Post #442168 by Tattoo on Tue, Mar 24, 2009 11:14 AM

Curious what other people think. Like most, I've referred to the HF sticker that is found on most Steve Crane mugs and the Mauna Loa mugs with HF Pottery.

However, I don't think there's such a thing as "HF Pottery". There's at least 2 different types of distinct pottery styles that fall under the HF logo . The first is the unique double walled pottery construction as found with the Steve Crane Ku and Tongue mug as well as the more extravagant Mauna Loa mugs. Then there's the single walled Otagiri type mugs such as the Steve Crane Kon Tiki Ports brown Tiki mugs and the Mauna Loa black Tiki mug. Two very different pottery styles and hard to believe to have come from the same company.

Although I didn't buy it, I found a non pottery HF logo item on ebay. It was a box of Swizzle Sticks from the Mauna Loa.

The HF refers to 'House of Favors' from Boston which is obviously not a pottery company but some sort a restaurant supply company. My guess is that whoever was in charge of producing the mugs and other unique logo bar items for Steve Crane & Associates and the Mauna Loa (Florian Gabriel?) went through House of Favors. House of Favors then outsourced these items and put their own label on it. If not HF, then who did make these mugs?

I actually own a Steve Crane Tongue mug which has a different sticker on it. It was acquired by way of Australia and it had a 'My Lady Handmade Japan' sticker.

On the the Tikiroom mug gallery someone form Australia remarks of the same sticker on their Steve Crane mug.

http://www.tikiroom.net/gallery/main.php/marked/agv.jpg.html

My guess can only be that the company that made them for HF in Japan also sold them to some company in Australia probably as decorative pottery.

I'm pretty certain that the Steve Crane regular Kon Tiki mugs as well as the Mauna Loa mugs were made by Otagiri. However, one wonders who actually produced the double walled mugs. For that matter, The Steve Crane Scorpion bowl is such an extravagantly glazed single walled construction bowl that it might even have come from a third manufacturer.

I'm curious if anyone here has other restaurant items with the HF logo on it or the 'My Lady Hand Made' in Japan sticker. Also, has anyone seen similar double walled pottery construction on different items?