Fowler Potteries, later R. Fowler Sydney och R. Fowler Limited, was a manufacturer of ceramics in the colony of New South Wales, and in the Commonwealth of Australia, which still exist as the brand name Fowler within Caroma. Fowler is nominally the oldest still existing manufacturer of ceramics in Australia. [1] [2]
Fowler Potteries were founded in 1837 by Enoch Fowler in Parramatta near Sydney, now part of Greater Sydney. [3] [4] [2] In 1848 Fowler moved to Glebe, where Fowler made ginger beer bottles och kitchen utensils. [3] [4] In 1860 Enoch Fowler bought a machine for making four‑inch drainpipes; this became the mainstay of the works. [2] [3] [4] In 1865 Fowler moved to Camperdown. [3] [4] Fowler grew rapidly when Sydney expanded, and made bricks, fire bricks, tiles och ceramic kitchen utensils. [3] [4]
Enoch Fowler's son Robert Fowler was manager of the business from 1873, and he inherited the business in 1879. [3] [1] [4] After Robert Fowler's death in 1906, production was moved to Marrickville. [3] [4] Fowler became a public company in 1919 [1] or 1922, [3] under the name namn R. Fowler Limited. Fowler also made electric insulators. [5]
In 1919 the number of employees was 400. [2] Additional factories were set up in Thomastown near Melbourne in 1927 and in Lithgow. [1] The Great Depression severely affected R. Fowler Ltd. [2] In 1936 Fowler introduced Fowler Ware, a range of ceramic kitchen utensils, mainly bowls; Fowler Ware was successful, and the company's fortunes were restored. [2] Fowler Pottery ware from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is today collectable. [2]
In 1968 Fowler was bought by another company, and was subdivided in 1982. [2] One division and the name were sold to James Hardie; Fowler became the Fowler Bathroom Products Division of James Hardie, producing exclusively bathroom products. [1] [2] [6] In 1997 Caroma bought Fowler from James Hardie. [6]
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a potter is also called a pottery. The definition of pottery, used by the ASTM International, is "all fired ceramic wares that contain clay when formed, except technical, structural, and refractory products". End applications include tableware, decorative ware, sanitaryware, and in technology and industry such as electrical insulators and laboratory ware. In art history and archaeology, especially of ancient and prehistoric periods, pottery often means vessels only, and sculpted figurines of the same material are called terracottas.
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between 1,200 and 1,400 °C. The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arise mainly from vitrification and the formation of the mineral mullite within the body at these high temperatures. End applications include tableware, decorative ware such as figurines, toilets and washbasins, and products in technology and industry such as electrical insulators and laboratory ware.
Bolesławiec is a historic city situated on the Bóbr River in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in western Poland. It is the administrative seat of Bolesławiec County, and of Gmina Bolesławiec. As of June 2021, it has a population of 38,280. Founded in the 13th century, the city is known for its long-standing pottery-making tradition and heritage Old Town.
Pottery and porcelain is one of the oldest Japanese crafts and art forms, dating back to the Neolithic period. Kilns have produced earthenware, pottery, stoneware, glazed pottery, glazed stoneware, porcelain, and blue-and-white ware. Japan has an exceptionally long and successful history of ceramic production. Earthenwares were made as early as the Jōmon period, giving Japan one of the oldest ceramic traditions in the world. Japan is further distinguished by the unusual esteem that ceramics hold within its artistic tradition, owing to the enduring popularity of the tea ceremony.
Denby Pottery Company Ltd is a British manufacturer of pottery, named after the village of Denby in Derbyshire where it is based. It primarily sells hand-crafted stoneware tableware, kitchenware and serveware products including dinner sets, mugs and serving dishes, as well as a variety of glassware products and cast-iron cookware.
Salt-glaze or salt glaze pottery is pottery, usually stoneware, with a glaze of glossy, translucent and slightly orange-peel-like texture which was formed by throwing common salt into the kiln during the higher temperature part of the firing process. Sodium from the salt reacts with silica in the clay body to form a glassy coating of sodium silicate. The glaze may be colourless or may be coloured various shades of brown, blue, or purple.
Studio pottery is pottery made by professional and amateur artists or artisans working alone or in small groups, making unique items or short runs. Typically, all stages of manufacture are carried out by the artists themselves. Studio pottery includes functional wares such as tableware and cookware, and non-functional wares such as sculpture, with vases and bowls covering the middle ground, often being used only for display. Studio potters can be referred to as ceramic artists, ceramists, ceramicists or as an artist who uses clay as a medium.
Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapidly successful and was soon one of the largest manufacturers of Staffordshire pottery, "a firm that has done more to spread the knowledge and enhance the reputation of British ceramic art than any other manufacturer", exporting across Europe as far as Russia, and to the Americas. It was especially successful at producing fine earthenware and stoneware that were accepted as equivalent in quality to porcelain but were considerably cheaper.
Royal Doulton is an English ceramic and home accessories manufacturer that was founded in 1815. Operating originally in Vauxhall, London, and later moving to Lambeth, in 1882 it opened a factory in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, in the centre of English pottery. From the start, the backbone of the business was a wide range of utilitarian wares, mostly stonewares, including storage jars, tankards and the like, and later extending to drain pipes, lavatories, water filters, electrical porcelain and other technical ceramics. From 1853 to 1901, its wares were marked Doulton & Co., then from 1901, when a royal warrant was given, Royal Doulton.
Mintons was a major company in Staffordshire pottery, "Europe's leading ceramic factory during the Victorian era", an independent business from 1793 to 1968. It was a leader in ceramic design, working in a number of different ceramic bodies, decorative techniques, and "a glorious pot-pourri of styles - Rococo shapes with Oriental motifs, Classical shapes with Medieval designs and Art Nouveau borders were among the many wonderful concoctions". As well as pottery vessels and sculptures, the firm was a leading manufacturer of tiles and other architectural ceramics, producing work for both the Houses of Parliament and United States Capitol.
Crown Lynn was a New Zealand ceramics manufacturer that operated under various names between 1854 and 1989.
Caroma (Caroma Dorf) is an Australian designer and distributor of bathroom products. Caroma was established in 1941 by Hungarian-born Charles Rothauser, and since closing its last factory in 2017 now sources all products from third-party overseas manufacturers. Caroma is a subsidiary of GWA International Limited, and introduced the world's first two-button dual flush toilet system. The company self-distributes within Australia and abroad sells through distributors such as Sustainable Solutions International in North America and Sanlamere in the United Kingdom.
A ceramics museum is a museum wholly or largely devoted to ceramics, usually ceramic art. Its collections may also include glass and enamel, but typically concentrate on pottery, including porcelain. Most national collections are in a more general museum covering all of the arts, or just the decorative arts. However, there are a number of specialized ceramics museums, with some focusing on the ceramics of just one country, region or manufacturer. Others have international collections, which may be centered on ceramics from Europe or East Asia or have a more global emphasis.
Gladding, McBean is a ceramics company located in Lincoln, California. It is one of the oldest companies in California, a pioneer in ceramics technology, and a company which has "contributed immeasurably" to the state's industrialization. During the heyday of architectural terra cotta, the company "dominated the industry in California and the Far West."
Franciscan Ceramics are ceramic tableware and tile products produced by Gladding, McBean & Co. in Los Angeles, California, US from 1934 to 1962, International Pipe and Ceramics (Interpace) from 1962 to 1979, and Wedgwood from 1979 to 1983. Wedgwood closed the Los Angeles plant, and moved the production of dinnerware to England in 1983. Waterford Glass Group plc purchased Wedgwood in 1986, becoming Waterford Wedgwood. KPS Capital Partners acquired all of the holdings of Waterford Wedgwood in 2009. The Franciscan brand became part of a group of companies known as WWRD, an acronym for "Wedgwood Waterford Royal Doulton." WWRD continues to produce the Franciscan patterns Desert Rose and Apple.
Pacific Clay Products, founded 1892, was created by the merger of several Southern California potteries in the US. The company began producing utilitarian pottery in the 1920s, and introduced solid color earthenware dinnerware in 1932. The primary site for the production of ceramic tableware, kitchenware, and art ware was based in the company's Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles plant at 306 West Avenue 26. Pacific Clay ceased production of ceramic dinnerware and art ware in 1942. After 1942, Pacific Clay produced sewer tile and brick. The company ceased production of sewer tile in 1997. The company continues to produce brick products in Lake Elsinore, California. The company has been owned by David H. Murdock since 1973.
California pottery includes industrial, commercial, and decorative pottery produced in the Northern California and Southern California regions of the U.S. state of California. Production includes brick, sewer pipe, architectural terra cotta, tile, garden ware, tableware, kitchenware, art ware, figurines, giftware, and ceramics for industrial use. Ceramics include terra cotta, earthenware, porcelain, and stoneware products.
Ironstone china, ironstone ware or most commonly just ironstone, is a type of vitreous pottery first made in the United Kingdom in the early 19th century. It is often classed as earthenware although in appearance and properties it is similar to fine stoneware. It was developed in the 19th century by potters in Staffordshire, England, as a cheaper, mass-produced alternative for porcelain.
Mino ware is a style of Japanese pottery, stoneware, and ceramics that is produced in Mino Province, mainly in the cities of Tajimi, Toki, Mizunami, and Kani in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan.
The Ceramics Museum of Sacavém is situated in the town of Sacavém in the municipality of Loures, just northeast of Lisbon in Portugal. The museum was opened in July 2000 and was constructed on the grounds of a former ceramics factory. Most of the exhibits reflect the output of that factory and its documentation centre is devoted to the study of the history and production of the factory and the industrial heritage of the municipality. In 2002 the museum was awarded the Luigi Micheletti Prize in the Industrial Heritage category.