Russel Wright Unveiled Michele Yeeles

Thanks to Michele for this gorgeous photograph. Looks like the 1950's all over again.

Russel Wright Melamine for 2012 Unveiled 

Okay, enough hype time. Thanks to designer Michele Yeeles for sending over this exclusive image of the NEW Russel Wright melamine line (which will be available in some outlets and at Bob's Your Uncle.)  Imagine my shock when I realize this looks exactly identical to the good old stuff.  How beautiful to see it brand new. It's taken me 28 years to assemble a few pieces with this kind of untouched gloss. I will be so excited to add a brand new set to my collection.

The Molds

It has been my theory for such a long time that the molds were hidden in storage somewhere, but Michele indicates these are brand new molds! She also agrees with others I've spoken to that those original molds must have been melted down for scrap by now. (I would be saying boo hoo, but from the looks of  the above you don't need them anyways.)  Michele indicated that molds like the ones to use these need to be cleaned and used or they will rust as they are made of metal.  Can you imagine if they are still alive and sitting since the 1960's how much rust they would have on them?  If someone had found them they may be unidentifiable and in the scrapyard indeed.

Exclusive RetroChalet Interview with Michele Yeeles

Designer Michele Yeeles (formerly of Reebok, now owner of Bob'sYour Uncle) has decided it's time to bring Russel Wright Melamine back to the table. Working closely with Annie Wright and the Russel Wright Estate, samples were debuted at the Gift Show a few weeks back.  Here is what I wanted to know and here is what she had to say!

 

1. What made you decide to bring Russel Wright's designs back to the table?

I've been an admirer of Russel Wright's for a long time, friends of ours introduced us to the American Modern and Iroquois collections when I was at Reebok (we gave them a vintage Russel Wright teapot as a wedding gift). After we had been producing our other melamine lines, we were looking to add another collection so we looked into the history of melamine dinnerware and Residential seemed like a natural choice. The pieces are beautiful not just to look at, but also to hold. Russel's attention to how something feels in your hand and the balance of weight in each piece is wonderful.

2. Was it a painstaking production process, or did things go smoothly?

I'd have to say both! Working with Annie and the Russel Wright Studio has been great and delving into the Russel Wright archives was fantastic, but trying to collect enough vintage pieces to reference all the shapes and colors took a long time. Luckily I found you for the black and copper penny colors! We are still working on color formulas to try to achieve the cloudy effects of some of the original colors, so I'm still not sure how long it will be before we can re-create them.

3. Do you think now, this will bring a whole new collect-ability among collectors of Russel Wright's work?

I think it will, it's 60 years since the first production of Residential and it seems to be quite difficult to build up complete sets of the collection in the vintage market. The new release will make it available to a new generation of collectors as well as those who already collect vintage. Russel's estate is also open to introducing new colors of Residential and other designs in melamine too, so there will be previously unreleased Russel Wright designs to look forward to.

4. Where can this be found, and for how long do you plan on offering it?  Note: At the time of this interview there were only show samples available.

There are two places I know it will be available; our own shop and the Russel Wright Design Center, but I think it will be a hit with other retailers at the show too. I hope we will offer it for many years to come, it's such a classic collection, the designs have already stood the test of time. We expect the first color (black) to be in stock in November and new spring colors early next year. 

A big thank you to Michele for giving her time and information to me. I really hope this line is a success. 

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Russel Wright Melmac is Back 2012

Yes, that's right, Russel Wright Melamine dinnerware is on it's way back, debuting a new line for 2012. Imagine my shock when designer Michele Yeeles (who has been tight-lipped about the project until now, quietly buying vintage samples from me last year hee hee) told me all about it!

Given to me with permission by Michele.

The irony of it all?  She is owner of the store Bob's Your Uncle, which is located in Boston, Massachusetts. Irony being that is not far from where the original Russel Wright Residential line was produced at the Northern Industrial Chemical Company.  I suppose it was meant to be.

Thanks to Google Maps I see that Bob's Your Uncle headquarters is only 1.69 miles from the old Russel Wright Melamine factory. Is this a Boston Curse or just a major coincidence? Call it what you will, it's coming back from the grave.

So a new Russel Wright melmac? Oh my! Imagine my shock when I had to create a new page just for this New Russel Wright Melmac. Since I mainly talk about vintage melmac, I guess you are wondering how do I personally feel about this? Well, I'm so happy I could hug her! First off, that it's being re-created. I truly believe such a wonderful item in design should not be forgotten. I think this will create a new hub-bub among Russel Wright collectors who wish to assemble a whole brand spanking new set, and reinvigorate those who wish to have the authentic vintage as well. The first line? She hints that it's going to be black like the original Black Velvet.  What kind of confusion will this create? Not much if you read the backstamp.  Which makes reading my site all the more valuable! Know your Russel Wright Melmac!

I had an opportunity to interview Michele which I will post in a later post, because this is all so exciting. In the meantime she told me that this past weekend, the samples debuted at her booth at the New York National Gift Fair. Ironic because not much has changed. Back in the day, circa 1950's when new melmac or new lines came out they would debut them at the New York City trade shows or Chicago housewares shows.

Stay tuned, the line should be available by fall 2012.

Thanks to Michele for providing the two page press release. 

In case you are wondering how Russel Wright Melmac can be reintroduced, the Russel Wright Studios offers licensing information here.  Stay tuned, so much more to come!

Russel Wright Residential Rarity : Two Tone Melmac

Pic: Retro Chalet Shop.

I've seen some oddities along the way in my Russel Wright collecting and research. The two tone sets have to be the strangest and the most exciting.  Needless to say, they do exist, and are quite rate. What they are is actually different than anything I've seen.  There are blues/whites, yellow/whites, and pinks/whites that I've seen. All are marked Residential. 

The issue here is that some pieces are solid, but the plates, saucers, and platters actually have one color molded on the bottom, and another color molded onto the top. You have to do a double take to look very closely to make sure this is not a factory mishap. Looking on the edge you will see that indeed, care was taken to form a color on top, and color on the bottom!  More proof that Wright, if experimenting with this sort of theme, was ahead of his time !

Two colors, chalk on top blue on base. Amazing!

Of course the colors I have found haven't really matched that of the existing Residential or Home Decorator lines, so they must have been their own creation.  There are some solid blue and pink pieces that are a hue off of the Home Decorators colors that these DO match, however oddly those blues and pinks were produced in solids also. So I assume, you could get your blue straight up, or on the rocks, with the chalky impact above.  Honestly, I am unsure if they were a test run of created as a special order for someone. Examples I own look mint and first runs, no imperfections which mean the factory must have perfected this process. 

There is no proof in Syracuse that Wright was experimenting with such colors, nor that such colors were approved at Northern Industrial Chemical Company, who molded this line for him.  There is evidence however, of Wright's ongoing experimentation with the plastics in general. Early examples housed there show him putting metallic pieces into the melmac, experimentating with mottled colors , and actually baking melmac (probably in his own oven) and putting notes on the plates to see at what temperature they would burn or melt.  Given that, I think Wright was experimenting with the two tone, but perhaps such a pain for the factory to make, that he didn't put it into mass production. In 20 years of collecting, I've only acquired a handful of examples.

Russel Wright Residential Melamine Melmac Dinnerware Piece List

Residential Pieces Produced

Key = * not produced in all colors due to redesign  

#rare or hard to find piece

# # considered very rare piece, not very common anymore,$$ more!


Pony Tail Handled Cup* # # 

 

Loop Coffee Cup 

Saucer 



Photo Courtesy of BaerBaer

Bread Plate

Salad Plate # harder to find 

 
Bread, on top salad, on top dinner plates by Modalabode!

Dinner Plate


Dinner plates located at Modalabode


Divided Vegetable Server

Fruit Bowl aka Veggie Bowl # #

Cereal Onion Soup Bowl (doubled as early sugar bowl with lid)

Lid to Onion Soup # # often mistaken for a spoon holder!

Casserole Below Consists of Two Pieces:

Open Casserole Cover (not as deep, no signature) # #

Open Casserole Base (deeper, contains signature)



Serving Platter



Courtesy of Flibbawhat



Coupe Sugar Bowl
 Lid # # tends to fall off
Creamer

This is the home decorators color, and photo will be replaced as soon as I get a new one.

Creamer

Small Tumbler (doubled as sugar bowl)
Strange Pinched Lid (unsure if Wright design) # #

Large Tumbler  # 

Strange Dip - a - Trays   

Dip-A-Tray * Unsure if this is a Wright Design, sold by Northern as a go-with, I have found mostly in "end of day" confetti's unmarked. #  Very similiar to ashtrays once made in Brooklyn, NY

FACT: Suprisingly, most pieces in Residential are still easy to find, except certain colors such as Brown (Copper Penny) , Black (Black Velvet) and White Speckled (Granite White) will bring twice to three times the value due to rare color.  Refer to Color Chart.

Other Findings: Redesigned Cereal bowls & Round Plates sold by Northern are not Wright designs but were found in sets of Mottled After-Contract colors. Not shown here. 

Russel Wright Melmac Factory Tour - Northern Chemical of South Boston Residential and Flair Melamine

RESIDENTIAL IS HERE!

Credit: Christies Auction read about it on the Value Page.

Milestone: I've finally finished the "Residential" page of this website.

Thanks to Mr. Ralph Young, whose family owned the King Terminal Property located at Ward 6, South Boston sometime during this period, I was able to fill in the blanks as to where the melmac was made!  That being the Northern Industrial Chemical Company of South Boston, Massachusetts. 



This is a photograph of 11 Elkins Street, from the Co-Star realtor back in '07 when it had been renovated into office buildings.  Most of the spaces remained vacant for 5-10 years which promoted numerous renovations of this industrial area of South Boston.  It is easy to imagine an overpass connecting the buildings.



It took me ten years to fill in all the blanks.  Plastics Society greats like George Sammet, F. Reed Estabrook, and Hans Wanders were just a few "plastic greats" who ran this company way back when.   According to Ralph (whose grandfather and father were directly involved with the property), Northern occupied at 7-11 Elkins Street.  These buildings were circa 1917-1918. (Prior to that, Northern was in a smaller building in South Boston.)  Each building was approximately 60,000 sq. feet with four floors and a basement.  Ralph Young explained to me that there were "wards" or sections of the King Terminal. The buildings were labeled as such but contained building numbers. The 7 through 11 buildings that Northern occupied were actually separate buildings connected by an overhead walkway on the 3rd and 4th floors.  Unfortunately, Ralph's company demolished that walkway in 1985 as he needed to separate the buildings as they were being sold.  No photogaphs are in existance, that we know of.



Note the "#7 King Terminal" as shown on this building, probably the only remains of originality of Ralph's family owning the King Terminal back then. Although the address does not seem to correspond now, I was a bit confused as the whole industrial area is different.



Proof  in my research that they either used Building 22 Elkins Street for a sales office or extra storage, which I have listed below.  In actuality, their boxes had 22 Elkins Street printed on them!  So , imagine how large this company must have been back then to take up all this space.

  



#22 Elkins Avenue , What did Northern use this for?



Although minor renovations this building at #22 Elkins, Northern's headquarters may resemble how it once looked. I wonder how it originally looked in the 1920's?

 Northern was a huge producer of plastic dinnerware and this should be noted. They were one of the first early airline ware manufacturers, dabbled in picnic and RV trailer plates, by the 1950's Russel Wright's Flair, Residential and Home Decorator lines, and later took over molding of Watertown's Lifetime Ware. However, this was only a small portion of the plant's business.  Knobs,electrical components and housings, plugs, parts, and components were other parts of their business. Their contract with Warren Telechron Clock Company in Massachusetts (now General Electric) was just a few of the things they did. Here's an example of what may go unnoticed and I'm proud to report I actually told a few clock collectors about this discovery!!!

This Warren Telechron clock was sold by HappyDashery of Maine.

1946 Modern Plastics Encyclopedia Ad for Northern proves they designed the housing on the Warren Telechron Clock.

So, To read the full history on Northern, and see information as it pertains to Residential and Russel Wright's sordid history with them, make sure to visit that page of my site.

It will be updated regularly and new information added.

Do you know anyone who worked there? I must talk to you so please contact me.

Canadian Melmac: Russel Wright Residential Melmac Colors in Canada

Strange Things!
Many of us have our theories of how Canadian Cyanamid and the three leading Canadian Factories that produced melamine dishes (GPL, RPL, and MAPLEX) actually came across the American styles of dishes.  Some of us think after Americans stopped caring about melmac and the molds were sold to Canada. I used to think that too, until I interviewed Paul Rothstein, whose father owned both Maplex and Rainbow Plastics in the 50's and into the 60's. His big competitor was GPL.
 

PHOTOS: BY SUSANTIQUE

I always thought that Canada was producing melmac at the same time it was big in the States, riding the wave to so speak.  They had their own designs (like the cool styling of Vanguard cups) but possibly would order their molds (from a tool and die marker) to replicate popular American Designs.   Mr. Rothstein assured me this was not the case, as "copyright infringement" applied to Canada too.  I often wonder, however, if they were leased styles, meaning that American companies got "kickbacks" for similiar styles being produced in Canada?  I guess we'll never really know.
 

Did Canada steal the top secret color formula on Residential? I bought these at SusAntique!

 You can find colors and styles that look very simliar to Colorflyte (marked Coloramic) , Boonton Belle (unmarked in Canada) and Meladur (Rainboware) among plenty others. I was told there was a style called "Modern" that looks just like Joan Luntz' Brookpark though I've never seen it.   I have seen plenty of Watertown Pitchers and dishes marked "GPL" instead of Watertown Lifetime Ware, and the list keeps growing.  What I find most interesting is the plates above, which arrived in the mail the other day. Although not the Russel Wright shapes, I wonder how it was they almost duplicated the Residential Colors of Salmon Red, Turquoise Blue and Lemon Ice so closely?  Not perfect, but very, very, very close.  Makes you wonder, just what were those Canadians up to? 

Canada's Peacock Line Very Close to Residential Colors!

I bought these from SusAntique!