Yes, as you can see from this pic, I have accumulated rather a lot of Orzel. This blogpost is my attempt to make sense of it.
THE ORZEL STORY
Rustic Orzel is in strong contrast to the Titian Ware
previously made by the Brown family. In the 1950s-1960s, Cameron Snr and
Dorothy Brown created finely made, carefully decorated vases and ornaments. Then,
in 1964, Cam Snr and Dorothy sold shares in Titian Potteries to fund expansion.
That plan backfired. By 1968 Crown Lynn
had bought up more than 50% of the shares and announced a ‘partnership’ with Titian
– in effect a takeover.
Cam and Dorothy and their sons(?) remained at the Titian factory for about 18 months, but at the same time they began making pottery in their garage at home. Early orders were for five thousand orange-glazed mugs and a range of bath salts containers.
Above: early bathroom products made in the family garage. The corked jar and matching beaker had their own distinctive mark on the base. (See the marks and stickers section at the end of this post).
Inevitably Crown Lynn discovered that the Browns were moonlighting, and they were asked to leave Titian. But by then the new enterprise was well on its way and in 1972 Cameron and Dorothy Brown bought a property at Firth St in Drury and set up a factory. Here, they mass-produced the ware which we commonly recognise as Orzel.
The family has told me that there was no consistent system governing the marks on Orzel ware, or which pieces were marked with Aquila or Adelaar. Aquila is often seen on larger pieces such as the animals, but the brand was also used on beer steins and pub-style jugs. During its lifetime, Orzel Industries used stick-on labels, backstamps and impressed marks to identify their product. However much of its output is unmarked.
Above: 1980s Friar Tuck toby jug. The Sherwood Forest series of toby jugs made in the 1970s/1980s are all stamped with the Aquila brand. Cam Snr and Dorothy Brown made an earlier series of Robin Hood derived jugs at their little Sherwood Pottery in the 1950s. However the later Aquila jugs were newly modelled and much larger. [3]. (Is this correct?)
When Orzel was getting established, the Brown family sold to several wholesalers including Paramount Trading Company, Ken Lord and Flower Beauty. Later, through the 1980s, up to 80% of Orzel’s output went to The Warehouse retail chain. When the first trial order for kitchen cannisters came through the Browns were delighted, but soon orders from the 80-odd Warehouse stores were pouring relentlessly off the fax machine, day and night. Often the factory struggled to keep up, but despite the occasional hiccup The Warehouse proved an excellent outlet for five or six years. Bills were always paid on time and the Brown family was treated with respect and kindness.
Popular ranges included The Settlers Collection, Colonial Ware and terracotta kitchen containers which were glazed inside in clear, white, green or blue-purple. Sales to The Warehouse ended when terracotta waned in popularity and transport costs made delivery throughout New Zealand prohibitively expensive. Orzel also sold smaller volumes of domestic ware through the Deka chain stores.
Above: first made for Lion Breweries,
the Settlers Collection with its horse and cart image was also sold through The
Warehouse and other retailers. Similar
graphics of colonial life were used on Colonial Ware. (Eg the lidded jar and salt and pepper at left). Have I got this right? The artwork was by Cam and Beverley’s
daughter Janine. Janine also made
transfers at the Orzel factory, and still sometimes designs for the family business
today. Other potteries,
notably Kermiko, also made a Settlers Collection range.
Cam Brown Jnr created most of the glazes, which were often in rich, dark colours. Cam and his staff were aways keen to try new combinations and techniques. In the early 1990s, one of the big distributors asked for a speckled glaze, and Cam collected a couple of buckets of black iron sand from Auckland’s Karioitahi Beach near Waiuku. The sand was incorporated into a pale creamy glaze, which had to be stirred vigorously and often to keep the sand in suspension. This very popular speckled glaze was called Old English[4] (?) Not all experiments were a success. A dark green and black glaze named ‘Black Forest’ was a very slow seller[5].
(Cam and Bev have I got this correct?) In the early days of Orzel, modeller and mould maker Hemara Hemara also left Titian after the Crown Lynn takeover and joined the Brown family[6]. In the Titian Pottery days, Cam Brown Snr had modelled new products and made almost all the moulds. However Orzel aimed for mass production, and more help was needed. Hemara Hemara did much of Orzel’s modelling and mould-making. He was sometimes assisted by his son Paul. Generally speaking, Cam Snr modelled the more detailed pieces such as the toby jugs, and Hemara Hemara modelled the kitchen ware.
Hemara was largely self-taught, and his technique was very different from formally trained modellers, who create detailed drawings first. To model a new shape, Hemara would first make a smooth solid piece of plaster of paris, then use a large carpenters nail to carve it freehand. Usually a series of failures would be discarded as he got closer and closer to a shape he was happy with. After several years, the Hemaras left to set up business for themselves. Other modellers who worked at Orzel include Wayne Manion and ????
Above: Orzel lattice ware modelled by Hemara Hemara. This was one of Orzel’s most successful ranges. There were lattice ware mugs, jugs in three sizes, spice jars, lidded kitchen cannisters, salt pigs, coffee pots and salt and pepper sets.
Until Crown Lynn closed in 1989, Orzel was to some extent dependent on the larger factory. For many years, most of Orzel’s white clay body was bought direct from Crown Lynn. Then, recalls Cam, his brother Chis warned that the market for pottery made with white clay was waning, but he could sell any amount of red-clay terracotta ware. When it became only too obvious that Chris was right, Cam reluctantly dug some red clay from the factory yard. Miraculously, this was the basis for a very successful terracotta clay body. Over the years the backyard clay pit grew larger and larger, and crept ever closer to a neighbouring factory. The neighbour complained to the authorities, which brought a swift order to stop digging. Fortunately, by then this was no great loss as terracotta ware was no longer in great demand.
From the early 1970s and through the 1980s, Orzel made a satisfactory living for the Brown family and their employees. Sadly, in 1994 the matriarch Dorothy Brown died. By then business was waning and in the mid-1990s the Drury factory was sold. However the new owner was not successful and the family bought it back. Then Cam Jnr became very ill and spent weeks in hospital. The big factory was emptied and leased out, and Orzel Industries downsized to a smaller building near the family home. When Cam’s health improved, the Browns continued making ceramics in a smaller way.
Today, Cameron Jnr and Beverley – assisted part-time by their son, also named Cameron – make kiwiana and ornamental pieces to sell at markets around the country. They use the brand Sherwood, the name used by Cameron Snr and Dorothy when they first started out in the 1950s.
MORE ABOUT ORZEL PRODUCTS
Orzel made large amounts of household ware including kitchen jars, coffee sets and teapots, mugs, sugar pots, jugs, casseroles, ramekins, spice jars, salt and pepper sets, lamp bases and wine containers. Kitchen jars were lidded or corked. Orzel made very few plates, mainly because special machinery and techniques are needed to make flatware efficiently. Much of the domestic ware was glazed in rich browns, blues and greens, in keeping with the fashions of the time. There are a few jugs and kitchen cannisters in white, decorated with floral transfers. In the very early 1990s, Orzel made a small amount of Teri thermic ware[7], which could be heated in the microwave to brown food.
Above: Coffee mugs were hugely popular. One researcher has counted 24 different Orzel mug shapes. Popular glazes included shiny brown Mahogany (far left) and greenish Sazon (right) 
2. Ornamental ware
Alongside sturdy kitchenware, Orzel made ornaments, ranging from bud vases to large animals. These were carefully made and skillfully decorated. Shapes came from a variety of sources. Some were carried over from the Brown’s previous business, Titian Potteries, and others were designed after Orzel was established. A range of animals and other figures were adapted from Hobby Ceramics moulds. At least one ornament, a large shell, is a replica of a Crown Lynn shape.
Above: some Orzel ornaments are finished in the white lustre glaze developed by Cam Brown Snr in the Titian Pottery days. This shell is a direct copy of a Crown Lynn shape.
Above: this range of small bud vases was one of Orzel’s consistently
popular products. They were first made in the 1970s, and small runs in assorted glazes were made
for a variety of clients right through until the 1990s.[8] The vases have individual shape numbers impressed into the base.
Above: Orzel made a series of elegant ewers and vases decorated
with Egyptian motifs, and another series featuring Lascaux prehistoric cave drawings. These were
first made in the Titian era, but the Brown family retained the moulds and were
able to continue making them when they established Orzel. The decorations came
from ??? Image courtesy Louise de Varga. Is this highlighted bit correct?
3. Commercial ware
For Orzel, commercial orders provided a reliable income. There were ceramic jars, bottles and various containers for manufacturers of food and other products. One customer commissioned their own ‘Abbeville’ containers for pickles and chutneys. Small mustard pots made for Eta Foods were a big seller in the mid to late 1970s; Cam Brown remembers making 60,000 of them for a single consignment. The pots were corked, and made in a wide variety of glazes. There were also thousands of Bic ballpoint pen holders in assorted glazes.
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Above: Orzel containers. From left: blue and white bath salts bottle, (rear) Abbeville pickles and chutneys, Pruneax Au Porto jar, Nut Oata muesli. (Front) Eta mustard pots, Bostik (glue) branded jar and a Bic ballpoint pen holder.
Above: Orzel beer steins. Other potteries also made steins, but Orzel was the largest manufacturer by far.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Orzel’s most important commercial customers were the competing beer giants Lion and Dominion Breweries. Througout New Zealand there were scores of busy hard-drinking sports clubs. In return for exclusive sales, the breweries gave clubs hundreds of free steins with the club logo on one side and the brewer’s logo on the other. Many were given to members to take home. Thousands of steins were given or sold to New Zealand armed services clubs, and some even went to the Australian Football League (AFL). Cam Brown estimates that over the years Orzel made two or three hundred thousand steins in various sizes and shapes.
In another huge deal Orzel supplied Cobb & Co, a chain of 37 family restaurants owned by Lion Breweries.[10] Cobb & Co steins and jugs all had a nick in the base so that they didn’t pool water when they went through the dishwashers. As well as jugs and steins, Cobb & Co commissioned tableware including pinkish-glazed lattice ware salad containers.
From 1979-1983/4 Orzel made Maori-themed crocks for Ti Toki liqueur. Through the decades these crocks have been made by many other New Zealand potteries including Crown Lynn, Stewart Potteries, Kermiko and Bob Steiner. In the early 1980s Orzel made jars for Jim Beam whisky, and for a time also made bottles for Thames-based Totara Liqueurs. The liquor companies also commissioned promotional ware such as ashtrays for Johnnie Walker whisky and Seagers gin.
5. The Hobby Ceramics connection
During the 1980s, Chris Brown ran a very successful hobby ceramics business in the same factory as Orzel Industries. He imported most of his moulds from large suppliers in the United States. Using these same moulds, often with small adaptations, Cam and Beverley developed a successful range of well-made animals and other figures which they sold mainly under the Aquila brand. Thus, you may find a hobby ceramics piece and an almost identical figurine made by Orzel/Aquila. The Orzel/Aquila pieces can be differentiated from the hobby ceramics versions - they were made with heavier clay and skillfully painted, usually by Beverley Brown.
IDENTIFYING ORZEL, ADELAAR AND AQUILA
Most Orzel ware is unmarked. However pieces made by Orzel Industries sometimes have identification in one of three styles:
- a few pieces, notably Aquila, are backstamped. Orzel very seldom used backstamps – stamping was too
time-consuming for a mass manufacturing business.
- Sometimes the mould carried a mark which was impressed into
the finished item - Orzel and Adelaar are sometimes marked in this way.
- a few Orzel and Aquila pieces carry a stick-on label.
Importantly, the Orzel Industries had a distinctive way of fettling. You can often see knife-marks on the base of the piece, where excess clay has been trimmed away when the still-damp pieces come out of the mould.
Orzel Adelaar and Aquila marks and stickers
Adelaar
Adelaar Craft Potteries
Adelaar Craft Potteries (circular)
Adelaar craft pottery colonial ware
Aquila (stamp). This also shows the Friar Tuck imprint from the Sherwood Forest series
Aquila Ceramics (sticker)
Aquila Fine China New Zealand (stamp)
Aquila Hand Dec.
Aquila Hand Decorated
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Aquila New Zealand (impressed, hand lettered)
Aquila NZ. Images courtesy Louise de Varga
BIC (on ballpoint pen holder)
Hand crafted in New Zealand
Hemara Ware. These Irish coffee mugs were made for a Dominion Breweries promotion. It is not known why some were marked with Hemara's name. [11]
Made in New Zealand Orzel Industries
Made in New Zealand 285ml
New Zealand (diagonal)
Orzel (cursive)
Orzel (impressed with shape numbers and letters)
Orzel (impressed)
Orzel (in star) Image courtesy Andrea Aldern-Smith
Orzel (with shape number)
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Orzel Industries (sticker)
Orzel Made in New Zealand (circular stamp) Image courtesy Miranda G
Orzel New Zealand (impressed)
Orzel New Zealand (on Rugby World ball)
Orzel Potteries Made in New Zealand
Shape number only (the same system was used on Manhattan ware)
Unmarked (flat unglazed base)
Unmarked (glazed base) Note that there are many, many unmarked pieces of Orzel, with wide variations in glaze and foot shape.
Unmarked (raffia glued on base). This is seen on various NZ-made lamp bases.
Unmarked, unglazed base showing fettling knife marks.
ORZEL INDUSTRIES TIMELINE[12]
The three Cameron Browns
The Brown family tree can be confusing because there are three Cameron Browns. Cam Senior and his wife Dorothy – both now deceased – are the parents of Cam Jnr. Cam Jnr and his wife Beverley have a son who is also named Cam.
From 1951-1968 the Brown family made pottery, mainly under various configurations of the Titian brand. Their Titian Pottery was bought out by Crown Lynn in 1968/1969.
1969 – the brand name Orzel was used for the first time when the Brown family began making pottery in their
basement at home in Papakura.
1972 – The Brown family established Orzel Industries in
Firth St in Drury
1978/79 – Chris Brown established his Hobby Ceramics
business alongside Orzel. He also ran a kiln business, Eagle Kilns.
1980s – Settlers Collection range released
Mid-1980s – Orzel had about 40 staff. Peak production. Selling to The Warehouse chain and Deka.
1985/86 Chris Brown sold his Hobby Ceramics business
1989 – Crown Lynn closed and other sources of materials had
to be found. Terracotta ware then became popular.
1994 Dorothy Brown died and the family attempted to sell the
business. The sale fell through.
1997 Chris Brown left the family business and moved out of Auckland. Eagle Kilns and Hobby Ceramics had both faded by this time.
late 1990s (??? have we got a specific year when this happened?) Cam Jnr fell ill, the Drury factory was vacated
and the family downsized to their home-based Sherwood Potteries.
2002 Cameron Brown Snr died
ENDS
Ev Williams has also made a major contribution, personally and through her New Zealand Pottery website.
[2] Interview with Cameron and Beverley Brown,
page 10
[3] Gail
Henry, New Zealand Pottery Commercial and Collectable (Reed, 1985, 1999) Pg 148
[5]
Dates from Gail Henry, New Zealand Pottery Commercial and Collectable (Reed,
1985, 1999) Pg 160
[6]
Interview with Hemara and Frances Hemara, November 2013
[7] https://www.newzealandpottery.net/t10081-teri-thermic-ware-ceramic-microwave-browning-dish
[8]
Beverly Brown Facebook note
[9] https://www.newzealandpottery.net/t663-aquila-boy-and-girl-figurines
[10]
Wikipedia “Cobb & Co. (restaurant)”
[11] Interview
with Cameron and Beverley Brown, page 19
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