Homer
Laughlin’s Fiesta is the best selling dinnerware
in American history. Well over 500 million pieces have been produced in the last
70 years. The story of the pattern’s design and manufacture is one that
is very interesting. First introduced at a trade show in Pittsburgh in 1936, Fiesta
came to represent a new era of tableware design and marketing. The pattern was
bold, nontraditional, and even a bit eccentric. The Homer Laughlin Co. realized
their pattern could potentially be ignored by consumers as something that would
quickly lose its appeal. Although the pattern embraced the spirit of the times
with its bright colors, simple design, and unique art deco shapes, its departure
from the ordinary placed the Homer Laughlin Co. in a precarious position regarding
their investment.
Homer Laughlin hired the famed Stoke-on-Trent designer Frederic
Rhead to design Fiesta . Beginning at the age of 19, Rhead
took a number of jobs around the world that included working as art director for
Wardel Pottery, Roseville Pottery, and professor of ceramics and pottery at University
City Pottery in St. Louis. In 1916, he began publishing The
Potter, a monthly trade magazine. From Stoke-on-Trent, England to San Diego,
California, Rhead became a huge success within the ceramics and pottery industry.
His appeal was the ability to adapt to changing tastes and new forms of art. Whether
art nouveau, arts and crafts, naïf, art deco, or modern international, Rhead
could produce aesthetically pleasing designs for the contemporary table.
When Homer Laughlin hired Rhead to design Fiesta,
the company set out to produce a pattern that had no decals or extraneous ornamentation.
The consumer’s eye was supposed to be drawn only to the color and the form
of each piece. Each piece was to feature glorious curves. Homer Laughlin did not
want a pattern that was too rigid for the average consumer. In keeping with the
1930’s zeitgeist, each piece featured concentric rings. Several line drawings
were approved by Homer Laughlin and, eventually, permission was granted to begin
making the molds. Rhead worked with Dr. A. V. Blenininger and H.W. Thiemecke.
In an article for the Pottery and Glass Journal, Rhead
said that picking the final colors was one of the more difficult processes of
making Fiesta. Five colors were initially introduced in
1936 with a sixth being added one year later. You can see a color chart for Fiesta
by clicking here. Ironically, Homer Laughlin developed
hundreds of colors with varying tones and hues to be tested on Fiesta
molds. The final colors were picked using test marketing. Sets of plates were
arranged on a table while developers from Homer Laughlin noted the consumer’s
reactions.
Once
Fiesta debuted and found such great success, Homer Laughlin looked to
expand their piece type offerings. In 1939, Kitchen Kraft was introduced. The
initial offering included four of the original Fiesta colors and was
a line of bake-and-serve dishes. Kitchen Kraft pieces included mixing bowls, tall
salt and pepper shakers, pie plates, and jugs. Despite its success, the Kitchen
Kraft line was discontinued in 1945. Over the next decade and a half, Fiesta
would see unprecedented success. During the 1950’s, several additional
colors were added to the original five Fiesta colors. Colors
introduced during the 1930’s and 1950’s are often referred to as “original”
or “vintage” Fiesta .
During the 1960’s Homer Laughlin faced fierce foreign
competition that threatened the survival of the business. They introduced three
colors in 1969 in hopes of keeping Fiesta new and original.
Unfortunately, interest began fading in the historically lucrative pattern. As
a result, the company decided to quietly discontinue the Fiesta
line on January 1, 1973. A small number of collectors continued seeking out
hard to find pieces and sharing information via newsletters and trade magazines.
Of course, this was prior to the internet.
Homer Laughlin decided to reintroduce the Fiesta
line in a co-marketing partnership with Bloomingdales in 1986. In an attempt
to reinvigorate sales, Bloomingdales bought rights to the tableware designs of
Russell Wright. As Bloomingdales began working on the Russell Wright project,
they realized the enormous cost of reproducing Wright’s molds – many
of which had been destroyed. Homer Laughlin’s art director suggested to
Bloomingdales that an agreement could be reached in which Bloomingdales retained
exclusive rights to sale the Fiesta pattern for a limited
amount of time. Homer Laughlin, having retained all original molds to the Fiesta
pattern would produce the items for Bloomingdales. Five new colors were introduced
in the Bloomingdales line. These colors were a bit pale compared to the bright
reds and deep blues of the original Fiesta line and those
that are in production today. Demand was so great for the reintroduced product
that Bloomingdales immediately began requesting more colors. Additional colors
were added to the Fiesta line in 1987, 1988, and 1989.
On
August 21, 1997, Homer Laughlin produced the 500 millionth piece of Fiesta.
To commemorate the occasion, the company commissioned Jope Guisse to model a presentation
bowl for collectors. The bowl featured a deep raspberry color and exquisite art
deco shape. The bottom of the bowl features a six-pointed star that seemed to
grasp the bottom of the bowl. This bowl is shallow and truly is the epitome of
Fiesta and art deco styling. The backstamp on these pieces
reads “Fiesta 500 M.” Only 500 of these bowls were ever produced and
are known as the “holy grail” to Fiesta collectors.
Today, Fiesta colors are bright and
are in constant flux. Homer Laughlin continues to test market its colors just
as the company did in the 1930’s. New colors are added while others are
discontinued based on consumer tastes. In addition to the wide variety of colors
that Homer Laughlin has produced over the years, there have also been a number
of decal patterns that have been design and marketed. These patterns include,
Fiesta Child’s Tea Set, Fiesta
Hometown Heroes, and Some Bunny’s.
There are many collectible items that have been made throughout Fiesta’s
history that are no longer produced today. Just as colors have been introduced
and discontinued, so have piece types. One thing is for sure, Fiesta
will forever represent an American tableware tradition. Just as Homer Laughlin
and Frederic Rhead intended, eyes will always be drawn to the bright colors and
comely shape of the Fiesta pattern.
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