Annie Morhauser, award winning glassmaker and designer, will be visiting Oxford Floral  on Monday from noon to 2 p.m. and for an evening reception from 5 to 7 p.m.

Morhauser is an American success story, having started her glassmaking studio fresh out of art school in 1981. Her company, Annieglass, has grown into one of the largest artisanal glassmaking facilities in the U.S. producing fine platters, bowls and dishes in a vast variety of shapes and sizes sold in the finest stores throughout America and Europe.

Annieglass is made entirely in her Northern California studio on the Monterey Bay from window glass that is melted over molds at high heat, fusing the precious metal gold or platinum permanently into the glass. Each piece is then engraved with the studio signature on the back.

Her nature inspired tableware is sought after by celebrities, chefs  and brides. Sofia Vergara, Oprah Winfrey and the Kardashians, as well as chefs Bobby Flay and Thomas Keller, are among her many collectors.

Annieglass became part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Museum of American Art in 2006  and the Corning Glass Museum since 1990. The White House has on occasion used Annieglass as gifts of state since 1990.

Every Spring Morhauser tours Mississippi because of the popularity of Annieglass in the state. She believes Southern women in particular understand Annieglass more than other parts of the country because of their appreciation for quality and the ability to discern it. Southern hospitality plays a role too as entertaining is so abundant.

More brides register for Annieglass in Mississippi than any other state of similar size.

“It’s ground zero for Annieglass,” Morhauser said. “I love coming here and getting new ideas from meeting my creative customers.”