Fitz and Floyd
(pronunciation: as spelled)
Location: USA
The first products I noticed from this new ( i.e. mid-20th century) company was their tumblers: figures caught in the various points of a somersault, usually in sets of three: rabbits, Santa Claus, snowmen, dogs, cats, witches, etc. They also produce funny salt and pepper sets: cat and jack-o-lantern, reindeer and Christmas ball nestled in its antlers, etc. Their products are very imaginative and usually embody a sense of humor, as in two rabbits doing the tango. Although usable, their products are also ornamental by design and look good on shelves and tabletops.
F&F, as the company is affectionately known, produces dinnerware and tabletop accessories for every holiday or reason for celebration: Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, spring, fall, winter, summer, you name it. For each of these occasions and season they produce dinnerware, table accessories, ornaments, bells, occasional musical figurine dinnerware, such as chargers, mugs, salad plates, soup bowls, cups and saucers, dinner plates and sometimes matching glassware. In addition they produce appetizer plates, bar ware, bowls, candy dishes, kitchen accessories (canisters, oil and vinegar bottles, condiment jar), cookie jars, platters, trays, servers, salt & pepper sets, tea services, pitchers, tureens, and covered vegetable bowls in the same or related patterns. The company adds new patterns for the various celebrations, so there are at least six Christmas patterns in the company’s present and past. Patterns are discontinued by the company fairly rapidly, but are available on the secondary market.
As non-eating products, F&F produces candle holders, crosses, home accents such as bookends, planters, cachepot, trays, trivets, wall sconces, vases and urns and a Nativity set. Lately the company has expanded from purely china products into pewter figures, wood shore birds, and a glass menagerie.
F&F also produces regular dinnerware with wide colored bands in rich colors, in case you want relatively normal china to use with the funny, character-based supplemental pieces.
To see listings on eBay, go to my Squidoo lens on the subject.
My opinion: I have loved F&F from the first time I saw it in the 1970s. Some of their products are not to my taste, but so many are that I could fill my house with their humor. The problem is limiting my acquisition speed and space to show it off.
* * * Use plate racks to display some of your plate collection. * * *
Product lines:
Way too many to list. There are several for each season or celebration collection. Choose from dinnerware, table accessories, kitchen accessories and decorations and other pieces.
F&F makes the Charming Tails figurines which show cure mice in human situations, like painting Easter eggs.
F&F also makes a less expensive line of home accents under the trademark OCI.
Prices:
Quite reasonable. Even the new products can be acquired at discount, not only on company site but at gift shops and on-line dealers. Only items with short production runs and relatively high original prices will have reasonable secondary values.
Collector’s Society: No. You can register on the company site to keep your order history and wish lists.
The official company site is: http://www.fitzandfloyd.com/
History
No official history is provided on the company web site. I know that I have seen their products since about 1970. There was an outlet store in the Dallas, Texas, area for several decades, ending in 2009.
More information about collecting other kinds of porcelain is available here.
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