Ed Bazinet

For long time loyal Department 56 enthusiasts, the name Ed Bazinet must have rung a bell as he was the founder of Department 56, the company.   He was the genius who started the “miniature ceramic village” craze in the early 70s.  For someone whose appearance had been described to resemble more as a college professor than a multimillionaire making his fortune running a ceramic village import business, Mr. Bazinet was a fantastic businessman with great ideas and even greater foresight.

Mr. Ed Bazinet passed away recently.   He was in his mid 70s.

A couple of days ago, the following passage appeared in Department 56’s Facebook page, it read

“It is with profound sadness that Department 56 announces the passing of its founder, Ed Bazinet. Ed will be fondly remembered by his family, his many friends, the people who worked with him here at Department 56 and the people who have enjoyed the products he designed. As one of our employees commented, “The clock stopped at 5 to 6.” We will all miss you, Ed.”

Born and raised in rural Minnesota, Mr. Bazinet was the kind of folksy midwesterner that usually no one would pay attention to.  However, due to his great salesmanship, his wonderful business skills and his tremendous wealth, an entire chapter of this book called “Richistan: A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich”, written by Robert Frank and first published in 2007, was dedicated to Mr. Bazinet’s life story.  The author even went as far as naming Mr. Bazinet, the King of the Ceramic Village.  I certainly cannot agree more!