One of the greatest things about having our own vintage shop is the opportunity to explore and discover new (and old) designers and manufacturers. After being exposed to so many different items from different eras, you tend to absorb at least some of the history behind them.

But of course it’s completely impossible to know EVERYTHING. We learn something new every day. Case in point is this Lucent Melmac tray which was designed by Raymond Loewy. Loewy is pretty well known as the “father of industrial design“. Some of his highlights include the iconic slender Coke bottle, the Greyhound bus, the Shell and Exxon logo and the Coldspot refrigerator for Sears Roebuck & Company.

However, we weren’t aware this plate was a Loewy design until very recently. We actually have had this platter, which has a pattern called “Evening Song” on it, for 3 years. It was only until finding an identical one at a church sale that we decided to look into who made it. We had looked earlier, but for some reason didn’t connect it with Loewy. This happens very frequently – we buy something and don’t find out about its history until a few years later. It makes collecting vintage items very interesting, though a bit frustrating at times if we’re trying to find out who made something!