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| Left, one of the first uses of plastic for dinnerware: Meladur, by Russel Wright Right, Rare Ideal Fortiflex |
| Russel Wright Plastic Designs |
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Russel Wright was a pioneer in plastic dinnerware design. When the new synthetic material, melamine, was being tested, he eagerly sought the opportunity to design a set of dinnerware using the product. The result was "Meladur." Next came the very popular "Residential" line, produced by Northern Industrial Chemical Company. In 1953 and 1954, Residential won the Museum of Modern Art Good Design Award. The Home Decorator version of Residential, featuring a number of patterns, appeared in 1954. A new, more delicate line called "Flair" came out in 1959. Wright's line of toy dishes, a child's version of his American Modern designs produced by Ideal Toys, appeared in 1959 as well. But another line, also by Ideal, Fortiflex was designed for adult use, and is exceedingly rare, in our experience. When collecting Wright's plastic, good condition is critical to most collectors, except in the case of the very rarest pieces. |
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| Books about Russel Wright and other Modern designs |
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| Revised 12/26/02 |