Fiesta

Fiesta

Fiesta dinnerware was introduced in 1936 by the Homer Laughlin Pottery Company and discontinued in 1972. It went back into production in 1986 and continues to be produced today. It was casual and inexpensive dinnerware with bold colors that could be mixed and matched. It was meant to represent sunny California with an Art Deco aesthetic.

The original Fiesta line contained just five colors: red (with an orange hue), blue (cobalt), green, yellow and ivory. One year later turquoise emerged. Some collectors will only acquire pieces in these six original colors. There were 34 pieces in the original line from sugar bowls to dinner plates and coffee pots. Seventeen more styles were added at the end of the 1930s including cups, platters and vases. Fiesta made a series of seven sizes of mixing bowls that nested into each other. A complete set, with no chips, is something every serious Fiesta collector strives to have.

Dating a piece of vintage Fiesta dinnerware is pretty easy. Some of the older pieces have a stamp on the bottom while others are marked with pairs of numbers or letters. Newer pieces don’t contain these same stamps or hallmarks but certain ways they are molded do give away the date. New water pitchers, for example, use the same mold as the originals but have a dimple on the inside of the handle and that tells you it was manufactured after 1986.