posted 06-07-2010 06:57 PM            

'Ginkgo International, Ltd., and the W.S. Helmick Stainless Collections, were founded in 1977 by Wes and Janet Helmick. Ginkgo’s purpose is to bring original designs to the market at the best value. We have worked with designers and stainless flatware contractors from the United States, Europe, and Asia to accomplish these goals. We believe the patterns illustrated here are the highest quality and value that over 25 years of endeavor can produce.

We are proud of our designers patterns, from the original "Le Prix"® pattern developed in a small ancient French Alps town of Thier, France to our latest patterns, Old Newbury Crafters 18/10 stainless. These patterns are reproductions of handwrought sterling from Old Newbury Crafters in Amesbury, Massachusetts, which have antecedents dating back to the 1600's, and were incorporated in 1915. We are please to be associated with OldNewbury Crafters.'

posted 12-04-2012 05:27 PM            

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....."Ginkgo truly differentiates itself from other flatware producers in terms of design quality and value, and they help set us apart from our big box competitors," says Lesniewski. "Their service is more personal simply because the company is smaller."

That's part of the reason the folks at Old Newbury Crafters selected Ginkgo to license its silver patterns four years ago. The esteemed handwrought sterling house is a direct-descended producer of an early 1600s silversmith. Some 14 generations later, the sterling is still handforged in much the same manner at its Amesbury, MA factory. "It's quite an honor to work with Old Newbury Crafters," Wes says. Thus far, Ginkgo has introduced six stainless designs, including Crusader, an Old Newbury Crafters' signature. "These aren't run-of-the-mill patterns," Wes proffers, and they're not for run-of-the-mill retailers. The license has introduced Ginkgo to a new customer base thanks to a slightly higher price point, $60 to $75.

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