# Dinnerware for the American Way of Life by Edith Heath > “I wanted to make something that was for the American way of life, not the kind of dishes that were used in Europe among the aristocracy, but was much more peasant-oriented, and yet could be for Sunday best as well as for everyday use.” > **— Edith Heath**, *Oral history, Regional Oral History Office, University of California, Berkeley, 1990* ## Sources and Context - **Primary transcript:** [Tableware and Tile for the World: Heath Ceramics, 1944–1994 (1995) — Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/tablewaretile00heatrich) — oral history conducted by Rosalie Ross for the Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library. Interview 4, May 27, 1990, near page 138: Heath explains to Ross why she left the potters’ association to produce tableware at scale, describing a market divided between cheap throwaways and a “china look that came from Europe.” - **Editorial note:** The opening word “And” was dropped so the poster begins with the sentence’s subject; the remaining words are exact. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Collection:** [[collections/American|American Collection]] - **American route:** [[american/American Aesthetic - Interior Design and Space Composition|Interior Design and Space Composition]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/American Material Culture|American Material Culture]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “I wanted to make something that was for the American way of life, not the kind of dishes that were used in Europe among the aristocracy, but was much more peasant-oriented, and yet could be for Sunday best as well as for everyday use.” — Edith Heath, Oral history, Regional Oral History Office, University of California, Berkeley, 1990 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-edith-heath-american-way-of-life ```