(photo from replacements.com)
Three states. One day. Many goals. Last weekend Chris and I were invited to accompany our friends Elaina and Adam to the Homer Laughlin China Company outlet in Newell, West Virginia, where the company factory is also located. Homer Laughlin China manufacturers the iconic and vibrantly colorful Fiesta dinnerware.
We decided to take the scenic route and stop at a number of SWPA's exurban treasures. En route, we stopped at Kretchmar's Bakery in Beaver County.
The strip on which the bakery is located has so many adorable little shops! We couldn't resist posing with this life sized playmobil buddy waiting to greet visitors to a cute little shop called Castle Toys and Games.
Along the Ohio River we passed a massive nuclear power plant.
Just as soon as crossed state lines to arrive in Ohio, we were crossing another bridge to wind up in West Virgina. Once we got there, it was hot but the view along the river was pretty beautiful.
We were greeted by a Fiestaware Garden:
And before we left, we snapped some photos of the incredible mountain of unusable Fiestaware across from the factory.
I am pretty sure they grind this stuff up and reuse it which is why it is so carefully organized by color. We noticed that a lot of the pieces seemed to be pretty in tact from the vantage point of the fence (which I imagine is there to prevent people from rummaging).
We all scored a few exciting pieces and didn't miss out on the chance to snag some mysterious grab bag items on our way out. You can read about Elaina's earlier trip to the outlet which includes photos of outlet finds and delicious donuts, here.
5 comments:
oh WOW! I'm such a huge Fiesta fan. I need to road trip it to West VA. Thanks for sharing!
yes, i would be the aforementioned rummager the fence is meant to keep out! I love fiestaware! Thanks for posting about this. i'm dying to see what you bought!
What fun! I love a great day trip. The piles of fiestaware are amazing. I'm glad to hear it's reused.
Thank you guys for reading! I got some great things. Mostly plates because we had registered for serveware and specific pieces like a teapot and pitcher. The plates (in cobalt) will compliment the pieces we got at the shower beautifully!
I used to work at HLC. Unfortunately, the culled piles of Fiesta are never reused. The pile used to be a hollow with a creek. Believe me, if they could sell it, it wouldn't be in there. The piles are there because sometimes entire batches have unseen or noticeable defects that affect quality, and may not stand up to wear and tear, or be suitable for use. Cool pics, BTW, I still one Fiesta.
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