnel: Arranged alphabetically by last name.

Press releases pertaining to Lenox employees, focusing primarily on persons either newly hired or promoted to a new position. The documents primarily cover employees at the district manager level and, to a lesser extent, Lenox artisans engaged in retail presentation. Included are press releases, photographs and press clippings.

The files in this sub-series pertaining to Lenox demonstration artisans (i.e., Marty Orban, Kathy Jordan and Lydia Kugler) were most likely originally kept by Marjorie Exton and include additional document types not found in other folders, such as memoranda, correspondence, travel schedules and events materials.

Magazine Files: Arranged alphabetically by publication title.

Documentation of magazine articles, editorials and photo essays featuring Lenox products, as well as of trade publications with Lenox related articles. Featured publications include magazines that traditionally discuss or advertise china products, such as Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies' Home Journal and Modern Bride, as well as publications traditionally outside the Lenox core customer demographic, such as Architectural Journal and Builders. Included are tear sheets, incoming and outgoing letters, invoices and consignment orders.

Located at the end of the sub-series is a chronological file consisting solely of consignment orders for the loaning of Lenox products for use in publications.

General File: Arranged alphabetically by topic.

Documentation, dating from 1993, of the public relations efforts undertaken by Lenox China and Crystal in cooperation with various retailers and other third party entities, arranged in an alphabetical file by corporation. The documents pertain to various topics, such as public relations seminars and events, product giveaways and special promotions, advertisements and sales training. Included are memoranda, incoming and outgoing letters, advertising invoices, consignment invoices, shipping labels, packing lists, notes (handwritten) and magazine clippings. Interspersed throughout the alphabetical file are individual files on specific topics, such as individual retailers, publications, mailings, museum inventories and exhibits, and maintenance work orders.

Among the documents in this sub-series are files regarding the use of Lenox products in the feature film Six Degrees of Separation.

Gillespie Public Relations Files: Arranged alphabetically by topic.

Documentation of the retention of, and work by, the public relations firm Gillespie. The files, consisting primarily of press releases, cover Lenox China and Crystal, Gorham and Kirk Stieff, and include such topics as Lenox Easter eggs, wedding gift giving and how to pack a perfect picnic. Included are press releases, memoranda, press clippings, catalog excerpts and reports.

Among the documents in this sub-series are two market research reports from 1995 entitled "The Lenox Report of Women and Elegance" and "The Lenox Report on Holiday Celebrations."