Fiesta (dinnerware)
[4] Fiesta's original shapes and glazes were designed by Frederick Hurten Rhead, Homer Laughlin's art director from 1927 until his death in 1942.
[5] Fiesta products before 1986 were semi-vitreous pottery, and after 1986 were vitreous china allowing marketing it for food service applications.
[5] Since its inception, Fiesta has been sold in sets or from "open stock", where customers can select, mix and match pieces from the entire color range.
With its solid color glazes and mix-and-match concept, Fiesta represented something radically new to the general public.
But, the promotion and presentation of Fiesta from the start was as a line of open-stock items from which the individual purchaser could choose to combine serving and place pieces by personal preference and need.
At its most numerous, the Fiesta line comprised approximately 64 different items, including flower vases in three sizes, divided plates, water tumblers, carafes, teapots in two sizes, five part relish trays, and large chop plates in fifteen-inch and thirteen-inch diameters.
The popularity of Fiesta was due to its bright colors, durable construction, stylized art deco shapes and designs, and its promotion through mass marketing.
[citation needed] Today, vintage Fiesta trades briskly on auction websites and at other antique/vintage product sales venues.
Except for minor adjustments due to manufacturing requirements, the design of the original shapes remained virtually unchanged from 1936 to 1969.
The discontinuation of red, plus the general changes in society due to the United States' participation in World War II, caused a slump in sales of the larger serving pieces from the early 1940s.
By 1950, after the end of the second World War and with the housing boom of returning GIs, home decorating styles and colors had changed.
But when in 1959 the United States government released its block on uranium, which enabled the manufacturer to once again produce the original bright orange-red glaze (see below), the company saw an opportunity to revive sales.
This new shade of green was officially simply called This final four color glaze assortment of original Fiesta continued in production until 1969.
[citation needed] Although this color assortment was available and sold for ten years (1959–1969), the popularity of Fiesta had fallen.
Because overall sales of the line had decreased, this newest shade of green is seen as in very short supply on the secondary market relative to the other glaze colors.
As a consequence it has gained almost mythical status and, for certain pieces in this glaze, commands astronomical prices wholly disproportionate to the rest of the line.
Red pieces also usually command a premium price in the secondary market, both for its vibrancy in the mix of colors and for its scarcity due to limited years of production.
[7] During World War II, the government took control of uranium for development of the atom bomb, and confiscated the company's stocks.
Consumption of uranium from regular use of such dishware, estimated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, amounted to potential doses of about 0.4 mSv per year.
Finials on covers, handles on cups, bowl contours and shapes, were all modified to give Fiesta a more contemporary appearance.
As another example, in the late 1960s, the shapes of Fiesta were glazed in a dark 'bean-pot' brown, flat pieces were given an underglaze 'Mediterranean-style' geometric decal in black, and the line was marketed as "Amberstone" in a supermarket promotion.
Almost immediately after Fiesta was discontinued in January 1973, collectors began buying heavily in second-hand shops and the newly popular garage sales.
Prior to mass production and promotion, Laughlin used the original semi-vitreous clay body on shapes taken mostly from the last incarnation of vintage Fiesta (1969–1973).
Although old and new runs appear similar, direct comparison demonstrates the newer pieces (made with the fully vitrified clay body) are noticeably smaller.
In 1997, 500 limited-edition presentation bowls in an exclusive Raspberry (reddish maroon) colored glaze were made to commemorate the production of the 500 millionth piece of dinnerware carrying the name Fiesta produced by the Homer Laughlin China Company since 1936.
In addition, it introduced the first of a line of specially backstamped annual anniversary items, a set of three baking bowls, at the 2008 International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago, Illinois.
Despite square silhouettes, pieces maintain a strong relationship to the company's established 'round' deco offering; coupe shape and height remain the same, along with the brand's signature concentric rings.
