Richard Schwarz
16 July 1959 to 21 Nov 2008

Owing to the sudden and untimely death of Gl@zine editor and close friend Richard Schwarz, publication of The Gl@zine will be temporarily suspended.

Richard died at his home in Croydon in the early evening of Friday 21st November, aged 49. Our sympathies are with his wife Debbie, and children Anna and Terry.

I met Richard as a fresh faced assistant editor of Glass Age at the German window trade fair Fensterbau in the early 80’s. His grasp of the subject matter and not inconsiderable writing skills were self evident, and his rise to become editor of Glass Age was just a matter of time.

Richard always lived life to the full and indeed, often well beyond what may be the bounds of other mortals. That Richard always wanted to push back boundaries, for better and sometimes for worse, established him as someone that was always stimulating and challenging to be around.

Richard was by far the longest serving and most experienced British journalist serving the glass and glazing industries. As such his commitment was as total as his knowledge and understanding of the market was thorough. When preparing stories he could and would ask questions that often caught the otherwise prepared and experienced off-guard, to offer an edge to what may otherwise have been mundane. Always excellent company he would not be diverted from following his instincts and conscience simply because he had a drink with the target of his journalistic attentions the week previously.

Everyone that knew Richard had a story to tell of their encounters; the longer one knew him then so the tales grew exponentially; after 25 years or so I could write a very entertaining book.

Richard’s loss will leave a distinct gap in the landscape of my life and indeed, that of so many others. The Glazine will return but it will, by definition, be a different animal. We will miss Richard Schwarz very much indeed.

Arrangements for Richard's funeral have yet to be finalised. Details will be published in next week's edition of the Glazine.

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