FIESTA® SATISFIES CRAVING WITH NEW DECADENT DINNERWARE

“Chocolate” is introduced at New York Tabletop Market, 41 Madison Avenue, Floor 16

Newell, W.Va.—(October 6, 2008)—The Homer Laughlin China Company™ introduces Chocolate FIESTA to its existing offering of 14 contemporary colors. The new neutral offers yet another colorful story to everyday dinnerware décor; Chocolate FIESTA can be used as a stand-alone statement with individual decadent place settings, or as an accent with like neutral Ivory or cool blues: Cobalt, Peacock and Turquoise.   

“We’ve received an overwhelming response to the upcoming launch,” says Rich Brinkman, FIESTA Dinnerware. Homer Laughlin will officially unveil the cocoa-inspired color at New York Tabletop Market, 41 Madison Avenue, Wednesday, October 22 thru Friday, October 24. FIESTA’s showroom is on the 16^th floor.

Simply delicious, Chocolate joins Black, White, Ivory, Cinnabar, Cobalt, Turquoise, Sunflower, Plum, Scarlet, Shamrock, Tangerine, Peacock, Evergreen and Heather bringing the FIESTA color count to 15, despite Homer Laughlin’s commitment to a 14 shade palette—each year introducing a new hue and retiring another.

“After an enormous number of requests for a dark brown and a need for another strong earth tone,” says Brinkman, “we decided to introduce a limited item color to accompany Ivory and give consumers additional fashion forward color options just in time for holiday shopping.”

Chocolate continues to prove its staying power both on and off the runway—dubbed the “new black” year after year. “It’s a very youthful color trend that has made its way from apparel into the home and onto the tabletop,” says Brinkman—addressing a growing number of consumers shopping for everyday tableware. 

Chocolate concoctions range from Ivory and Tangerine sprinkled with Chocolate pieces for festive fall settings, to the more ‘mod’ with bright White layered with lots and lots of Chocolate and hints of Shamrock.

“You can also spice it up with Tangerine, Sunflower and Shamrock, or go formal with Black,” says Brinkman.

Unlike its 14 companion colors, Chocolate FIESTA will be offered in four and five piece place settings, along with select shapes deemed “best sellers”. “We’re focusing on our most popular items in this new color,” Brinkman says, “because this is truly an accent color, not what we consider a ‘core driver’ like Scarlet, Sunflower and Cobalt,”—all top selling shades in the existing lineup.

Select Chocolate shapes include: the traditional size Mug and oversized Java version, Oval Platter, Fruit and various size Bowls, Mugs, Luncheon, Salad and Dinner Plates, large and small Disc Pitchers, Salt and Pepper Shakers, Individual Oval Casserole, and Gusto Bowl.

Limited in items, Chocolate FIESTA will also be limited in its availability.

No exact date has been set for its retirement according to Brinkman; however, he encourages consumers and collectors to “eat it up.”  

Look for Chocolate FIESTA in stores and online as early as November 17.

About Fiesta® Dinnerware

Designed by Frederick Hurten Rhead in 1936, FIESTA® Dinnerware is now the most collected china in the United States and among the most collected china in the world. It has been featured on many popular TV programs, including ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover and the Today Show. The product was discontinued in 1973 and reissued in 1986 with new contemporary colors to mark its 50th anniversary. Its unique Art Deco style has landed FIESTA® Dinnerware in the collections of numerous museums from the Smithsonian Institution to the Andy Warhol Museum.

About The Homer Laughlin China Company™

The Homer Laughlin China Company™, headquartered in Newell, West Virginia, is the largest domestic producer of china dinnerware in the United States. The company’s distinctive FIESTA® brand is featured on dining tables across the country and coveted by a large, enthusiastic group of collectors. For additional information, please visit the Homer Laughlin™ Web site at www.hlchina.com.