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The Tip is 'Teach Grandchildren' One day, while I was on the Made In America Secrets site my granddaughter noticed and asked me what I was doing. I told her about the Big Secret and as I explained, she began to ask me more questions. After several minutes she left my office to play with her little sister. Months had gone by and until recently, I had forgotten about that moment. She was visiting again and I was talking to her about buying a custom printed T-Shirt. She immediately told me about a website that I could use to buy one. Wow I thought, she is only eight years old and already teaching me. The most amazing thing then happened, she said "Pops they sell Made In America T-Shirts". Thanks to her I purchased six custom Made In USA T-Shirts. Her name is Britton, she understands the Big Secret and I love it when she tells me her Little Secrets! Now she is ten and writing a screenplay called Mertastic. It is a story about a mermaid. Recently, she was visiting our house again and using my computer. She called me to come into my office and of course I came to her because that is what grandparents love to do. One of the reasons I love to be with her is because it is always interesting to see what she is up to. This time, she needed a mermaid tail for her movie, so we began to look around using Google. Her mother is a talented seamstress and will make the tail so we were looking for fabric that would be satisfy my granddaughter's vision of her mermaid tail. Once again we began to talk about Made in America and therefore started to investigate the country of origin of the fabrics she was considering. Because of that experience Made in USA fabric is now one of Made in America Secrets products. Thank you, Britton. Buying Tip Continued - Read more on Made in America Products by Homer Laughlin FIESTA?, America's favorite dinnerware, was introduced by The Homer Laughlin China Company with great fanfare at the Pittsburgh China & Glass Show in January, 1936. FIESTA? was the creation of Frederick Hurten Rhead, a second generation Stoke-on-Trent potter who had become Homer Laughlin's design director in 1927. FIESTA? was an immediate hit with the public and, by it's second year of production, more than one million pieces were produced. The original five colors were Red, Yellow, Cobalt Blue, Green and Ivory. Turquoise was added early in 1937. The shapes of FIESTA? were created in an Art Deco style with concentric circles highlighting the bright colors. The first six colors were produced through the 1930's and 40's until a change in fashion direction dictated a change to a softer palette of pastel colors at the beginning of the 1950's. Color trends moved back to brighter colors in the early 1960's and FIESTA? moved with the trend. By the late 60's earthtones were in vogue and the dinnerware industry turned in that direction. Popularity of these colors proved to be short-lived and sales began to fall. At the end of 1972, FIESTA? was retired after 37 years of production. The retired dinnerware line soon became popular with collectors, especially those who had childhood memories of this brightly colored dinnerware. As years passed, the value of the original FIESTA? colors and pieces grew as more people became avid collectors. In 1985, officials of Bloomingdale's, the prestigious retailer in New York City approached Homer Laughlin about reproducing a dinnerware line from the past. Soon the two companies agreed that FIESTA? had the greatest chance for commercial success. In early 1986, Bloomingdale's introduced a new line of FIESTA? with a new color palette and with improvements to the body and glaze. Homer Laughlin was the country's leading producer of restaurant china and it was determined that the new FIESTA? should be made of the same durable, restaurant- quality china body as the company's other products. The ceramic glaze would be lead-free, a comparatively new innovation in the china industry. This new version of FIESTA? was an instant success and a new generation of consumers became converts to FIESTA's popularity. Over the next twenty years, new colors have been introduced and FIESTA? has become a trendsetter of color for the housewares industry. In the seventy years since FIESTA? was first produced, there have been a total of 38 colors in the line. Today, Homer Laughlin introduces one new color each year and FIESTA? has become the leading dinnerware brand in casual tabletop, as well as a consistent leader in bridal registries across America. All the while, collectors have continued to add to the dinnerware to which they were first introduced by their mothers and grandmothers. Today, FIESTA? dinnerware is the most collected dinnerware in the history of the tabletop industry with well over one half billion pieces produced. |
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