Finally Gloria revealed that she had a pronouncd fear of champagne corks
due to an unfortunate incident during her childhood that had left a lasting impression. She
recounted that for a major wedding anniversary, her uncle had purchased a bottle of excellent
champagne to toast his dear wife. Not being a connoisseur, he had no idea how to open it.
Tragically, her uncle while looking directly over the bottle as he was twisting the cork, was killed
instantly when the shooting cork struck him in the face.
And so the Champagne Opener was invented. Within days of conceiving the idea, Cleve
contacted a friend who made a quick prototype just to see if the idea would work. Once
satisfied, it was time to build a top quality prototype one that could be used as a guide for
production. Cleve contacted a local craftsman who, with German precision, machined a sturdy
device out of two blocks of steel. By then Cleve was confident that a worthy and marketable
product could be produced, one that people would enjoy and appreciate using.
That was in 1986.
Since then, reputation of The Champagne Opener has spread mostly by word of mouth and
sales representatives. Major chains, thousands of independent gourmet kitchen, better
wine stores and wineries have carried The Champagne Opener over the years. To this day, Cleve
Crudgington, along with his wife Gloria, continue to operate the family owned business in
their hometown, Monrovia, California.
Cleve first contacted Andrew Galassi in 2010 after recalling the superior skills Andrew demonstrated
in his Maya Dynamics class at Mt. San Antonio college in the Fall of 2006. The first class project involved
designing in 3D a bowling ball complete with pins and a bowling lane. Students were required to set the
ball in motion and knock down some or all of the pins. Unlike most of the other students who just made a
moving bowling ball, Andrew showed exceptional skills by designing a character that tossed the ball.
