Ahh, the poor man’s Catherineholm. I’d been looking for a Catherineholm piece for myself, thank you very much, pretty much for a couple years now. Then I saw it. A yellow lotus leaf bowl at an estate sale. A closer look told me it was plastic. A Deka piece!

If you’re into mid century modern and mixing bowls, no doubt you too have noticed the plastic version made by Deka Plastics. The American version of Catherineholm was made right in Elizabeth, NJ. It looks like Deka may have had a license to recreate the Catherineholm bowls in plastic but there’s no definitive source. They may simply be a knockoff/replica of the original enamel version. The latter is doubtful due to other products Deka designed and licensed.

During their 40+ year run, they created a variety of plastic home goods that are full of nostalgia. If you’ve ever had a plastic bowl or cup set with Star Trek, Smurfs or the Muppets, they may have been produced by Deka Plastics, Inc. Prior to the childhood memories of the 1980s, they made kitchen items with psychodelic birds and flowers. And a classic design is the 1960s colored plastic with white stripes, such as the Bongo Basket.

Nowadays, Deka Plastics no longer exists. They finally shut down in the mid-1980s. All we have from now is lots of nostalgia.

Several months ago, I attended an auction chockfull of vintage goodness. I saw a number of things I liked by the two that stood out were this Welby clock, with matching candlesticks, that sold within an hour of listing, and these beautiful cherry nesting bowls with white polka dots.

Instinct (or a trained eye) told me that these bowls were made by Waechetebach, a German company. That’s why it’s so darn hard to pronounce (Vek-ters-bahk). Anyway, I could see this set was a more vintage version, made in West Germany, back when Germany was split in half. Reds this vibrant just aren’t produced anymore. Plus, the West Germany part makes it a little extra awesome.

Waechetebach is actually still around and still selling beautiful kitchen pottery, as they have been for the past 175 years. Yes, that long! At first, they were only a locally-known company. In 1897, they developed the world’s first underglaze color print, leading to their popularity throughout the German Empire.

The company took on a drastically different direction in the mid century era, when they brought in designer, Ursula Fesca. Fesca created a more modernist approach, with new forms and techniques, creating classic household ceramics. Under her helm, Waechetebach had become West Germany’s largest ceramics manufacturer. In the 1960s, they started exporting their items to the United States.

Today collectors go crazy for Waechetebach’s vintage minimalist designs. If you’re lucky, you may even find a more modernist version of Fresca’s designs for Waechetebach pre-export times.