My grandfather and his brother started our family glass business in 1910. Now, I run the company. We make etched and engraved glassware, which we sell to large retailers across the country. My family’s business has survived the Great Depression, two world wars, failing industries, and the 2009 recession. Through it all, generation after generation of loyal customers have bought our products.
Our work is hands-on and very labor-intensive. We’re proud of our family business, which employs 50 people in Southeastern Pennsylvania throughout the year and about double that during the holiday season. But the pandemic put my family’s century-old business in serious jeopardy, and we had to lay off most of our workforce. We barely survived.
Ultimately, we were able to reopen our doors and bounce back in no small part due to thoughtful policies that helped small companies like mine and so many others get back on their feet. I’ve seen what government can do when it’s actually looking out for small businesses — the engines of our economy — and we need to do a lot more of it.
