In
1981, Lynda and Michael Adelson established Seekers Glass Gallery in the coastal
village
of
Cambria
, located mid-state along
California
's magnificent
Big Sur
Coast
and Highway One scenic drive.
Lifelong
art lovers and collectors, the Adelsons had walked away from successful
careers and their own businesses when they
moved from
Los Angeles
to
Cambria
in 1980.
In
the previous decade, Michael had been a top executive with a 
Shore
Drive
.
A
native Californian, Lynda graduated with a degree in journalism from
California
State
University
, Northridge. In the 1970's, she was an executive with several Fortune 500
corporations and served as the first public relations director for the
Pacific
Design
Center
in
Los Angeles
. Subsequently, she headed her own public relations and marketing firm, serving
a clientele of leading financial, development and architectural/design
companies.
In
the mid-1970s, Lynda and Michael were attracted to the contemporary craft
movement then emerging in
California
and throughout the
United States
. Talented newcomers could be discovered at street fairs, only to be found a few
years later in major museum collections in this country and abroad. Their love
of color and light led the Adelsons to begin collecting contemporary American
studio glass on a very small, but selective scale.
Seeking
a life more grounded in beauty and nature, the Adelsons discovered the
village
of
Cambria
during a driving trip early in 1980. By December of that same year they had
concluded their business interests in
Los Angeles
and embarked upon a new life in
Cambria
. By the following spring they had settled on a business, a location and a name
for their new enterprise: Seekers.
They
opened Seekers in August of 1981 in a small upstairs space next door to the
present gallery. Since then, their business has grown to serve a national
and international clientele. In 2005 the Adelsons entered into a partnership
with Alice and David Dietderich.
“We
are extremely pleased to have formed a partnership with the Dietderichs,” said
the Adelsons. Eventually they will purchase the entire company from us, allowing
us to retire and pursue other interests.
“We
are absolutely convinced that Alice and David will carry on the Seekers
tradition of presenting only the finest, museum-quality American glass art,”
the Adelsons said. They added that transition to full ownership of the gallery
by the Dietderichs will take several years to accomplish.
Alice
Dietderich has been employed by Seekers since 1987 and has served as General
Manager of the company and the gallery since 1997. She is an alumni of both UCLA
and the San Francisco Academy of Art, where she studied fine art and graphic
design.
David
Dietderich has recently retired as construction superintendent after more than
two decades of working for some of the world’s largest heavy-construction
firms. Locally he worked on the massive Cuesta Grade project in the late
1980’s.
David
has been learning the business since the formation of the partnership in May,
2005. Among the many talents David brings to the partnership is expertise in
photography. This skill is essential to the support of Seekers’ website and
the printed biographical profiles for every artist with work on display in the
gallery.
Alice
created and maintains the website, SeekersGlass.com, which currently displays
the work of more than 100 glass artists and accounts for approximately 15
percent of Seekers’ gross sales.
“This
partnership is the beginning of ‘passing the baton’ to the Dietderichs,”
said the Adelsons. “Making it a real family affair,
Alice
’s mother, Carol Bath,
Cambria
, has been Seekers’ bookkeeper since 1996 and will continue in this key
position.”
The
Adelsons added that their passion for world travel is among their reasons for
eventual retirement from Seekers. In recent years
Alice
has run the company for as long as two months in their absence, confirming the
Adelsons’ long-held confidence in her abilities.
“We
are absolutely convinced that Alice and David will carry on the Seekers
tradition of presenting only the finest, museum-quality American glass art,”
said the Adelsons. “This gallery is ‘our baby’ and we have been working
closely with Alice during the past seven years to assure that she knows every
aspect of the business, including selection and purchasing of pieces for the
gallery.”
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