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Sunday, October 28, 2012

Pine, Pickard and pretty impressive

An impromptu eBay search the other day resulted in my delving into the history of a china manufacturer I didn't know existed. I'm not sure I even know how to look up one thing on the computer anymore without branching off onto a different path altogether. One thing always leads to another...and another.

I hadn't planned to do any shopping, but the little voice in my head that sometimes gets me in trouble said, "You haven't looked for any Russel Wright pieces in a while." The little voice was right, so to eBay I went.  Once I was there, the little voice said, "Fostoria Pine." Never one to ignore a little voice, I entered f-o-s-t-o-r-i-a p-i-n-e into the search box. After all, I had to admit that after starting that glassware collection almost two years ago, I lost my momentum and allowed the so-called "collection" to languish at a pitiful three water goblets.

Then, while reading what a seller had to say about her Fostoria Pine, I ran across an interesting tidbit of trivia. She said that during the 1950s and 1960s, Fostoria manufactured several patterns to accompany Pickard china...and that Pine was designed to be used with Pickard Gossamer.

I learned that Pickard opened in Edgerton, Wisconsin, in 1893 but relocated to Chicago, Illinois, at the turn of the century. Shortly before World War II began, the company moved into a new facility in Antioch, Illinois. Soon thereafter, the company obtained a contract with the U. S. Navy. Eben Morgan, the company's president, believes that without the fuel granted for the government contract, Pickard's kilns would have been shut down and the business forced to close.

Over the years, Pickard has been commissioned to create custom china for the King of Saudi Arabia, the Hilton, Sheraton, and Marriott hotels, General Motors, the U.S. Air Force and the Queen of England, as well as producing china for the U. S. embassies throughout the world, the Presidential Bicentennial, for Air Force One, Camp David and for Blair House, the presidential guest house across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House where visiting foreign heads of state are hosted.

While I have no doubt that Fostoria Pine and Pickard Gossamer complemented each other beautifully, the china's platinum rim makes it a little more formal than I need, so I doubt that I will start a collection, but I am definitely inspired to renew my search for the glassware.

While looking at the Pickard website, I happened upon the work of Kelly Wearstler, and a trip to her website let me know that she creates much more than beautiful china. She very well may be the subject of one of my Fifty Years from Now posts soon, as she is creating some remarkable designs that I think will endure.

Pickard china is sold in stores such as Neiman Marcus/Horchow and in upscale boutiques.

From pickardchina.com


Fostoria Pine
ebay.com - whatadish1

Pickard Gossamer
replacementslimited.com

Dots by Kelly Wearstler, part of her casual collection
pickardchina.com

Marquetry by Kelly Wearstler, another of her casual designs
pickardchina.com

Mulholland by Kelly Wearstler, part of her formal collection
pickardchina.com

10 comments:

  1. The pink set have me smiling but not sure if I could eat of it? I like the glass/crockery connection, I would definitely buy into that, I like a bit of matchy matchy!

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    1. I occasionally like some matchy matchy myself. If the Gossamer didn't have a platinum border, I'd be all in.

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  2. I'd be sucked in with the matching china and crystal ware too. xx

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    1. It surprises me that you younger women like the matching sets. I thought that was a design element your generation had completely rejected.

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  3. I really like the Fostoria Pine glass and the Pickard Gossamer dinnerware Dana, the Kelly Wearstler stuff, less so.

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    1. I wouldn't buy any of the Wearstler china for myself, but I do like that she's taking a more modern approach to china than a lot of designers. There's something about her Dots pattern that reminds me of some of the Jesse Tait and Terence Conran patterns for Midwinter.

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  4. Love the bold patterns of the Wearstler pieces, especially the Mulholland! That Fostoria Pine looks so delicate and nicely understated!

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    1. If I ever get a full set, the Fostoria Pine water goblets will be my wine glasses (and all the old Pier 1 wine glasses will get tossed).

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  5. Ahhh Kelly Wearstler. She is a big fat deal for sure. Look her up on Amazon. :) Love your glass pattern. You do need to try and get more of these. The matching china is AMAZING. The silver on the rims would be a pain. No dishwasher so I wouldn't get it. I have a whole set of matching Dansk Flora china and glasses. Just yesterday I was thinking I need to put it on CraigsList. I don't like it and it has been taking up room in a cabinet that I could certainly use for other things. Pretty much just use white plates now a-days. Used to have a huge set of different colored Fiestaware. It started to drive me crazy and I Craigslisted that. Some lady thought she had found the holy grail. I forget what my price was but it was high enough for the amount of pieces etc. She didn't try to negotiate at all because she realized it was a deal. I took the winnings and bought the white set. Ha! Love Craigslist. Never feel wasteful.

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    1. I took a peek at Wearstler's website when I was writing this post, and she designs all sorts of things...clothes, jewelry, scarves, tabletop objects, throws and pillows, furniture...and it's all pricey.

      I change up my house on a regular basis, and I finance most of it by selling everything on Craigslist and then buying new. I don't know what we did before Craigslist!

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