Tidying up today, I found this beauty in my sock drawer (don't judge, the move was stressful.) I am simply mad for Melmac divided serving bowls and other hostess pieces. They are a souvenir of a time when dinner was served at the damn table and cans, jars, and pans were not allowed. Sit up straight and mind your manners.
With the freedom granted by molded plastic, serving pieces became works of art:
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One does not merely put peas on the table.
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This is a yellow speckled bowl from the Holiday collection by Kenro of Fredonia, Wisconsin. Kenro (named for its owners Kenneth Welch and Roger Sacia,) filed a patent on the plastic speckling process in 1956, so this piece is from mid-to-late 1950s.
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| Backstamp showing speckle pattern. |
Melmac ruled the aisles for reasonably priced tough-as-nails dinnerware well into the 1970s. The introduction of Corelle and a return to the look and feel of pottery was the kiss of death for this beautiful and stylish dinnerware. The upside is it lasts forever and surfaces at garage sales and flea markets for stupid cheap prices (I paid 25 cents for this bowl.) If you can beat me to it, you can mix and match the serving pieces with your china and add a new dimension of retro style to your table.
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