Recently I heard more of the Stage Artware story from Wayne and Brenda Manion, who started the company in the early 1980s.
They later sold to Maureen and Dennis O’Brien who owned it for several years before Beverley White took over. I have written about Beverley White here. There was at least one owner after Beverley but I haven't found out who that was.
Wayne Manion had an interest in ceramics from a very young age. After leaving school he worked with the Salisbury family at Royal Oak Pottery for several years. By this time he had met his future wife Brenda (aka Ben), and they married in 1978. For a while they lived with Brenda’s parents, making oven-baked Fimo jewellery at night to fund a house deposit.
They already had dreams of setting up their own pottery. At their new house, they built a large garage with three-phase electricity to power a kiln. The very first pieces of Stage Artware were made in that garage, but soon they needed to move to larger premises. Wayne and Brenda moved Stage Artware to a vast space in the International Markets building in Queen St, Auckland.
That first workspace had very little public profile, so they moved to a smaller factory in central Auckland, across the road from the Auckland Art Gallery. At the new location there was more foot traffic and a community of university students and other ‘alternative’ young people. By now, Wayne and Brenda had a small daughter Rowena, who attended kindergarten at Myers Park and spent the rest of her time at the factory where friends and family kept her safe and entertained.
Above: at work at Stage Artware in central Auckland. Image courtesy Wayne and Brenda ManionWayne and Brenda remember this as a very busy, happy time. They enjoyed working in central Auckland and the business was expanding – they built two new kilns to keep up with production. They describe themselves as ‘alternative’ – they listened to Student Radio BFM and a 1980s photo shows them in stylish hairdos and black outfits. In the 1970s, most New Zealanders used rounded hand-thrown mugs in various shades of brown. Stage Artware was one of the pioneers of a completely new look with plain colours, clean lines and sharp angular shapes. The deco mug was the most successful product. It featured in the lunchroom on the Shortland Street TV series and was used in many Auckland houses and flats. Stage Artware also made teapots, bowls, vases and other domestic ware. None of their work from this period is marked in any way.
Above: the Stage Artware ‘deco mug’ was designed by Wayne Manion. Image courtesy Wayne Manion.
Wayne and Brenda had very strong ideas about clean-lined minimalist shapes. All their work at Stage was decorated in plain glazes. They made a deliberate decision not to decorate their ware with brushwork; the shape spoke for itself. The hand-brushed decorations on Stage Artware were developed by future owners.
After a few years Wayne and Brenda were ready to move on, and they sold their business and took a bit of time off from ceramics. Then they once again started making pottery in their home garage – and so began DaDa Productions. After a time DaDa outgrew the home garage and was moved to commercial premises in Birkenhead. Wayne and Brenda describe this period as a refinement of their work at Stage. They wanted a fresh start with new shapes in even sharper, cleaner lines.
Along with selling nationwide to New Zealand design stores, much of their production was sold overseas by Wellington exporter Ian I Ordaway. Today, they feel they could have sold more in cosmopolitan cities like Los Angeles where there would have been a bigger market for their bold style. The biggest seller at DaDa was the ‘triangle mug’ in two sizes, with a distinctive triangular handle with a finger- hole in it. They came in several colours including black, white and cranberry. The handle and bowl of the mug were cast separately and joined together before glazing and firing. For the second time, Wayne Manion’s design featured on a New Zealand television show – presenters for the TVNZ arts show Weekend drank coffee from DaDa Triangle mugs.
Above: the DaDa triangle mug – larger size. Image courtesy Wayne Manion.
Above the smaller DaDa Triangle mug with matching teapot. Image courtesy Wayne Manion.
Other products included deco-style lamp bases and vases (below), cylinder vases in three sizes and ashtrays and bowls in various shapes and sizes.
Above: vases by DaDa Productions. These came in various colours. The same shapes were also made into lamp bases. Images courtesy Wayne Manion.
A popular range of ‘Beach Ball’ vases (below) were placed on a revolving stand and spray-painted in bands of pastel colours. They were made in two sizes.
Above: DaDa ‘Beach Ball’ vase – made in two sizes and in various colour combinations. Image courtesy Wayne Manion.
Unfortunately, like Stage Artware, the vast majority of DaDa products were unmarked. There are a few terracotta planters with DaDa Productions on the base, but that’s about all.
DaDa was a successful pottery until the Rogernomics economic reforms in the late 1980s allowed a flood of cheap imports into New Zealand. When was clear that DaDa Ceramics was no longer viable, Wayne and Brenda sold the larger moulds and shapes to Kermiko Potteries. They retained the rights to their Triangle mugs. They then set up another business, DaDa Clothing, making and selling streetwear and casual clothes for the tourism shops – mainly t-shirts and sweatshirts. All were professionally made in New Zealand. Through the years Wayne and Brenda have had several other small businesses, including craft shops and a photograph sales business.
For more photos - see link here - On the New Zealand Pottery website, I have posted all the photos that were given to me by Wayne and Brenda Manion. If you are not a member of NZ Pottery website, you will need to join. This is a simple process and well worth it.
TIMELINE
1972 – Wayne began work at Royal Oak Pottery
1978 – Wayne and Brenda married
1979 – Daughter Rowena was born
1981/1982 – Stage Artware established
1984 – Stage Artware sold
1985 – DaDa Productions established.
IDENTIFYING STAGE ARTWARE AND DADA PRODUCTIONS.
Very few pieces of Wayne and Brenda Manion's early Stage Artware and DaDa ceramics are marked in any way. A few terracotta planters have DaDa productions inscribed on the base - see below. (Image Valerie Monk)
ENDS
Sources: this article was compiled after an interview with Wayne and Brenda Manion at their home in Auckland. There was also an initial phone interview and a few follow-up emails and phone conversations. All images in this post are courtesy Wayne and Brenda Manion.
