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Article: Depression-era dinnerware helps maker weather recession: ; Fiestawares enduring popularity keeps Homer Laughlin China Co., with hundreds of U.S. jobs, afloat
- Article from:
- Charleston Gazette
- Article date:
- September 14, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 Charleston Gazette. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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NEWELL - Born of the Great Depression, it was a glossy, color-
saturated line of cups, bowls and plates meant to affordably
brighten lives and dinner tables. Seven decades later, Fiesta
dinnerware is still designed to send a subtle message of optimism,
but it's no longer quite so cheap.
Yet Fiesta's enduring popularity and strong sales, even as
consumers cut back, are helping to keep struggling Homer Laughlin
China Co. afloat. It's the last major dinnerware producer that makes
its products in the United States, as competitors have shut down or
moved offshore.
"We're fighting for our lives right now," President Joe Wells III
says of the West Virginia company that's battling the ever-rising ...