In the ongoing Shondaland series Head Turners, we meet interesting women from every facet of life who are crushing it in their careers. From artists and tech mavens to titans of the boardroom, these women are breaking barriers, and they’ll share how you can too.
After graduating college, Stephanie Summerson Hall went directly to law school and became an attorney. But throughout her 10-year law career, she found herself less interested in the courtroom and more interested in the business section of the newspaper, dreaming of leading her own entrepreneurial life. When she and her husband started thinking about growing their family, she had a wake-up call. “I knew I didn’t want to work 75 hours a week,” she says. “I felt unfulfilled.”
Summerson Hall created a side project selling artisanal goods online. That led to developing a specialized luxury brand of hand-blown glass. In October 2019, after five years of building the business, she launched Estelle Colored Glass before the pandemic. Lockdowns actually helped her business because more people were at home thinking about entertaining. Summerson Hall’s candy-colored glassware exploded in popularity, finding fans in tastemakers like Vogue, Martha Stewart, and Oprah Winfrey. Stores such as Nordstrom in the United States and Liberty in Great Britain began carrying the glassware too.
“It was never my intention to completely leave law,” Summerson Hall explains, “but as things unfolded, it became a viable option.” The South Carolina native says that with Estelle Colored Glass, she realized she found her true passion and works alongside her team to create jewels for the table. Summerson Hall is partial to the cake stands. She loves how Estelle Colored Glass items can connect the gift with the giver too.
Summerson Hall spoke to Shondaland about how her grandmother ignited her love of colored glass, what she does to stay focused, and why being overwhelmed is not a badge of honor.
ANNE McCARTHY: You had a career in law before founding Estelle Colored Glass. How does your law background inform your current work life?
STEPHANIE SUMMERSON HALL: For every project or initiative that I take on, I take on a strategy that is influenced by how I would approach assignments at work as a lawyer. I am very thorough and always very careful to do my due diligence. I’m careful with my negotiations. I think I approach everything from the standpoint of a lawyer, honestly.
AM: How did your grandmother Estelle inspire the company? And what do you think she’d think of all your success?
SSH: I grew up in Holly Hill, South Carolina, about 45 minutes outside of Charleston, one street over from my grandmother. She influenced every area of my life. My grandmother was a day shopper. She did these memorable shopping trips, and I went on many of them with her. She was always collecting things. She had two china cabinets full of beautiful things. Among the items in there were some colored glass pieces. When we went on these shopping trips, she would pick up a piece to add to her collection, so that’s where I was introduced to colored glass.
When I remember her having dinners and the tables [were] set, there were colored glass bowls and other pieces. She curated beautiful, unique pieces for the home and for entertaining. She was a very good cook and was known for having a lot of company. People really enjoyed the warmth of her home and how she made people feel. It was that whole experience [of growing up around that]. It just becomes a part of who you are. I think she would be thrilled by my success, and she influenced my work ethic.
AM: What was your journey to establish Estelle Colored Glass?
SSH: It took five years to bring the business from conception to getting the product to market in October 2019. A large part of that [time] was spent on sourcing a glass manufacturer, vetting glassmakers, and looking for potential companies I could partner with. I reached an impasse because I was really set on having pieces made in the U.S. and could not find anyone who could make them. I found that Poland was a good place to have quality glass [made]. That process was very strenuous, long, and drawn out.
From there, I formulated the colors. I was literally in my office one day and said, “Oh, wow. I’ve got seven colors that I love.” By that time, I had a concept for an initial photo shoot. I put the ball in motion and said, “You know what? I’m just gonna do this.” I converted a website where I was selling artisan goods. It wasn’t going so well. It was another side endeavor. I rebuilt that website and renamed it. I took the plunge and went all-in with colored glass, and it worked out in the end.
AM: Do you have a favorite item from Estelle Colored Glass?
SSH: I love [the glassware in the] lavender color. I just love that color. The cake stand was the first product idea I had. I love that because if you send someone a blush-pink cake stand, they’re going to think of you every time they use it and smile. It just connects the gift with the gift-giver.
AM: What were some setbacks you faced, and how did you overcome them?
SSH: I had to negotiate quite a bit with our glassmakers because when it was time to rock and roll and say, “Hey, we want to put this into production,” their minimum orders were significantly higher than the investment I wanted to make. It was a matter of negotiating and really letting them see the results I had envisioned buying into a long-term relationship. My lawyering skills came into play because I could convince them. I would say, “Can I speak to someone else? Can I talk to someone else higher up?”
AM: How does all the attention your company has received feel?
SSH: I’m very humbled by it all. But we did not have the bandwidth to go out and pitch or anything like that when we got the bulk of our media attention. It all came to us. It boils down to this: People love our story. People buy our story before they buy our products. I tell all the entrepreneurs that what’s working for us is being as authentic as possible.
AM: What’s a typical workday for you?
SSH: I like to simplify my life and simplify my business. What I’m doing business-wise, I don’t see it as a badge of honor to be busy or overwhelmed. I’m trying to be a leader who leads by example and simplifies what we’re doing. I work from home two days per week and go into the office three days a week to check in with my team leads. I don’t have a hierarchical structure where there’s a lot of fancy names. I see myself as a servant leader.
I’m working smart and not so hard. I found something I’m passionate about doing, so it doesn’t seem so much like work. I get to talk about my family heritage, tell stories about my grandmother. These things are soothing and stress relievers for me. It puts me in a happy space. That’s what I’m about these days, honestly. I have four kids, so there are extracurricular activities, but I have to rest. I get the message that it’s not a badge of honor to be overwhelmed. My day is calm and relaxed.
AM: What advice would you give to someone who wants to start their own business
SSH: Start for the right reason. Start because you are passionate about a particular service or a product, not because of external drivers. Don’t do it for money or prestige. Do it because you have conviction or passion about it. And do it with people in mind. That’s a big thing for me. Treat people well, and provide a service or product that will improve people’s lives, make them happy and their lives easier. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
Anne McCarthy is a freelance writer who splits her time between the U.S. and Europe. She has contributed to the BBC, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Wired, and Business Insider. Follow her on Twitter @annemitchmcc.
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