Titian and Orzel: random notes from our lunch

In July 2019, Titian collectors Louise and Danny de Varga invited us to lunch with Cameron and Beverley Brown, whose family established Titian Potteries and later Orzel. It was a lovely afternoon, a pleasure to see Cameron and Beverley again, and to talk to other collectors and researchers. Special thanks to Louise for organising this event! 

This blog is a random dump of notes that I scribbled down as Cameron and Beverley talked. It is based only on the pieces which were discussed at the lunch, and of course it only tells  bits and pieces of the Titian/Orzel story.  There is more info on the NZ Pottery website and on this blog.   My previous post is also useful.  This is a Titian facebook group run by Ev and Andrea. 

PLEASE let me know if there is anything I have got wrong in this post – added comments are welcomed.

Titian/Orzel timeline 
(information from Gail Henry’s book New Zealand Pottery Commercial and Collectable).

Cameron Brown Snr and his wife Dorothy established Sherwood Potteries in the Waitakeres in about 1951. 

In 1958 they moved to new premises in Henderson. Around this time the pottery was re-named Titian Studio.

In 1966 the business moved again, this time to larger premises at Takanini. The family sold shares to fund expansion. The shares were bought up by Crown Lynn Potteries and by about 1968 Crown Lynn had taken over Titian Potteries.

The Brown family remained at the Titian factory under the control of Crown Lynn for a time, but then set up the beginnings of Orzel Potteries in the family garage.  
They then left Crown Lynn/Titian and developed a busy and successful business of their own, selling under the brands Orzel, Aquila and Adelaar.  

‘Young’ Cameron, who was at our lunch, grew up with the pottery, and he and his wife Beverley took more responsibility as Cameron Snr and Dorothy grew older.  'Young' Cameron and Beverley were the driving force behind Orzel.  Today, they work with their son (also Cameron) making Kiwiana souvenir ware under the name Sherwood. 

Sherwood/Titian Potteries (1951-1968)

The photo above was given to me by Cameron and Beverley. It shows (front, from left) the three Brown brothers Cameron Snr, Neil Brown, Jack Brown.  At rear are 'young' Cameron (right) and his cousin Viv. 

Cameron Brown Snr was born in NZ.  During the war he served in the Polish merchant navy.  After returning from the war he worked at Crown Lynn for a while. He got jobs there for his brothers Neil and Jack. After a time, Cameron left Crown Lynn to set up his own Sherwood Pottery. Neil was in charge of casting at Crown Lynn, he knew about clay bodies and how to make slip for slipcasting.  He too left to work with Cameron Snr at Sherwood Potteries. Jack stayed at Crown Lynn until he died in the early 1970s. He was responsible for the machinery that made cups and saucers.

Titian Pottery marks

When Cameron Snr began marking his work, he usually painted a strip of colour on the base and scratched variations on the word Titian into it.   When Vic Lawson took over mould making, his moulds included shape numbers etc.  
So the early Titian ware is marked by a coloured smear, the later ware by numbers. Below is a typical mark from the early days of Titian Studio, almost certainly made by Cameron Brown Snr. 

Pic from the New Zealand Pottery website

Titian treasures 
The girl figurine below was made by Cameron Brown Snr in the very early days of Sherwood/Titian Studios. Photo by Louise

Below: Cameron Snr was very proud of this figurine as it is made from bone china. Camneron Snr worked very hard to develop a bone china clay body.   If you put a lighted match inside this little figurine, it glows.  Photo by Louise

The polar bear

Cameron told us that this polar bear was one of a series of animals made for the Auckland Zoo, to be sold in the zoo shop.  Cam’s brother Chris also remembers an elephant and a hippo but Cam can only remember the polar bear. 

Photo Ev Williams from the New Zealand Pottery website

A rare fish
Kate and Dayle showed Cameron and Beverley their fish. The Browns identified Cameron Snr’s writing on the base. This fish was part of the Titian exhibition curated by Mary Morrison.  It had its own protective box from that exhibition.

(Info from Rick). Kate and Dayle item, Louise pic

An even rarer teapot!
This cat teapot is from the very early days of Sherwood Potteries. It was shown to us by Cameron Brown's cousins. Cameron told us that the glaze was the same as is used on bathroom ware, eg toilet pans and handbasins.

Photo by Louise

Palmerston North Souvenir plate.
This plate appeared in two versions. There is this black on white and also a white-on-black version which Cameron remembers much better.  For this black on white version, the image was drawn on the raw clay by artist Teddy Rennie who worked for the Browns for a few years. Cameron said he was sometimes allowed to draw the simple bits, eg the branches of the trees, when he was a young boy. 

Teddy Rennie – artist and decorator

Teddy Rennie decorated a lot of the Titian ware. He was an artist from England, where his job had included drawing advertisements for fashion magazines. He was particularly skilled at depicting fur, eg fur coats. Teddy Rennie was a friend of Uncle Neil Brown’s. (Cameron Snr’s brother).  ‘Young’ Cameron was a schoolboy when Teddy was working at Titian.  Teddy made the marble, woodgrain and feather finishes on the Titian vases. The feather finish was made by applying a thick glaze which was literally given texture with a feather.  For the marble glaze, Rennie had two colours on his brush and manipulated the brush (which had a fine point) over the raw clay of the vase. He moved the brush sideways, dabbed it etc to get the marble effect.  The same type of technique was used for woodgrain.  The original colour would be sprayed on then the second colour applied with a soft brush. Rennie did not work for Titian for long, maybe three years… He was quite close to retirement when he came to Titian.  He had left by the time Titian moved to Takanini but Cam doesn’t remember any dates. 
Cam told me that Cam Snr originally developed crackle glaze and feather glaze to cover blemishes. Far too many of his pots had pinholes in the glaze and other defects, which of course he could not sell.  The thick textured glazes covered minor flaws.

The butterfly
Around 1951/52, Titian made blanks for Owen Salisbury, who had a factory where they were painted to make Salisbury Ware.  This butterfly would date from that time.  It is in very good condition.  (Julie C brought this to the lunch)

. Pic by Louise. 

Presley Ware black vase
A lot of black vases (and white) were made for Flower Beauty as well. 

The colourful dishes – and other copies 
Cameron and Dorothy told me that someone bought these dishes in Hawaii and asked the Browns to copy them, including the woodgrain effect on the back.  There are several shapes in this series. Cam told us that his family was asked to copy dozens of different things, including the toby jug Dick Whittington, the set of wall ducks, etc etc.  Wholesalers brought them examples and asked for copies.  Cam said his father had a rule that he would copy anything from overseas, but not  ware that was made in New Zealand. 

Decorating 

Mary Baillie painted all the gold lines.  Dorothy (Cam’s mother) did hand-painting and fettling.  She was not really interested in spray painting.  In the early days Cam Snr used a garden sprayer to spray glazes. He then bought a small and not very good compressor spray outfit.  That broke down at a time when they had no money to buy a replacement or pay for repairs.  They replaced the broken part with a sixpence coin, thereafter called ‘Mum’s lucky sixpence.’ 

Modelling, moulds etc

When they started, Cam Snr made all the models and moulds.  After Vic Lawson arrived, Vic did the modelling and moulds.  When Vic left, Hemara Hemara took that job. (I believe Hemara started when Orzel was being established).  Hemara modelled the Ti Toki bottles and shaped all the steins and mugs. He left in 1988.  Hemara’s son Paul Hemara also worked for Orzel, as did his brother Stephen (for a short period). 

A new (to me) treasure
This lovely vase came to me at the lunch. 1950s or 1960s? 

Orzel – after 1968

Generally speaking, Titian ware is finely made and decorative, as was appropriate for the fashions of the time (1950s/1960s).   Orzel, which had its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s, was far more 'handmade' in style, heavier and definitely utilitarian. 

The beginning of Orzel

After Crown Lynn took over the Titian factory, the Brown family continued to work there.  Then Paramount Trading gave the Browns a personal order for 6000 mugs and they began making them in their garage at night and weekends.  Cam Snr built a kiln in the garage workshop.  However Crown Lynn (at the Titian factory) was also making product for Paramount and they didn’t like the fact that the Browns were moonlighting. So Crown Lynn asked the Browns to leave the Crown Lynn /Titian factory.  

Dorothy in the very early days of the Orzel factory when it was still in the family garage.

Photo courtesy of the Brown family. 

Ti Toki liqueur bottles

Orzel made thousands of the big Ti Toki bottles, but they also made a run of little bottles which were given to First Class Air New Zealand passengers on a flight to the UK.  (I believe Cameron told me this was the inaugural Air NZ flight to the UK but I am not sure).  Cameron told us about the time they had an urgent order for the large Ti Toki bottles, so they rushed to get them all cast, fettled and glazed.  Cam Snr volunteered to watch the kiln that night, and turn it off when it reached the required temperature. However he went to sleep and the kiln was still going in the morning. It was far too hot and this is what the bottles looked like: 

Cam and Bev have kept these for many years. Bottles, Cam and Bev Brown, Pic Louise. 

Kitchen jars

Orzel and Royal Oak made very similar kitchen storage jars.  Some of the Royal Oak jars had stick-on labels and once contained ginger and other foods. Cam and Beverley told me that the jar below is Orzel.  The Orzel jar has a longer neck and a more pronounced shoulder than the Royal Oak jars.  Edward Salisbury from Royal Oak has also told me about the difference between the two shoulders.  Cameron and Beverley identified the writing on the base of this jar as Cameron Brown Snrs.  (ignore the green sticker, it is my ID system).  

The Settlers Collection

The Settlers Collection terracotta kitchen containers were made by Orzel for chain stores including The Warehouse. The lettering was stamped on using Indian ink.  Beverley did most of the stamping because she had a good eye and made sure the lettering was level. 

Coffee pot
This coffee pot is part of a set that I treasure. Bev and Cameron remembered Cam’s mother Dorothy offering to help fettle these pots... and she kept breaking the spouts. (Sellotape is holding the lid on this pic)

The large animals

Orzel/Aquila made a number of large animal figurines. Beverley decorated them with sprayed glazes.  I understand that they were all were made from Hobby Ceramics moulds which were imported by Chris Brown as part of his Hobby Ceramics business. (Chris is 'young' Cameron's brother).  The Aquila animals can be differentiated from Hobby pieces because they are made with heavier clay body and they are professionally decorated. Beverley remembers two owls, one sitting and one with wings outstretched.   Other animals included a big Alsatian dog and a big greyhound (thigh high), also an elephant with its trunk up and pink mouth, a big polar bear, a tiger standing on its four legs, and an eagle.  (Note that this list is probably incomplete, it is based on a very quick conversation I had with Beverley). 

The 1987 crash

Orzel lost a lot of money after the 1987 financial crash.  Cam and Bev would follow up on overdue accounts and often discover that the customer had gone out of business and their phone was disconnected. After the crash, Orzel looked for a more reliable market.  They made less general use kitchenware to be sold be retailers, and more large runs for private firms.  They made at least 60,000 little mustard pots for Colemans, and thousands upon thousands of steins for various beer makers and sports clubs. 

The steins
After Orzel began making steins and other ware with company logos etc, transfers were made at the factory and fired onto the ware.  Eg see the beer steins below. 

Joe Staples and Company ordered and on-sold a lot of the Orzel steins.  Below: At one stage Staples asked Orzel to reproduce all their old labels in an old-fashioned style on steins.  

Packaging

At Orzel, the cardboard boxes for packaging were all printed at the factory. 

Cameron and Beverley today
Although the mass-production days of Orzel are now over, Cameron and Beverley and their son Cameron continue to make ceramics. Now they focus on souvenir ware and Kiwiana to be sold at markets around New Zealand. Here they are with a set of decorative wall plaques created by Beverley. 

Pic by Louise

A little story about MckSkimmings - not related to Titian/Orzel

‘Young’ Cameron Brown told me this story about his grandfather, who worked at McSkimmings at Benhar in the South Island. The McSkimings family had substantial industrial holdings in the Dunedin area.  Their potteries included Abbotsford, Benhar,  Green Island and others.  At one of the potteries a new kiln was built.  It was designed to be run continuously, ie it needed to be stoked and looked after day and night, seven days a week.  However the McSkimings were very religious and would not allow their staff to work on Sunday, ‘the Lord’s day.’  The kiln was never used.  

ENDS