Ben Clark, president, became the owner of L.H. Selman Ltd. in 2009. Having grown up in a paperweight collecting family, he brings a unique relationship along with a great enthusiasm for paperweights. Ben has a love of the outdoors, a keen interest in creative people, a passion for technology, and delights in working with artists and collectors. He and his wife Casey live in downtown Chicago and enjoy raising a vibrant daughter named Mackenzie, and a rescue dog named D.J. Ben is committed to carrying on the traditions and the reputation for excellence built by Larry and Marti Selman, while undertaking the responsibility of ushering a new generation of paperweight enthusiasts into the collecting community.

Penelope Turgeon, vice-president, is originally from Quebec and joined the L.H. Selman team in 2015. She is fluent in both French and English, which is particularly practical for the study and discussion of paperweight history. Previously, she has worked in non-profit arts management and operations, library services, wine-making, music performance and education. Penelope loves to garden and work on rehab projects with her partner, Robert, and their two cats. She is dedicated to studying, promoting and discussing the incredible “presse-papiers en crystals” and all of their modern advances. She invites everyone to come spend time at the gallery in Chicago to enjoy the daily paperweight chats and browse the stunning inventory. It is a fascinating world to explore.

Marty Susmaras, media and inventory director, is Chicagoland native and has always had a curiosity for the camera. His interest grew in high school when he inherited an heirloom camera from his father and learned the dangerous skill of color darkroom photo development. He now collects and is passionate about antique cameras, owning over twenty and counting. Marty attended Columbia College of Chicago and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in photography in 2010. That Fall, he started working as photographer at L.H. Selman and you can see his beautiful work in auction catalogs and on the L.H. Selman website. Should the weather permit, when he is not the gallery shutterbug, Marty thoroughly enjoys being outdoors and going fishing in Canada, Lake Michigan and locally. He also photographs weddings, natural landscapes and cityscapes, all the while doing his own photo editing. He currently resides in the Chicago suburbs with his wife Dana and their twins, Martin Jr. & Audrey along with their dog Bruce Wayne.

Paul Berlanga joined the firm in 2017 as our sales manager. Born and raised in Chicago, Paul has spent years in the arts, first as a painter and later as a dealer of fine art photography and works on paper. While a gallery director at Stephen Daiter Gallery, he curated exhibitions, gave lectures on artists, represented the gallery at national and international art fairs, and wrote for various publications. During that time, he also came to appreciate fine art glass from frequent visits to a neighboring gallery in Chicago’s River North. When Paul first contacted us, he was already a fan of the accomplished Paul Stankard and was eager to engage in the field of paperweights in a broader context. Paul was educated at the University of Illinois and The American Academy of Art and various other private art institutions. Prior to his time as a gallery director, he worked for over two decades in the used and rare book trade.