Harvest Time for Iroquois by Ben Seibel

I can sometimes be fickle. I admit it. Not long ago I posted about my intention to start collecting Metlox Aztec. I was very excited about it and had tons of it on my eBay watch list, but just as quickly as I became interested, my wandering eye found Harvest Time, designed for Iroquois by Ben Seibel.

To be entirely honest, I always had a tiny itch of misgivings about the Metlox. I love the design, but I couldn't quite figure out how a collection of Aztec, paired with the beautiful granite gray Russel Wright American Modern the kids got me for Christmas, was going to look with my larger collection of Russel Wright Iroquois Casual in ripe apricot and avocado yellow, which will be in the same room. The warmth of my existing collection and the cool starkness of the proposed new gray and white collection seemed an incongruous pairing. I am admittedly a decorator first, and then a collector, so how everything looks together is important. No jangling juxtapositions for me! I'm certainly not into matchy-matchy, but I can't be happy if a space isn't cohesive, and I wasn't feeling the flow when I pictured the room with those two collections of china. And then, out of the blue, came the perfect solution.

My SIL sent me a link to a set of china on Craigslist, and the minute I saw it, I knew that Harvest Time, with its gray and rust colored leaves on a white background, along with coordinating Accent pieces in burnt orange were going to look perfect in my dining room. Even better, after researching Harvest Time, I decided it would hold up to daily use as well as my Iroquois Casual, because it was advertised for its durability in the same way the Russel Wright line was.

Here is my latest Craigslist find, along with some of the Russel Wright I already had:

My new Iroquois Informal Harvest Time by Ben Seibel (1958)
with my Russel Wright Iroquois Casual in the background

The new Iroquois Informal Harvest Time
paired with granite gray Russel Wright American Modern

I got a coffee pot with lid, a sugar bowl and creamer, a divided vegetable bowl, a small burnt orange coordinating Accent bowl without the leaf decal design, four plates and seven cups...a great start on a full set in just one stop...and at a great price! The lucky streak continues...

Pronunciation Guide

Mid-century mix 'n' match

I've always been a bit of a Russel Wright purist. I collect Iroquois Casual dishes in avocado yellow and ripe apricot, and I’ve never been really tempted to stray much outside those parameters, except for the occasional piece of Russel Wright American Modern in chartreuse. I don’t have much of the AM, because it breaks so much more easily than the Iroquois Casual does, but the design of some of the pieces makes it hard to resist.

The other day, though, I happened upon some pictures of Metlox Free Form paired with American Modern chartreuse, as well as Red Wing Futura Northern Lights with Franciscan Starburst and Red Wing Town and Country paired with Iroquois Impromptu Vision. The combinations were so stunning that they made me want to start buying all kinds of cool dishes and mixing ‘n’ matching like a maniac. Naturally, the first stop in my tableware stream of consciousness was Metlox Contempora teamed with American Modern granite gray and coral…or maybe Iroquois Casual in ice blue. Or how about Red Wing Smart Set with American Modern granite gray or Iroquois Casual oyster or lemon yellow? Or Paul McCobb Contempri Eclipse with....what? I could go on like this all day, because the possibilities are truly endless.

What great combos can you come up with?

Metlox Free Form with Russel Wright American Modern in chartreuse
modish.net

More Free Form and AM
modish.net

Red Wing Futura Northern Lights with Franciscan Starburst
modish.net

Red Wing Town and Country with Iroquois Impromptu Vision
modish.net

Metlox Contempora
modish.net

A set of Russel Wright Iroquois Casual in ice blue that I sold

Link-up: Corner of My Home

The amazing Australian duo, Kylie of Lucy Violet Vintage and Donna of Hung Up On Retro, have done it again! After all the fun we had when they came up with the idea for The Great Retro Cook-Off (see here and here), they had another brilliant idea...for us to link-up again and share our favorite retro and vintage inspired corners of our homes. I had such a great time making the Swedish Salad Mold for the Retro Cook-Off that I was thrilled to sign up for this linky. I know it will be just as much fun.

Since I moved into my new "modernist nest," I haven't been able to pull off a full reveal yet, since I'm waiting for all the landscaping to be finished before I call someone out to take photographs with a proper lens. (The place is tiny, I tell you, and there's no way I could do it justice with my camera.)

Luckily, getting a few close-up shots didn't prove to be quite as challenging. The things I've photographed for this post will probably be visible only on the periphery of the reveal photos anyway (and some not at all). I think they deserve more love than that, so this link-up gives them their due.

First, let me show you my pared-down collection of china. Before I moved to my new digs, I had a large collection of Russel Wright Iroquois Casual china in avocado yellow and ripe apricot, as well as a few pieces of Russel Wright American Modern in chartreuse and granite gray. I also had several pieces of Ben Seibel Harvest Time by Iroquois. More than 50 pieces of avocado yellow and chartreuse have been packed away and listed on Craigslist. I'm using the ripe apricot Iroquois Casual for my everyday dishes, and I'm displaying serving pieces of Harvest Time, Iroquois Casual and American Modern atop the cabinets in my kitchen, since there's no room in my downsized life for my Drexel Profile china cabinet...a small price to pay for the new apartment's efficiency, ease of maintenance and proximity to my grandsons!

Greater love hath no woman than to bare her kitchen cabinets to her blog friends.
(In case you were wondering, I kept the carafe and the 4-quart lidded casserole!)

And, of course, the samovar and large pitcher made the cut.

Because my new apartment is so small, I had to get creative with the use of space. I opted to have no traditional closets, either in my bedroom or in my bathroom. (My laundry room doubles as a walk-in clothes closet, with a 11' rod and chest of drawers opposite the washer and dryer.)  In the bathroom, an IKEA Expedit stores the usual necessities in Knipsa baskets and also holds towels and part of my collection of vintage birds, with a few other vintage pieces thrown in for good measure.

New Expedit, vintage accessories

Bitossi vase

Vintage glass bird (Dino Martens, perhaps?)

Kingfisher, by Tapio Wirkkala

Vintage hand-carved primitive bird

Vintage candleholders and wooden egg

I hope you'll drop by Donna's and Kylie's blogs and check out all the beautiful corners of all the beautiful homes! You're in for a treat.

December 17...8 days till Christmas

We had a full set of Santa mugs, and we used them all through the holiday season.  My mom was a regular June Cleaver (shirtwaist dress, pearls, high heels and all) and she was always baking, so there were all sorts of Christmas goodies and a need for something to wash them down with.  Sometimes we had hot chocolate with marshmallows, but more often, we drank her famous hot apple cider or spiced tea.  She'd make it in a huge Mirro-Matic coffee maker with a spigot, which stayed plugged in most of the holidays.  The Santa mugs were always sitting on the tile countertop at the ready.

Writing this post put me in the mood for a good cup of homemade spiced tea, but I couldn't find her recipe anywhere.  Even when I try to work up a little holiday spirit, I'm foiled. :)

EIGHT vintage Santa mugs
estatestore.org

Speaking of mugs...Number 8 on my Christmas Wish List is a set of Russel Wright Iroquois Casual mugs in ripe apricot. As I've mentioned before, I collect Iroquois Casual in that color and in avocado yellow and have a service for 16 in both colors, but I haven't bought the gumbo bowls or the mugs yet. I prefer the old style mug, but I wouldn't turn down the restyled version. I'm not that picky.

Oh, did I mention that the old style mugs sell for around $90 each, and the restyled ones sell for around $70 each? While I'm asking, I might as well put an avocado set on the list, right?

#8 on my Christmas Wish List
Russel Wright Iroquois Casual original style mug, ripe apricot
replacementslimited.com

Russel Wright Iroquois Casual restyled mug, ripe apricot
replacementslimited.com

Truth in advertising

Most people who frequent this blog will figure out in short order that I'm a big fan of Russel Wright. I admire him not only for his work, but also because he believed, as I do, that good design should be available to everyone. I have a collection of Iroquois Casual china that I use every day, as did its many owners before me. I even run it through the dishwasher, which they didn't do back in the 1950s, so I never cease to be amazed that it has lasted for 60 years without so much as a chip, crack or craze...and that its style is still as fresh and exciting as ever.

My most prized Russel Wright pieces are the carafe and the 4-quart casserole with pinch lid. Both usually sell for $200-300, but I watched and waited for years to find them at a more affordable price, and finally each one came up on eBay. I got the carafe first, for around $50, and I was elated about getting such a steal. A few months later, much to my delight, the casserole came up on eBay at about the same price. As luck would have it, I won the auction. Another score for me!!! The day the package arrived, I opened it...and both the lid and the bottom were flawless. I was in heaven. However, my ecstasy only lasted a few seconds, ending precisely at the same moment I bounced the lid off my stainless steel countertop (actually denting the edge of the countertop) and onto the slate floor, smashing it into a million tiny pieces. Yep, at least a million...maybe more. It took me a year, but I finally found a replacement lid. Unfortunately, I paid as much for the new lid as I originally did for both pieces, but at least my casserole bottom is no longer topless.

Although Russel Wright promoted Iroquois Casual by throwing it on the ground to demonstrate its durability...and it IS amazingly indestructible under normal conditions...let me assure you that it CAN break...and break your heart.

Iroquois Casual carafe in ripe apricot

The ill-fated but now rejuvenated Iroquois Casual 4-quart casserole in ripe apricot

Russel Wright

Russel Wright (1904-1976) is considered by some to be the Martha Stewart of the mid-century era.  His affordable designs could be found in almost every middle-class home. Always ahead of other designers, he was the first to design a portable radio, a radio/record player console, sectional upholstered furniture, stove-to-table cookware and dishes and spun aluminum accessories. His wife Mary (1904-1952) helped with marketing, coming up with the term "blonde" for light maple furniture, suggesting to her husband that he sign his pieces, and co-authoring Guide to Easier Living with him in 1950.

Wright was the first to use rattan, hemp rope or wood in informal serving pieces, and his blonde wood furniture became a model for modern design.  He also pioneered the use of aluminum blinds, stainless steel flatware and Melamine in informal tableware.

His Steubenville American Modern china, followed by his Iroquois Casual china, have remained so popular that Oneida manufactured a Russel Wright reissue a few years ago.

I never tire of talking about Russel Wright.  I collect Iroquois Casual china in ripe apricot and avocado yellow, and I can get really passionate discussing it. (I know, I know...I really need to get out more.) I'd love to hear from you about your favorite Wright designs, about things you already have and about things on your wish list.

From The Man Who Was Martha Stewart Back Before She Was by Grace Glueck and Collector's Encyclopedia of Russel Wright by Ann Kerr

Rattan tea cart with spun aluminum canisters
antiquehelper.com

Conant Ball lounge chair
treadwaygallery.com

Conant Ball sectional sofa
1stdibs.com

American Modern china
ephemerascenti.com

Iroquois Casual china
antiquehelper.com

Spun aluminum floor lamp
decorumsf.1stdibs.com

An eBay find...not marked.

I got this spun aluminum lamp on eBay for next to nothing.  I did my homework and found out that some of the early Russel Wright lamps were not marked.  Do you know anything about this lamp? Could it be an early Wright?

Ben Seibel and his work for Iroquois

Ben Seibel (1918-1985) was born in Newark, New Jersey. He started his education at Columbia University, studying painting and sculpture. He then became interested in industrial design and attended Pratt Institute. World War II interrupted his studies, and he spent almost four years in the Air Force. After the war, he worked briefly on the design staffs at Raymond Spilman and Morris Sanders. In 1947, he started his own design firm, which he operated until his death in 1985.

Early in his career, he was asked by the financially ailing Roseville Pottery to design a line for them that would revive sales. His design was popular, but it was not able to save the company. However, it did make a name for him in the design world.

He produced an extremely large body of work, designing for American Can, Brueton Furniture, Cherokee Nation Pottery, Cosmos Products, Duncan and Miller, Fostoria, Gilley, Haeger, Henry & Miller, Jaxton, Kasuga, Krischer Metal, Laurel, Levco Mfg., M. & L. Manufacturing Company, Mikasa, Morgantown, Carl Lendinara Furniture Company, Oneida, Oxford Hall Silversmiths, Park Techniques Design, Pfaltzgraff, Raymor, RLR, Roseville, Stand-Built Upholstery Corp., Steubenville, SFC Associates, Vermont Pacific, Westwood and Wilton.

His designs included fine china, stoneware, pottery, flatware, cutlery, cookware, ashtrays, glassware, wood accessories, metal accessories, furniture, clocks, electric food warmers, lamps, textiles, tea kettles, and even plastic cutlery for Dixie Cup and children’s tableware for Campbell’s Soup.

As I mentioned yesterday, I have decided to collect his Harvest Time china, so this post will focus on his work for Iroquois. I'm becoming so fascinated with his designs, however, that I'm sure I'll touch on other aspects of his work from time to time. You'll get an idea from the following list just how extensive his list of designs really is, since this represents work for only one of the thirty-one companies listed above.

Seibel designed four lines of tableware for Iroquois: Impromptu in 1956, Informal in 1958, Inheritance in 1959 and Intaglio in 1964. (There is possibly a fifth line called Interplay, but most authors on the subject have found no pictures and have very little information other than the name.)  Each line had its own uniquely shaped pieces. Within each line, there were sets employing numerous decal patterns, as well as accent pieces in solid white or white undersides with a color on the top, which are referred to simply as Accent. Because he was so prolific, even the most knowledgeable collectors find it difficult to catalog all his work with complete certainty.

The Impromptu line included the following decal pattern sets:

• Autumn Harmony
• Aztec
• Beige Rose
• Blue Doves
• Bridal White
• Colonial Pink
• Colonial Blue
• Cosmos
• Country Garden (sometimes called Country Time)
• Dutch Treat (sometimes called Blue Delft)
• El Camino
• Fjord
• Frolic
• Garland
• Grapes
• House of Flowers
• Jarninieres
• Knollwood
• Lexington
• Luau
• Parasols
• Pins and Beads
• Pompon
• Pyramids
• Spring Flowers
• Stellar
• Tiara
• Vision
• Wild Rose
• Wild Violet

Impromptu Pyramids
modish.net

Impromptu El Camino
modish.net

Impromptu Stellar
modish.net

Danton China
modish.net

There is a starburst decal pattern set marked "Danton China" that is shaped like Impromptu, but even expert collectors are stymied about it, because its mark is unlike that of the Impromptu line.

The Informal line included:

• Blue Diamonds
• Blue Vineyard
• Bombay Blue
• Bombay Green
• Georgetown
• Harvest Time
• Hearts of Gold
• Knollwood
• Lazy Daisy
• Madrid
• Old Orchard
• Rosemary
• Sleepy Hollow
• Teuton
• Thane

Informal Blue Diamonds
modish.net

Informal Accent in blue
modish.net

Informal Harvest Time
replacementslimitred.com

My note: Since I found and bought the samovar so quickly, I have to find the Harvest Time lazy susan now. It must be mine! :)

The Inheritance line included:

• Baroque
• Beige Rose
• Cotillion
• Dynasty
• Grecian Gold
• Knollwood
• Medallion
• Pompon
• Su-Shi
• Sheer White
• Gold Band
• Platinum Band
• Teuton
• Thane

Some of his previous decal patterns were repeated in this style.

Inheritance Su-Shi
modish.net

Inheritance Grecian Gold
abenseibeldesign.com

Inheritance Medallion
abenseibeldesign.com

The Intaglio line included:

• Dahlia (Blue)
• Dahlia (Golden)
• Ivy (?)
• Old English Blue
• Old English Pink
• Painted Daisy (Blue)
• Painted Daisy (Pink)
• Rosette (Jade)
• Rosette (Sun)
• Diamond White
• Woodale

Intaglio Dahlia
abenseibeldesign.com

Intaglio Painted Daisy
abenseibeldesign.com

Intaglio Rosette in the color "Sun"
abenseibeldesign.com

From abenseibeldesign.com; portrait of Ben Seibel (copyrighted to Michael Kaplan) via abenseibeldesign.com

Pronunciation Guide

Modern finds: Buddha and Ooma bowls

I love to mix vintage modern with new modern design. It's such a seamless match-up.

The latest addition to my list of things to buy are Buddha bowls. These functional and beautiful bowls are designed to fit into the palm of your hand and have a convenient hole for your thumb.

Although the color selection varies from store to store, I've seen them in tofu (white), olive, black bean (black), shitake (brown), aubergine, buttercream, Pacific (bright aqua blue), saltwater taffy (light turquoise), Moroccan (deep blue), Provence (dark cobalt), green curry (light) and snowpea (bright green). I want a set of four in tofu, but they would be fun to mix and match. The best selection of colors can be found at Flavour Design, but their price is $32, while most stores have them for $28.

I also found the divided Ooma bowl in the latest Uncommon Goods catalog. These are designed to rest on your hand, with your thumb on top. They would be so handy for parties or for having a few chips and your favorite dip in front of the flat screen. These bowls sell for $25.

And see how great they look with Russel Wright Iroquois Casual?

Buddha bowls
vivaterra.com

Sizes available
flavourdesign.com

Ooma bowls
uncommongoods.com

Ooma bowls
uncommongoods.com

Russel Wright Iroquois Casual
replacements.com

Ben Seibel and the Haeger "S Series"

In the world inhabited by serious collectors of china and other ceramics, an unsolved mystery frequently raises a debate. Did Ben Seibel design the "S Series" for Haeger or not?

We recently picked up this beautiful blue 16" Royal Haeger pitcher at auction which was attributed to Ben Seibel. As I always do, I began to research the piece.

Royal Haeger flower pitcher

I located a forum discussion about the same Royal Haeger flower pitcher in a shiny black glaze.

modish.net

Some of the forum participants were convinced that this is a Seibel design, while others needed more proof. A couple thought the pitcher was reminiscent of Seibel's Forum International pitcher:

Forum International
modish.net

However, I think it is even more similar to the design of the pitcher in the Impromptu series that Seibel did for Iroquois.

Iroquois Impromptu Pyramids
modish.net

For now, the jury is out until someone finds an old ad or some archived piece of Haeger history. What do you think?

Pronunciation Guide