Andersen Design Economic Evolution Discourse

Prototypes of the straight mug with blue and green hand painted stripes Dear Friends of Andersen Design, The mugs two mugs above are signed with a personal scripted signature, used at a time before the idea of a brand (Andersen Design) emerged. These are very early works, likely original prototypes of the simple and classic straight mug with hand decorated stripes Two vintage prototypes Below is a rare set of four straight mugs. These mugs were created in the production process. Although this design appears  simple, it is not easily executed without daily practice, The colors have to be properly adjusted. Working with the brushes and the ceramic colors and laying down the stripes in a rhythmic  pattern relies on intuitive confidence and a properly balanced white glaze. Practice makes perfect. Set of Four Vintage Blue Green Stripe Mugs The mug in the upper left corner has a skip, adding to its charm, Usually a skip just happens but an artist could attempt to d

Two Wine Decanters and Glazes designed by Weston Neil Andersen circa 1950's Recently two beautiful wine decanters , designed by Weston in midcentury, were returned to us. I date them at the late fifties or early sixties because the wine decanters were not produced as frequently by the seventies, to my recollection, as the wild life sculpture line and other functional designs became predominately featured.  The form is understated in its simplicity. There are other forms of the midcentury or mid-century-inspired-era based on a bulb with a thin elongated neck but this form predates most of them. There are forms going back to antiquity based on a bulb with an elongated neck and yet I have never seen one that resembles the particular design choices made by Weston when he created this form for the first Andersen Design line to be marketed to the public. The cast and fettling of these two decanter-vases is perfectly executed, bringing out the finer sensibilities of

One of a Kind Yellow Pitcher original prototype by Weston Neil Andersen copyright Andersen Design 1948 An anonymous benefactor has donated the funds for a memorial service for Weston Neil Andersen, founder of Andersen Design, who died in 2015. It is a daunting challenge but we hope to schedule the service in late August or Early Fall, the favored season for most of our most devoted collectors to visit the region. In the year 1952. Weston Neil Andersen and  his wife Brenda founded Andersen Design, The business development was as hand crafted as the products it produced. I credit the "can do" philosophy to my father's roots in the farming culture. Farmers are very independent self-reliant entrepreneurs. They grow things from the roots up and depend on the grace of natural forces for their fortunes. Andersen Design. was born, with a modest small business loan, self capitalization and a commitment to a vision which took years 15 years to establish on sure footing

Large Salad Bowl Form by Weston Neil Andersen: 10 inches diameter copyright Andersen Design 1970 Prototype of Form before lip was adjusted The Large Salad Bowl with the two tones of blue leaves has been around for a long time. All the while I thought it was a beautiful decoration done on a bowl that had warped in the casting. Recently. when photographing the bowls together, I realized I was wrong. The reason I thought the bowl was warped was because of what appeared to be a misshaped curve of the rim. I took it to be that the bowl had been trimmed when it was too wet and had released and curved inward. On closer examination, I realized it was not a casting error. The bowl was cast from a mold with a higher curve to the rim. lip comparison Observed side by side with another bowl it is obvious that there is no warping in the globe of the bowl. The blue flower bowl, shown from the backside, is the one on the right in the picture. Both bowls have perfectly formed

In my last post I began a discussion about how one identifies the author of a piece, pointing out the importance of the signature but that the signature can also be misleading. The true signature is in the hand of the artist which is as unique as handwriting. This One of a Kind Vintage Emperor Penguin was created when the decoration for the production design was under development. The overall uniformity of the pattern is one of the keys to identifying that the penguin is decorated by Weston and not by Brenda. Weston's hand is patient, disciplined and rhythmic. The pattern is systematic but not mechanically uniform. Weston takes a philosopher's approach to pattern. The components of the pattern are integral to an inseparable expression of wholeness. The state of mind is at one with the beingness of existence. Weston patientently executes the teardrops in an organically flowing rhythm on the backside of the Emperor Penguin. A similar approach to pattern is shown in the vase

Purchase this rare vintage original prototype for your collection The Blue and white stein is an Andersen classic. This stein is probably the original prototype. It is signed on the bottom with a hand scripted “Andersen”, painted in blue decorating color against a background circle glazed in white. It is very rare to find the signature on glazed background indicating that the work was created early on, before the glazed background was dropped for production reasons.  Before Weston designed the prototypes for individual pieces, he made many sketches of a complete line of functional forms on any piece of paper handy, including napkins from road side diners, This is likely the original prototype of the stein because he wasn’t thinking about brand identity when he signed it in simple script with his last name. By the time Dad did the second stein, shown with it in some pictures, the idea of a brand identity, complete with a logo, began to evolve as Weston started to s