HF Pottery?

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?

Tattoo, great research -I would love to know also.. As I just got a Mauna Loa mug with the HF sticker..
Anyone..

BB

Here is a closer look at the double wall mug. Note the vent hole on the bottom so the mug wouldn't blow up in the kiln. This is the Polynesian Pigeon from the Mauna Loa. Sorry about the price tag. Other than the "DESIGN BY MAUNA LOA DETROIT" mine is unmarked. The Mauna Loa also had the double wall coconut mug. OOH also made a double wall coconut. I always thought that the double wall mug was made to give the illusion of a big heavy mug but really have a small serving of contents. Great research on the House Of Favors. Thanks for posting.

"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

[ Edited by: uncle trav 2009-10-30 08:13 ]

I surf the web from time to time looking for any information that may have been posted about The House of Favors, Boston. This was a company started by my Grandfather who was in the restaurant supply business. My father joined the company in the 1940's and traveled extensively to Hong Kong, Tokyo and later Seoul where he designed and then imported plastic and china novelties. One of our accounts was the Mono Laua chain and the mugs and bowls were all created for the polynesian restaurant business. My father also designed party goods items for birthdays, baby and bridal showers and weddings. After the jobber/wholesale business ran out of steam we concentrated on retailing. The first location was at 89 Chauncy Street, downtown Boston and we branched out to several stores in the suburbs. The last store was sold in 1993. I spent many years as a child working for my father, learning the business from the shipping room to the accounting books. I still have the last catalog we produced. It was a real joy seeing this post about the mugs and the HF logo which my father designed. Favor-It brand was the trade name for the importing business. Is there a real value for these mugs and bowls? I had a bunch of them years ago, but tossed them when we closed the store.

Regards

Andy

Hi Andy. Welcome to TC. Always good to here from folks who were in the business. Some of the items produced by your family company to have real value in the collecting community. What also has great value are the stories you may have to tell about working in the family business. Do you remember where any of the mugs for the Mauna Loa were made? We would love to hear some history. Thanks and welcome again.

Here's another HF Mauna Loa mug:

Very cool development, I always wondered where those more-solid-than-usual mugs came from. It seems likely that the connection to House of Favors was made by designers George Nakashima and Florian Gabriel. They designed the Stephen Crane's Luau and Kon-Tiki restaurants, and then later, the Mauna Loa. George Nakashima ended up living in Detroit.