Made in America, Cherished for Generations. A fresh new way to purchase classic California Pottery made by Franciscan, Metlox & Vernon Kilns. Restaurant dinnerware is now available from Wallace China of Los Angeles & Tepco China of El Cerrito. Just added Jackson China of Falls Creek Pennsylvania restaurant dinnerware. Enjoy beautifully arranged photography of your favorite mid century modern dinnerware patterns.
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"Our America" 1939 Serving Platter
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Outdoor dining does not have to be dull & unimaginative. Lighten up & Live it up - with classic California mid century modern dining.
gr8am pottery presents Cool Blue Summer, a delightful collection of 1950’s & 1960’s casual dinnerware in – you guessed it – blue.
Even if you can’t relax & dine at your favorite seaside restaurant this summer, these patterns from Franciscan, Metlox & Vernon Kilns will give you a momentary escape.
gr8am pottery presents Cool Blue Summer, a delightful collection of 1950’s & 1960’s casual dinnerware in – you guessed it – blue.
Even if you can’t relax & dine at your favorite seaside restaurant this summer, these patterns from Franciscan, Metlox & Vernon Kilns will give you a momentary escape.
- Franciscan Del Mar; atomic elegance – band of geometric starbursts in turquoise, navy and gray on a crisp white background.
- Franciscan Oasis; reflecting the blues of an inland sea against a white sand background…on the compelling, contemporary shapes of America’s best known dinnerware.
- Franciscan Starburst; the futuristic turquoise blue starry design fit in well with a new chrome kitchen and modern appliances.
- Metlox Del Rey; introduced in 1955, this pattern has a white background with black loops and turquoise blue and gray oval dots.
- Metlox Blue Tulips; a unique light blue background with dark blue tulip flowers.
- Metlox Navajo; introduced in 1956, his pattern has a white background with a turquoise southwestern flavored pattern on a satin glaze finish.
- Vernon Ware Blueberry Hill; only produced from 1957 to 1958, this pattern features large blue and small pink and yellow flowers on a cream background with a matte finish.
- Vernonware Heavenly Days; turquoise squares with charcoal and pale pink lines and dots on a lightly speckled white background. Serving pieces are a solid speckled turquoise adding balance and contrast to this classic 1950’s dinnerware.
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Metlox Mosaic Originals & Tropicana
California Casual Patio
California Casual Patio
Mosaic Originals was a series of satin white decorative pieces featuring a pattern of small blue, turquoise, ivory and gold squares. Tropicana pattern was available in a hand painted pineapple or tropical fish motif; patterns were designed by Helen McIntosh. Legendary designers Bob Allen and Mel Shaw developed the line.
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La Esperanza Panaderia Mexicana
Coming Together in La Plaza. Ezequiel Moreno, a native of Zacatecas, Mexico, started a bakery in his home in 1918, and in the 1920s moved to La Plaza in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. He named the bakery La Esperanza, meaning hope. Soon it was frequented by customers across many segments of the Los Angeles community.
Coming Together in La Plaza. Ezequiel Moreno, a native of Zacatecas, Mexico, started a bakery in his home in 1918, and in the 1920s moved to La Plaza in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. He named the bakery La Esperanza, meaning hope. Soon it was frequented by customers across many segments of the Los Angeles community.
Outdoor neon marquee sign from La Esperanza, around 1950.
The red, white, and green colors of La Esperanza’s sign reflect the Mexican heritage of Ezequiel Moreno, owner of the bakery. The anchor symbolizes hope & establishing roots in his new country. 
Employees inside La Esperanza, around 1950's
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Ezequiel Moreno in front of La Esperanza, around 1940's
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Sascha Brastoff
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Classic California
Mid Century Modern Design |
While working at 20th Century Fox, Brastoff opened a small decorative arts studio producing hand painted earthenware. The business was so successful that he quit the studio and in 1953, backed by wealthy modern-design aficionado (and future governor of Arkansas) Winthrop Rockefeller, opened a much larger ceramics factory and showroom. The 35,000-square-foot facility was designed by blue-chip modernist architect A. Quincy Jones. Unfortunately the elegant building was torn down in 1981.
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The Hawaiian Garden
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Aloha ! Welcome to the Hawaiian Garden. During the late 1930's & well into the 1940's America had a fascination with tropical design & décor. During World War II, U.S. military families were stationed at Pearl Harbor. They bought Hawaiian furniture & fixtures, as it was too expensive to ship traditional heavy wooden furniture to Hawaii. Don Blanding was hired in 1936 by California-based Vernon Kilns to design Hawaiian styled patterns for a line of dinnerware to compliment the tropical furniture.
Click on the jet to enter the garden : 
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gr8am pottery presents Winchester 73 & Frontier Days as our feature pattern for February 2016. Designed to be marketed in conjunction with the new movie "Winchester 73" starring James Stewart and Shelly Winters. This pattern was introduced in 1950 to tie-in Vernon Kilns dinnerware to the movie. The pattern was also coordinated with Heisey glassware with similar design and name.
Due to a change in the movie's premier date, the promotion did not work. Neither Heisey nor Vernon Kilns could develop the wares and advertising quickly enough to meet the new date. It is now a very rare pattern. Vernon Kilns would later market the western themed dinnerware as "Frontier Days". 
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Winchester '73 is a 1950 American Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart, Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea, and Stephen McNally. Written by Borden Chase and Robert L. Richards, the film is about the journey of a prized rifle from one ill-fated owner to another and a cowboy's search for a murderous fugitive. The movie features early film performances by Rock Hudson as an American Indian, Tony Curtis, and James Best. The film received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Best Written American Western. It was filmed in black and white. In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
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Metlox
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Metlox
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Metlox Potteries of Manhattan Beach, California produced the glazed earthenware "California Mobile"; making its debut in 1954. The Designer of the Freeform shape was Frank Irwin in 1954. The Designer of the pattern was Robert Allen. Part of the "Poppytrail" Line & the Freeform Shape, "California Mobile" pattern is a glazed white earthenware with purple & aqua green main colors. |
Metlox Potteries of Manhattan Beach, California produced the glazed earthenware "Contempora"; making its debut in 1955. The Designer of the Freeform shape was Frank Irwin in 1954. The Designer of the Contempora pattern was Robert Allen, & it was introduced in 1955. Part of the "Poppytrail" Line; the Freeform Shape, California "Contempora" pattern is a glazed white earthenware with black, grey & pink colors. |
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Welcome to Great American Pottery Currently we are only accepting payments through PayPal. Our top priority is to provide you with a safe & secure shopping experience. Shipping & Sales Tax is included in listed item price.
Even if you do not purchase anything, we thank you for stopping by to look at classic California American pottery. Contact: gr8ampottery@gmail.com |
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Made in America,
Cherished for Generations |
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