State Dept. Awards $5M Contract for Crystal Stem and Barware For Embassies

    Just a week before the government shut down kicked in on October 1, the State Department awarded a five-year, maximum $5 million contract for custom handcrafted crystal stem and barware, according to a report in the Valley News, an online news site in Vermont (via Charlie Perkins.)  Valley News reporter Warren Johnston reports:

On eve of last week’s government shutdown, Simon Pearce won a potential five-year competitive contract for $5 million to provide 20 different styles of custom handcrafted stem and barware to the State Department for use in American embassies around the world. 

The contract stipulates that the items be made in the United States, Clay Adams, chief executive officer at Simon Pearce, said in an email. 

“Simon Pearce is a natural fit for this given its production in Vermont and Maryland. Simon Pearce received its first purchase order … for more than 12,000 pieces, most of which will be produced here in Vermont later this year,” Adams said...

    Notice of the contract award was posted on September 30 on the Federal Business Opportunities website:

    The contract is the result of a Small Business bidding solicitation first posted by the State Department in February of this year for an "Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity" contract.

Note: A version of this article first appeared at The Weekly Standard.