Regional Oral History Office the Bancroft Library Charles E. Williams
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Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Charles E. Williams WILLIAMS-SONOMA COOKWARE AND THE AMERICAN KITCHEN: THE MERCHANDISING VISION OF CHUCK WILLIAMS, 1956-1994 Includes interviews with Howard Lester, Patrick Connolly, and Thomas O'Higgins Introduction by Howard Lester Interviews Conducted by Lisa Jacobson and Ruth Teiser in 1992-1994 Copyright 0 1995 by The Regents of the University of California Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the Nation. Oral history is a modern research technique involving an interviewee and an informed interviewer in spontaneous conversation. The taped record is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The resulting manuscript is typed in final form, indexed, bound with photographs and illustrative materials, and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeplyinvolved, and irreplaceable. All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Charles E. Williams dated September 2, 1994. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. The legal agreement with Charles E. Williams requires that he be notified of the request and allowed thirty days in which to respond. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Charles E. Williams, "Williams-Sonoma Cookware and the American Kitchen: The Merchandising Vision of Chuck Williams, 1956-1994," an oral history conducted 1992-1994 by Lisa Jacobson and Ruth Teiser, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 1995. Copy no. Cataloging information WILLIAMS, Charles E. (b. 1915) Cookware entrepreneur Williams-Sonoma Cookware and the American Kitchen: The Merchandising Vision of Chuck Williams, 1956-1994, 1995, vi, 345 pp. Family background and childhood in Florida and California; work experiences during Depression; wartime service for Lockheed Aircraft; Sonoma years, 1947-1958: work as carpenter, local cooking culture, California cooking traditions, travel to Europe and exposure to French cookware, opening of Williams-Sonoma; relocation of store to San Francisco; clientele; merchandising; American interest in French cooking during 1950s and 1960s; changing conceptions of the kitchen; influence of various cooks and food writers on Chuck Williams; buying trips in France and Europe; mail-order merchandising; catalog production; American attitudes toward food, cooking, and the good life in the 1970s; new food preparation technology; appeal of store to counterculture types; men and women as consumers; sale of the company to Howard Lester, 1978; expansion and diversification during the 1980s and 1990s: Gardener's Eden, Hold Everything, Pottery Barn, Chambers, multi-catalog marketing strategies; customer service; image of Williams- Sonoma; Williams-Sonoma cookbooks; Williams' philosophy of cooking and hospitality. Includes interviews with three executives who played key roles in the company's expansion and diversification during the 1980s and 1990s: Howard Lester, chief executive officer; Patrick Connolly, senior vice president of mail order and marketing; and Tom O'Higgins, vice president of merchandising. Introduction by Howard Lester, chief executive officer, Williams-Sonoma, Inc . Interviewed 1992-1994 by Lisa Jacobson and Carole Hicke. Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. TABLE OF CONTENTS--Charles E. Williams INTRODUCTION--by Howard Lester VOLUME HISTORY--by Lisa Jacobson INTERVIEW HISTORY--by Lisa Jacobson BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION I CHILDHOOD AND FAMILY BACKGROUND Parents Depression Years in Northern Florida Family Cooking Traditions Early Interest in Cooking Move to California Cooking Styles in the 1920s and 1930s I1 WORK EXPERIENCES DURING THE DEPRESSION AND WAR YEARS Sniff's Date Garden and Mail-Order Business Wealthy Clientele A Tradition of Service Summer Jobs More on the Depression Lockheed Aircraft and Wartime Service Carpentry Work THE SONOMA YEARS, 1947-1958 Building Houses Purchase of Hardware Store Sonoma's Cooking Culture Sunset Magazine and California Cooking Traditions Exploring French Cooking Traditions Travel to Europe Fascination with French Cookware Opening of Williams-Sonoma, 1956 IV WILLIAMS-SONOMA AND COOKING TRADITIONS IN THE 1950s AND 1960s Relocation to San Francisco, 1958 Advantages of Sutter Street Location Wedding Gift Sales Clientele National Recognition Store's Popularity with Men Merchandise Buying Trips to France Buying Multiple Sizes Look of the Store Professional Chefs Among the Store's Clientele Merchandise Displays and Store's Educational Function More on Buying Trips American Fascination with Traditional French Cooking James Beard's Influence on Williams Helen Evans Brown's Influence on Williams Store Financing Cooking Demonstrations and Cookbook Sales Expansion of Clientele and Growing Interest in Cooking Most Successful and Least Successful Products Commissioned Merchandise Expansion of San Francisco Store Addition of an Antique Shop A New Aesthetic for the Kitchen Mike Sharp's Contributions Wade Bentson's Contributions Expansion into American Cookware V BEGINNINGS OF WILLIAMS-SONOMA CATALOG AND MAIL-ORDER BUSINESS, 1970-1976 Growth of Business Idea for Catalog First Mailing of Catalog, 1970 Earlier Catalog Efforts Production of First Catalog Mail-Order Business in the Early Seventies Publicity for Store and Catalog Baskets and Gardening Products Free Publicity in Magazines Creation of the Mailing List Evaluation of First Catalog and Mailing List Decision to Incorporate, 1972 New Management and Store Openings Cooking Demonstrations and Book Signings at the Store Growing Interest in Ethnic Cooking Decision to Feature Recipes in the Catalog Williams' Philosophy of Cooking and Good Living Innovations in Mail-Order Business Overcoming Distrust of Mail-Order Catalogs Messages from Williams in Catalog Feedback from Catalog Recipients Catalog Production Preparation of Food for Catalog Profiles of Key Personnel VI CHANGING ATTITUDES TOWARD FOOD, COOKING, AND THE GOOD LIFE IN THE SEVENTIES AND EIGHTIES The Decade of the Home Cook Impact of the Food Processor Recession, Rising Food Costs, and Energy Crisis Energy-Saving Cookware Changing Fashions in Alcoholic Beverages Cooking with Wine Wine Tastings and Wine Sales at Williams-Sonoma Williams-Sonoma's Appeal to Counterculture Tastes Popularity of Steamers and Butcher Block Tables Impact of Decline in Household Servants Differences in the Buying Habits of Men and Women More on Butcher Block Tables Changing Fashions in Kitchen Design The Kitchen as the Center of the Home Design of Chuck Williams' Kitchen Advantages and Disadvantages of Open Kitchens Changing Concepts of the "Gourmet" Growing Interest in Ethnic Cuisines VII THE CATALOG FOR COOKS IN THE SEVENTIES: PRODUCTS AND PROSE Drawing Attention to a Product's Dual Uses Philanthropic Appeals Equipment vs. Gadgets Loyalty to the Original Manufacturer The Cook's Almanac Sales of French Cafe Chairs and Tables Introduction of Food Items in the Catalog Jams Wine Vinegars and Olive Oils Pommery Mustard Aceto Balsamic0 Sweets VIII HARD TIMES AND EXPANSION OF MAIL-ORDER BUSINESS Relocation to Emeryville, 1976 Bank Loans and Hard Times, 1977 Changes in the Catalog Dallas Store More on Hard Times at Williams-Sonoma Competitors Finding Solutions to the Fiscal Crisis Purchase of Company by Howard Lester, 1978 New Management Arrangements Expansion of Mail-Order Business Predominance of Mail-Order Customers on the East Coast Catalog Production in Dallas Preparation of Food for Catalog Photography Catalog Production Personnel IX MERCHANDIZING PRODUCTS FOR THE HOME: DIVERSIFICATION DURING THE EIGHTIES AND NINETIES Purchase of Gardener's Eden Catalog, 1982 Hold Everything Catalog Opening of Hold Everything Stores, 1985 Profile of the Hold Everything Consumer Table Designs and Kitchen Classics Catalogs, 1984 Going Public and Store Expansion Plans Changes in the Catalog for Cooks during the Eighties Buying Staff for Williams-Sonoma Qualities of a Good Buyer Changes in Consumer Tastes during the Eighties Buying Habits of Men and Women Popularity of Barbecue Equipment Interest in Ethnic Cookware and Foods New Food Items in Catalog Acquisition of Pottery Barn, 1986 Competition from Crate and Barrel Competition from Discount and Department Stores Ralph Lauren Home Collection Introduction