Potteries of California

Brock Spotting in Old Cookbook

Bryan — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:36:47 +0000

One of the great things about California pottery is that you never know where it’ll turn up. Well, I guess it isn’t that surprising considering how popular the items were in the middle of this century. I’m aware that quite a few food companies and manufacturers used Calif pottery in their photo shoots, but I [...]

Elsinore Planter

Bryan — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:13:45 +0000

I picked up this large planter to try potting some succulents or other plants in awhile ago. This was made by Elsinore Ceramics, but I know absolutely nothing about the company. I’m assuming they were located near Lake Elsinore down the 15 Fwy, but I’m not 100% sure about that. The rectangular shape and the [...]

Bauer’s Moonsong

Bryan — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:18:00 +0000

I was fortunate to recognize this Moonsong dip bowl made by Bauer at the thrift the other day. Actually, I didn’t immediately make the connection right away because it wasn’t marked Bauer on the bottom, but I knew it was at least an older piece so I put it in the basket. As I was [...]

Kellems Bowl

Bryan — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:32:45 +0000

I came across this peculiar bowl by Kellems of Pasadena a few months back. I didn’t pick it up at the time because it was chipped, and we have an excess of California pottery bowls at our house. However, now I’m wondering if I should’ve picked it up. The backstamp read Kellems Pasadena, copyright Bob [...]

Laurel Potteries - Seaside

Bryan — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:39:27 +0000

I’d forgotten to post a picture of the Laurel Potteries items I found a few years ago. This is one of my favorite shapes, although I have to admit the weird nutmeg pink is not my favorite color. I would’ve rather found this in green or blue, but I found it difficult to pass up [...]

Howard Pierce Bird in “Nest”

Bryan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:08:01 +0000

This was a happy little accident. We’d gotten a pair of Howard Pierce chickadee birds at the flea market. Separately, we’d found a small biomorphic ashtray, also by Pierce. It turned out that one of the birds fit exactly into the ashtray, so it sort of looks like it’s sitting in a nest! It’s great [...]

Kneeling Deer Figurine

Bryan — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:50:10 +0000

I’m wondering if someone might be able to tell me if this little kneeling deer figurine I found the other day is from a California pottery. My first instinct was Rio Hondo, but since I’m not familiar with animal figurines as much, I really can’t be sure. The handpainted facial expression with the closed eyelids [...]

Gainey Ceramics Azalea Pot

Bryan — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:07:34 +0000

At the time I picked up this large heavy speckled glaze pot, I had no idea who had made it. I just picked it up to plant a cactus that we had. It had an unglazed reddish clay bottom, and I thought it might be a newer pot because it was in excellent condition. Early [...]

Guppy Western Way

Bryan — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:30:32 +0000

I’ve heard of Guppy before, but I hadn’t come across any examples until recently when I was at a church sale. I saw these square Western Way salad plates and immediately recognized them from the drip glaze, color and shape. Since we have little room to spare for more heavy plates like these, I was [...]

Owl by Hildred Reents

Bryan — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:19:54 +0000

This little owl was a lucky find at an estate sale last month. Because it was unmarked, I wasn’t sure exactly what it was. But I was pretty sure that it was a California pottery piece. The seller had no idea who it was by either, and I picked it up for 50 cents. Something [...]