First introduced by Brayton Laguna Pottery in 1960. This graceful mid-century feline stands a proud 16 inches. Durlin Brayton, a graduate of the Chicago Art Institute. After graduating he moved to Laguna Beach, California. In 1927 He bought a kiln and built a small ceramics workshop naming it Brayton Laguna Pottery.
Alongside his wife, he produced a small set of dinnerware – place settings, teapots, pitchers and bowls – notable not only for the hand-pressed mold technique used in production, but for the wide range of innovative glaze colors.
Brayton Laguna is considered to be one of the first California potteries to produce the solid color dinnerware lines later popularized by J.A. Bauer Pottery, Pacific Clay Products and others. In addition to the dinnerware line, Brayton also produced a range of decorative tiles, artware and vases. Brayton and his wife sold the pottery out of their home, attracting buyers by displaying wares in their front yard.
In 1936, Brayton began to transform the small workshop into a larger commercial enterprise. By the late 1930s, Brayton Laguna’s focus was primarily on artware and hand-decorated figurines. At their highest capacity in the 1940s Brayton employed 150 artists, designers and potters. They became the first pottery company licensed by The Walt Disney Company to produce figurines based on Disney characters.
After World War II ended and tariff restrictions lifted, cheap imports from Europe and Japan begin flooding the market. Adding to the economic problems and faced by the then struggling company, their business declined. The company closed their doors in 1968.
Having recently discovered the original tooling for these stunning stylized mid-century cats along with a few other pieces, we decided to start with a limited production.
