Object Lessons: The California Colors of Bauer Pottery - Remodelista
In 1885, potter J. Andy Bauer of Paducah, Kentucky, answered a local need by making whiskey jugs and other bits of humble crockery.
A better climate for his asthma and the Transcontinental Railroad lured him to Los Angeles in 1910, where the locals were more interested in the Arts and Crafts movement than whiskey jugs.
Bauer was widely imitated, most notably by Fiesta, which led to the company’s demise in 1962. Happily, Bauer was relaunched in the 1990s by Janik Boniecki, a Bauer collector and British transplant, who used vintage pieces to create new molds.
Photograph by Maria del Rio for Refinery 29
Julie has a selection of vintage Bauer bowls in her kitchen that add a splash of California color to the white room. Vintage Bauer can be found on eBay and specialty sites, such as Old & Antique Pottery.
Five to Buy
Bauer mixing bowls work well when the colors are mixed and matched. The prices range from $28 to $64 each, and a Classic Style Mixing Bowl Set of Four is $158 and a Classic Style Mixing Bowl Set of Six is $240 at Bauer Pottery.
The softer hues of Art Deco California can also be found at Bauer.
The colors of the sun, cactuses, and oranges are evoked in this selection of Dinner, $30, Luncheon, $27, and Bread plates, $18, from Bauer.
Fido and Felix are invited to dine in style (Bauer also make cat bowls and reportedly has a rabbit bowl in the works).
Object Lessons columnist Megan Wilson is the owner of Ancient Industries and the curator of the Remodelista 100, a collection of essential everyday objects presented in the Remodelista book.
