I have never heard of the name "Eva Zeisel". It was only last Saturday that I learned about who this remarkable woman was.
Oddly enough, I've seen her work dozens of time. At estate sales, garage sales, auctions, even the occasional Goodwill. Little did I know how wonderful, how delicate, how beautiful her works really were, until I acquired some of her pieces shown here.
To try to cover her career and timeline here would be futile, though filled with plenty of impressive name-dropping: Hall China, Rosenthal, Federal Glass, Red Wing, Heisey. All of these names ring of strong reputation, gorgeous design, and wonderful mid-century form. Just having "Heisey" on your resume is (at least to me) impressive enough.
The pieces you see here are from some design work she did for Hall China's Hallcraft line in the "Harlequin" pattern. From what I gather, she was responsible for the "shape" of the pieces; perhaps Hall did the decorative additions. But that stunning pink and black star-like pattern just screams mid-century.
If you have any interest at all in retro or mid-century ceramics or dinnerware, or even a faint interest in the design work of that period, you owe it to yourself to spend a few moments to
read up on this wonderful, talented woman.
Oh, and if you think her work is solely relegated to the past, fear not. Not only is she still with us today, her work is still being offered at such sites as
Crate and Barrel,
Design Within Reach, as well as
her own site. Please...take a look.
In my opinion, her designs are as beautiful and timeless as the Nelson Ball Clock or the Eames Lounge Chair...high praise indeed.
