Andersen Design is an American Designer Craftsmen Studio established in 1952 on Southport Island, Maine, USA by Weston and Brenda Andersen.

Brenda Nash was raised in London. Brenda’s family was poor but she was sent on scholarship to the Royal College of Art. She was working for a photographer when she met a young American soldier, Weston, at a ballroom dance, and together they popped into a bomb shelter during an air raid on the way home.

After the war the couple returned to New York where Weston resumed his college education at Pratt Institute where he learned slip casting under Eva Zeisel, and they became close colleges as well as student and teacher.

The couple was part of the young New York designer’s movement of the 1950’s. Weston and Brenda took the road less travelled when they moved to Maine and set up their own slip-casting studio, leaving behind their urban peers who were designing for large companies which outsourced production. Andersen Design was started with the idealist vision of creating a hand made product affordable to the middle class. It was the age of plastics when the American middle class was in its fullest bloom.

Brenda developed many prototype decorative approaches to decorating the forms designed by Weston. This vase is a prototype design developed and executed by Brenda in the 1980’s. It is a rare color pallet in greens and yellows. Few were produced in this combination. Brenda developed patterns which could be executed by others with the intent that each artist brings their own unique hand to bear. Her hand is lyrical, confident and free flowing spontaneity. This pattern is called the Birch Tree Pattern.

The signature is a hand brushed AD in brown decorating color.

The Oval column vase was designed by Weston. We call it the 49 Vase because that is the number it was given. It is slip cast in white stone ware and is 9 inches tall. The form is a flattened oval cylinder. Weston also designed the decorating colors and glaze

Everything Andersen Design makes begins with the raw materials of the earth and is hand-made in the USA.