STERLING, Va.-After 40 years, Reston Lloyd founder Rita Bolle once again has the exclusive distribution rights for German-made Römertopf clay cookware, which the company said she introduced to the U.S and Canada in 1968, under her former company Trans-Ocean-Bridge.
Bolle first saw the Römertopf line at the Hannover Fair in Germany in 1968 and brought it to the U.S., promoting the line nationwide in demonstrations in department stores. She left the company in 1972 and returned to Germany, founding Reston Lloyd, and returned to the U.S. the next year. As she couldn’t receive the Römertopf distribution license with her new company, she received the rights to Scheurich Company’s glazed Schlemmertopf clay cookware line, which was produced in the same region as the Römertopf but with the addition of a transparent glaze inside the pot to make it more clean looking, the company said.
But as of Jan. 1, 2013, Reston Lloyd has become exclusive importer and distributor of the Römertopf line for the United States and Canada, having received the rights from Römertopf Kermik GMBH, which now owns the Römertopf line. The new glazed Römertopf line will be shown at the upcoming International Home + Housewares Show. Reston Lloyd has chosen not to continue with the Schlemmertopf line, though pieces are still available and can be purchased while supplies last.