Plastiki and Plastic Boats In History

This Hubley Toy boat available at Vintage Lancaster on Etsy.

Plastic Boats Then

I was reading an old Cyanamid Employee Newsletter I had stuffed in my office that I had come across over the years,  and it made mention of a melamine boat.  I suppose back in a day and age when wooden boats were "the only thing" around coming out with a plastic boat may have only been but a dream and a crazy one at that.  Although it's safe to say the boat did float, but I can only imagine over time a heavy melamine boat may indeed crack or sink, so over time boats were indeed perfected into fiberglass, a lighter material that could go much faster but still melamine coating was used to protect boats for years.  Any old books such as engineering magazines or boat books will go into detail about   melamine and urea coating protecting boats from weather, wear, etc then eventually you would read that "resins" were used to protect boat hulls.  Technology advances made boats lightweight yet weatherproof thanks to resins like melamine.

Now the whole history of plastic and fiberglass boats is so intriguing to some that Daniel Spurr came out with a book, "Heart of Glass" which was all about the making of the fiberglass boats, the men who made them and how they helped in history.

The Plastiki made an 11000 mile journey being made of 12000 recycled bottles.

Boats Today

Today they have Inflatable Plastic Boats , fiberglass boats, and boats for everyone. What really got me thinking was a boat called the Plastiki which was made from 12000 plastic bottles which made a maiden 11000 mile voyage and charted the whole thing by Video and Photos on their official website. I'm surprised I didn't hear more about it sooner, this great eco friendly boat proves that man and plastics can still work hand in hand.   It's amazing what we can do with boats today.  There was also a $4.5 billion dollar super yacht that indeed, had plastic in it.

Melmac Hall of Shame Or Not?

Behold: The Pistachio Cat Melmac Dish.

Okay, at first glance I admit, I was appalled that someone would deface precious melmac! Upon closer inspection I realized that this Etsy seller ThreeTangerines is thinking of creative ways to use dishes that just aren't nice enough to use or sell as is.  Turning the plastic into something fantastic, she is re-purposing old melmac dinnerware into something artsy for your home. Better than putting them into a landfill don't you think? As for the cat, well, it's a bit groovy isn't it? What do you think?

Russel Wright Flair Woodland Rose

Russel Wright Woodland Rose is probably THE rarest and hardest patterns for me to have found as a Russel Wright Melamine collector. Probably because the FLAIR line designed by Wright and made for Northern was one of the later developments in melmac history and too much was happening during this time.

Russel Wright Flair by Northern in Woodland Rose Pattern

Why Woodland Rose is Rare

Going into the 1960's with any melmac would soon prove to be a challenge as melmac was indeed, past it's hey-dey. Pricing on melamine would change meaning dish production was more costly.  You will have to read my history on Northern Melamine of Bostonto see why Northern and Wright were having major problems.  As fate would have it, adding one bad business decision to another, Northern decided to attempt to get itself out of debt by acquiring Watertown's dinnerware division on credit, which meant total dissolution within two years when they went belly up. Bye-Bye Northern, and bye bye to Flair.

Honestly,  most consumers liked the Ming Lace pattern which had real leaves in the melamine. Obviously the alternate patterns weren't produced in the quantities of Ming Lace or as desirable then, making them harder to find now. Add that to smaller production windows and that is why you get the equation less pieces produced = less pieces left today.

Woodland Rose: You be the judge, is this a bad airbrush job?

Why It's Not Particularly Valuable Even Though It's Rare


I consider it rare but not valuable.  As for value, I personally would pay a lot for it but most collectors may not because:

a) It would be hard to find a complete set and collectors love to shoot for a complete set.
b) Ming Lace has real leaves in the plastic and is better design-wise.
c) Truth be told, it's not Wright's best work. (It pains me to say that.) With all due respect, it seems like a bad airbrush design or bad watercolor design gone wrong.

The value would only be in the patterned pieces and not the pink solids, as these pinks are floating around all over. As a "Russel Wright or Bust" melmac junkie, I really want a set of this for my collection, (if you have some pieces email me) but I can't take it with me when I go and so I will be happy looking at this collection which belongs to Melissa.  Thanks for letting me use these cool photos for my site.  The only piece I personally found was a bread dish, which I gave to Dennis Teepe, which he has under lock and key, where I'm sure it will remain forever, or until, his wife gives it to the local thrift.

See all Russel Wright Flair on my FLAIR page!