Blog Post 12 - Fiesta of Color for All

When I think of "good design for all" I immediately turn to my kitchen cupboard. I am a novice collector - and active user - of Fiestaware tableware produced by the Homer Laughlin China Company of Newell, West Virginia.

The iconic Art Deco design of Fiestaware has been added to the Smithsonian as part of their Legacies of American History exhibit (retrieved from: http://www.smithsonianlegacies.si.edu/objectdescription.cfm?ID=223)

Designed by Frederick Hurten Rhead the dishes became an immediate hit when first released in 1937. With classic Art Deco styling, offered in wide variety of bright and period- and taste-specific colors, the dishes bring much delight (http://www.fiestafactorydirect.com/t-aboutfiesta.aspx).

Made of durable fired earthenware they were dishwasher safe before dishwashing machines became common. As a testament to their firm and commodious characteristics I own fully intact pieces introduced in the first decade of production and use them daily for my breakfast cereal!

It is Homer Laughlin's production method that makes these daily objects so accessible for a wide population of users. Combining the traditions of handmade pottery with, what was then, modern factory production practices Fiestaware has become ubiquitious with a wholly American table setting.