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Catherine Elwell uses her copper skillet pretty regularly. Sure, she's had it retinned once or twice, but considering the skillet was handcrafted around the time of the Revolutionary War, that ain't bad.

As owner of La Belle Cuisine in Allentown, Pa., Elwell's passion for collecting copper translates well into the store's copper sales. "I have a love affair with copper that I work every day to impart to my customers," she says. "Where else can you find something that gets more beautiful as it ages, gives you the most efficiency, helps your cooking, and when it's just sitting in your kitchen adds a warmth to the room? Copper has never been a fad — it's the past, the present, and the future."

Mainstream America seems to be catching on to the affection for copper expressed by Elwell and the many other aficionados who have embraced the metal since Julia Child ushered French cooking into American homes in the '60s. Indeed, given the metal's prominence in both product categories and retail channels these days, one thing about copper is clear: It's not just for gourmets anymore.

Copper, Copper Everywhere

While copper always has maintained its gourmet following, its mainstream popularity has tended to be small and cyclical. But thanks to the enduring focus on shelter trends, the growing sophistication of the American palate, and the wealth of product introductions in copper finishes, the metal lately has become a major player in both kitchen design and consumer interest.

"It's probably one of our biggest departments, both in our sales and in the amount of space we devote to it in our stores," says Gayle Novacek, buyer for Sur La Table, the 13-store specialty chain and mail-order operation based in Seattle. "And while cookware, cookie cutters and some other copper categories have always combined to make a major statement about our business, I think one of the biggest trends is the number of new categories entering the copper arena. Small kitchen appliances are probably the best example. So you're beginning to see that copper is breaking out into other areas of the kitchen, and for those of us who love it, that's really exciting."

Indeed, with copper also making its way onto everything from blenders to stand mixers to stove hoods to countertops to formal dinnerware these days, is it giving that other metal a run for its money?

"I don't think it could ever replace stainless, and I don't think it will ever be a runaway in the market, but I think copper's place in the American mindset is growing," Novacek says. "What we're seeing is that people want really good quality in everything they're buying, no matter whether it's something like knives or cookware. People are willing to learn about a product so they can have a better product in the home, and in copper they're getting the idea that if you have copper and gas you have the best of all possible worlds — and even if you have copper and electric, you still have a really excellent tool."

Elwell agrees, though she notes that education is key to imparting such a philosophy. "Copper has this aura about it, that only the most professional people use it. Consumers can be a little afraid of it," she says. "So I give them a simple lesson to help them understand the benefits. I tell them that if they were going to cook some eggs in a copper pot, they'd put some cold eggs in cold water in the saucepan and cook the eggs as they normally would. But when the eggs were finished and they were flushing the boiled water out of the pan with cold water, they'd see that the pot immediately became cold, allowing them to handle it. That's how sensitive copper is."

Elwell drives the point home, so to speak, with another analogy. "I tell customers that copper is like driving a race car," she says. "Just as the slightest movement is interpreted by this incredibly sophisticated car, so, too, is it with copper cookware, making it incredibly efficient."

Both La Belle Cuisine and Sur La Table carry two weights of copper cookware: classic and professional, with the professional featuring about one-third more solid copper than the classic weight.

"The classic also is distinguished as having brass handles on the cookware and on the lids, while the professional has iron handles," Novacek explains. "Most customers and most staff people in training don't notice the difference until we point it out to them. So they usually mix pieces pretty easily: They'll use the professional weight for cooking and the classic weight for presentation. With the brass fittings on the oval gratins or a fish poacher, it makes the pieces really beautiful on the table."

Even with such a dedication to cookware, the category makes up just one component of the copper statement at these two retailers. Novacek, for example, puts Sur La Table's copper inventory at about 250 SKUs. "We've always made a statement in specialty cookware and ethnic cooking, so we carry pieces you can't find everywhere, such as a cataplana, or a great polenta or risotto pan," she says. "But when it comes to copper, we're also known for a huge selection of tin-lined molds and copper cookie cutters. Of course, our most popular cookie cutter is our Eiffel Tower, which has grown into the icon for Sur La Table, a major statement about our commitment to quality and to our association with France. Also, when we opened our Texas stores, we brought out a copper cookie cutter in the shape of Texas with a star in the center, and our customers there just went wild for it."

At La Belle Cuisine you'll find "exactly 108 SKUs in copper," Elwell notes. "And it's all positioned right in front: Our primary window is a picture window, so from the street you can see a huge double-barred iron rack covered with copper, and the shelves all around it are filled, too. I like it not only because I'm so passionate about copper and I want to make that statement, but also because copper sells the idea of gourmet."

Heavy Metal

Having gotten out of a mall kiosk business, Jerrie Shufelt was casting about for a new venture when her son, an amateur chef, asked her to pick up some copper cookware for him at a Colorado merchandise mart. Eighteen months later, Shufelt has grown that purchase into a successful niche business.

She did it by combining a love of traditional copper with non-traditional retailing. The result: CopperShopper.com, a copper-only Web site she launched in the fall of 1998. "Originally it was the farthest thing from my mind," Shufelt says of both the category and her choice of e-tailing. "But after I saw all the product available, my son said, 'Why don't we build a Web site?' It made sense, because even though there's plenty of good copper out there, it seems to be hard to find in traditional retail channels. When you do find it, it's usually only one or two pieces. Now that I'm more than a year into the business, I see that the expansion possibilities are enormous."

Shufelt's strategy is to work directly with copper suppliers, rather than manufacturers' reps, and to make a major commitment to each. "Right now we have about 230 SKUs, but in the future I can see doubling that number and not having a problem," she says. "The goal is to be the ultimate online copper resource for consumers, and to accomplish that goal through product, education, and service."

Then, of course, you have to fold in Shufelt's advertising and promotion plans, which up until now have focused on bidding for prominent space on search engines such as Go.net — "usually 3 to 4 cents per hit," she estimates — though she has plans for more outside advertising in 2000. But because Shufelt believes she's taking advantage of a "ground-floor opportunity," she realizes the paramount importance of an over-the-top, proactive philosophy with her customers.

"We'll get a ton of questions and special requests through e-mail, but instead of e-mailing back, often I'll pick up the phone and call them," she notes. "Often customers want a specialized piece, or they're looking for something rustic. So I'll call directly to ask a few questions, and perhaps send a fax over so they can see what I can get for them. I find they like the idea that they're talking to a human being, rather than a voicemail or through the e-mail. And that one-on-one service really helps: About 10 percent of my business right now is from products that aren't on the Web site."

Other interesting features of CopperShopper.com's service include monthly specials, a $5 gift certificate for customers as a "thank you" for filling out a questionnaire, competitive pricing — "We'll match any price consumers find online," Shufelt says — and setting a policy of a single shipping-and-handling cost, regardless of how many addresses the consumer requires. "We had a customer contact us wanting to give everyone on her gift list a copper teakettle," Shufelt explains. "So while we're sending the teakettles directly to each recipient, we're charging her as though we've sent all 10 kettles to her. Of course, we would save money if we sent 10 kettles to one person rather than 10 people, but it's more important to keep customers happy — which, of course, keeps them coming back."

Putting the Shine on Service

If there's a hurdle in the copper category, retailers contend that it's a decidedly American one. "The only difficulty we find in copper is that people either want to maintain it or they don't," Novacek says. "That's the primary hurdle, but even that's getting easier because a lot of easy-to-use cleaning agents are entering the market."

Elwell concurs, adding that part of the selling technique is to flesh out the consumer's understanding of copper maintenance. "My personal taste is that I like cleaning it, but there are plenty of people who want the patina to develop, and I think that's wonderful," she says. "It should look used. As Americans, I think we're too caught up in everything always looking shiny and new. The French cookbooks, such as [Alain] Ducasse Flavors of France, are wonderful, because they show the copper truly being used; they make it look very real and accessible."

Also key to being a copper source is having someone at the ready to put a new tin lining in a cherished, well-used piece. Novacek notes that each Sur La Table location keeps a handy phone number of a company that will do retinning, while Elwell explains that she's used the same retinning service throughout her store's 23-year history.

"The gentleman who's been retinning for us has been doing it exactly the same way all these years," she says. "You can see the brush marks of the tin, which I think is wonderful. Of course, customers have a lot of questions about the tin: 'What is that shiny stuff on the inside? How long does it take to wear off?' Americans very much have a stainless mentality, so you have to talk them through how to cook with it, how to maintain it, how to clean it."

It's pretty easy to see that you only have to mention copper to Elwell, and she's off and running. "If I could have a dress made of it, I would," she jokes. "I can spend an hour, an hour and a half with a customer extolling the virtues of copper, and it's really fun to watch them get more excited as I talk. You tell them it's a product that will last forever, that people put their prized copper pieces in their will. Invariably they end up asking, 'What's the best piece to start with?' And I'll recommend a gratin, because then it's an oven- or broiler-to-table piece. And once you've got them, they're hooked."

Novacek agrees. "Usually when someone buys, they almost immediately become a collector," she says. "They end up wanting a full repertoire in their kitchen."

The Craze for Copper

One of the clearest indicators that copper is a hot property is in just how much consumers don't mind paying what is traditionally a higher price point. "We recently did a sort of 'Get Set for the Holidays' event at Seattle's convention center for consumers and caterers," Novacek recalls. "We had a copper stand mixer there purely as a prop for cooking demonstrations — and boy, what a mistake. I wish we'd thought to stock them at the show, because we could have sold 30 of them [at $500 apiece]."

And just as more consumers begin to fully comprehend copper as the ideal in form and function, manufacturers undoubtedly will follow suit. "I think we're going to see even more as companies continue to experiment with copper as a design element," Shufelt believes. "And that's because consumers will continue to drive the market. I had one lady call me recently looking for a copper toaster. She said Oprah had one, and she wanted one, too. I told her it was something I would have to research, as I wasn't aware of one on the market. But the way the category's going, by this time next year I wouldn't be surprised if it is easy to find."

And perhaps that Oprah fan's toaster request is just the beginning. "There's a lot of mystery about copper, but the good news is that the mystery seems to intrigue consumers all the more these days," Elwell says."It used to be that people wanted to settle in with what's comfortable, so they went toward a product that didn't require a lot of education, that made everything easy for them. And they thought that was the end of the road. But what's really thrilling when you teach them about copper is that it wasn't the end of the road — it was just the beginning."





Quick Take



• Copper has transcended such product categories as cookware, molds and beating bowls to become a major design statement in the kitchen, impacting everything from stove hoods to countertops.



• The mainstreaming of copper for the American consumer is perhaps most evident in the number of introductions of previously non-copper products including everything from stand mixers to blenders to whisks.



• As the mainstream American consumer seeks to experiment with more sophisticated cooking methods, selling them into copper has become an easier — albeit education-filled — task.