We discovered Carnival Glass Showcase through Facebook and contacted Christina about joining the website. My wife Laura and I have been collecting for about 5 years now. It all began when my father-in-law gave us our first piece which was from his mother, our grandmother. It was a very beautiful Imperial Scroll Embossed plate in purple glass. We then started doing a little research on the plate and that's when we fell into the carnival glass addiction!

Just like most collectors that start off, we were going to every auction, every flea market, antique stores, and yard sales, every weekend and some week days, making our rounds. We would purchase most every piece that was affordable for us that we laid eyes on. Our collection grew to 100 pieces so fast, but most were lacking that carnival beauty or had some sort of damage.

It wasn't until we went to our first convention that we realized the realm of carnival glass and the fantastic people that opened up to us with their knowledge. We then began to sell our pieces and upgrade for better quality pieces. We are still at around 100 pcs in our collection but have had more than 400 pass through our hands. I tend to sell from time to time on eBay. I go by username cody_1873.

We live in central Missouri in a small town along the Missouri River called New Haven. We are not a member of any club yet and we don't make it out to conventions as much as we would like. I have talked with Bob Grissom and Gary Heavin at Mickey Reichel's auctions in Boonville, Missouri about becoming members of HOACGA. Raising two kids, ages five and six, with a third on the way makes it difficult to get out but they're getting to the age where they can come along with us to conventions now.  I have a very busy work schedule and with kids, it's hard to make it to any auctions. I manage a machine shop and I am a toolmaker by trade.  My wife is a stay at home mom, and she homeschools our children. We have been blessed by the Lord to be able to raise a family in this manner and to be able to have a hobby that we enjoy together. But like I said, the kids are getting older and we should be able to get out more. The children like carnival glass also!

All well, we are young and have many years ahead, Lord willing. We don't have anything that would be considered SUPER RARE, but we are off to a good start. Thank you for taking the time to read our little introduction and visit some of our glass here on Carnival Glass Showcase. Have a great day.



The Chris & Laura Smith Collection