Dishing

Many people commented on the dishes in the dishwasher from yesterday. Those dishes are Fiestaware. Fiesta was designed by Frederick Hurten Rhead in 1936. It was in production from then until 1973 and then re-issued in 1986.

I'm not sure at what point, but it was taken over by the Homer Laughlin China Company and that company is located in Newell, WV. Newell is a little town in the almost very most Northern point of WV, near Wheeling (which is a larger city).



If you look at the image above, the large star is the capital, which is Charleston. That's around where I am, but up in that skinny part, towards the very top is Wheeling and near that is Newell.

The Evil Twin has actually been on a business trip to Wheeling and was able to tour the plant there. He also brought home several new pieces of Fiesta for me.

I started by collecting 5 piece place settings in different colors. I don't own more than one setting of any certain color... they're all different, in the colors I like. I tend to like the more unusual colors, like chartreuse and persimmon. I avoid the pastel colors, like Rose to the extent I can (But, I do own a Rose colored coffee mug). I think that was one the Evil Twin brought home after his business trip.

Anyway, the Fiestaware company rolls out new colors of dishes every now and again. They also decide to discontinue certain colors after a bit. The Chartreuse I spoke of earlier was on a limited 2 year run. I was lucky enough to get a 5 piece place setting, a salt shaker and a mug.

Here's my cupboard:



You can catch various pieces of Fiesta in side spots or up top, along with my mom's Corning ware or Pyrex or whatever that is.

I also covet my mugs:



And my little teeny coffee cups (they come with matching saucers) and also my sugar and creamer:



I have some knick knacks:




(Be glad I didn't show my butter dish, my salt and pepper shakers, the pie platter, my serving dishes, the pasta bowl, or the spoon rest, etc. It's a terrible sickness).
I used to buy the entire place settings for each color I liked. Now, i just buy what I like by the piece.

I don't need service for 20, but I have 13 dinner plates I love. I buy them one at a time.

Finally, if you'd like to know more about the chronology of Fiesta, here's your link. Scroll down to find out the dates and all or look at the headline links for more information.

Fiestaware is available in most department stores worldwide. We're going to Tamarack (a haven for the WV artisans) on Saturday and they have a Fiesta shop there. I plan to make a purchase for myself and also a purchase for a give-away on this here blog, too!

Perhaps that might be Monday's post. We'll see how much I get accomplished over the weekend. :-)