According to owner Stephen Brown, “everyday is a holiday,” in downtown Knoxville’s new holiday-inspired studio store, Glitterville.
Stephen Brown, owner and creative genius behind Glitterville, graduated from UT with a costume design degree.
Brown then moved to New York where he continued working in costume design for TV, film, and Mariah Carey. Despite the high demands of working in the world of New York fashion, it was then that Brown started to take his creativity in a different direction.
“In the middle of all that, I started making ornaments,” Brown said. “I was fascinated by all of the whimsical and magical aspects. I was creating stuff that I was really proud of.”
Brown was working with Mariah Carey on the “WiseGirls” set in New York when people started suggesting that he display his crafts at the AmericasMart, a large market in Atlanta where people can display their merchandise for stores all around the world to purchase.
Almost immediately after setting up at AmericasMart for the first time, Brown was approached by companies expressing an interest in featuring him. Eventually, Brown accepted an offer to work with the large magazine corporation, Department 56.
“And a big company at the time came and said we would like to take your products and make them worldwide in three months. Which they did. And that company was Department 56,” Brown said.
Brown stayed with Department 56 for four years, until he eventually decided to continue Glitterville on his own.
Since 2003, Glitterville has shined brightly in the world of holiday decor with their line of giftware and home decorations offered through their online store and new Knoxville location.
Products offered through Glitterville include festive ornaments, cake toppers, timeless glassware, whimsical household decorations, and many more products that are dedicated to their motto of “Making every day a holiday!”
To Brown, the inspiration behind Glitterville and its vast array of products is the idea to always be different.
“(The goal) is to always be different,” Brown said. “You don’t want to be the same thing that’s on the market. … As cheesy as it is, I don’t really look at trend items. We tend to do the things that we like and, hopefully, that becomes a trend. I like anything whimsical or colorful or that has a lot of sparkle to it, of course,” he said in an interview with knoxnews.
The creative process behind Glitterville’s vast array of products includes a lot of traveling and a specific style of manufacturing that Brown uses to ensure that the authenticity of his ideas are reflected in his products.
The process behind making a new product for Glitterville begins with Brown creating the original prototype himself. He then travels to Asia and Europe and works with local crafters to reproduce his design using the same techniques that he used to create the first. Brown uses this specific style of manufacturing to ensure that every product offered from Glitterville truly represents the vision that he has for the piece.
Brown’s manufacturing process centered around authenticity has even gained the attention of some major celebrities, including Oprah. For her 22nd list of her favorite things, Oprah made sure to include Glitterville’s Marbled Mug, Marbled Salad Plate, and Paris Flea Market Plates among the other 107 items. Oprah’s admiration for Glitterville’s products has even led to a friendship between her and Brown and he now works with her on her magazine covers.
Since the start of Glitterville, Brown has also gone on to do other projects such as serve as a judge in Hollywood on TLC’s “Craft Wars” and write Glitterville’s new holiday how-to-book series.
Despite the immense success that Glitterville has brought him, Brown decided to stay true to his roots by opening up his own personal studio store for Glitterville inside the Keener Building in downtown Knoxville.
Brown chose the Keener building to display his collection of vibrant products after reminiscing on the chandeliers that hung in the windows of the building during his childhood.
“I remember seeing the chandeliers hanging in the windows. They always caught my eye so its only fitting that I put products in them now that will catch other people’s eyes,” Brown said.
The festive retail outlet opened on September 14, 2019 and now serves as a place filled with glimmering holiday decor, a working studio and office for Brown, and a place where Brown plans to offer craft classes for both children and adults.
With the season of festivities approaching, the Glitterville studio store shines in downtown Knoxville as a place where everyone can get a taste of the holiday spirit.
Carlyn Anderson 
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