The Dishmaster got a nice write-up in the the April 2009 issue of Desert Living Magazine. The article also includes a nice mention of the blog and our community. Phoenix-area readers, be sure to pick up a copy.

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Wanna buy a Dishmaster? Go straight to the manufacturer at dishmaster-faucet.com. They also list other retailers on their site.

Yes,  after selling Dishmaster online here for a while, I’ve decided to stop so that I continue to pour all my time into researching, writing and growing the blog. Online selling has a lot of moving parts, I discovered.  I love this product as much as ever – along with the great folks at manufacturer SilverStream LLC. For sure, I’ll continue to follow the progress of this great little Indiana company as it continues Dishmaster sales into the 60th year.

The photo above: Comes from readers Ken & Kelly. Kelly got a Dishmaster for Christmas. Isn’t it – and their window vignette – pretty? See – dishwashing can be fun!

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From Dishmaster factory, Mitchell, Indiana

As part of my trip to Louisville last week, I visited the home of the Dishmaster – a fun road trip to Mitchell, Indiana.

From Dishmaster factory, Mitchell, Indiana

Roger Swayer, owner of the company that makes this wonderful authentic retro kitchen faucet, gave my mom Fran and me a tour, told us how he ended up the caretaker of this amazing brand, and then took us for wonderful lunch at the nearby Spring Mill Inn, where we also met his wife Millie.

From Dishmaster factory, Mitchell, Indiana

From Dishmaster factory, Mitchell, Indiana

The factory is a small operation – with lots of personal attention to the production of each Dishmaster faucet. There are six employees in this subsidiary of the business – including Sharon, above.

From Dishmaster factory, Mitchell, Indiana

Nearby, Sam was fabricating Dishmaster brushes – on a machine that has been in continuous use since 1948! Roger and Sam explain that it can be finicky, especially after the lunch break – but it gets the job done just as good as ever once it gets going.

From Dishmaster factory, Mitchell, Indiana

The steps to make the Dishmaster are mapped out on the wall. Every single unit is quality-tested by an employee.

From Dishmaster factory, Mitchell, Indiana

How did Roger and SilverStream LLC end up with the Dishmaster? Roger explained that the Dishmaster got its start in Pontiac, Michigan. The inventor/owner also had a place in Southern California. So the faucet was successfully marketed in those locations, in particular. Then, as Dishmaster owners – who are exceedingly loyal – retired to Florida, Arizona and Nevada, they took the faucets with them, literally and figuratively. The early models, Roger points out, look like Studebakers, and you can still see the Michigan/automotive influence in the M76  models today.

From Dishmaster factory, Mitchell, Indiana

Roger’s company SilverStream LLC acquired the original Dishmaster company in 2004, after seeing it advertised for sale in a trade publication. SilverStream had previously manufactured and sold bathroom fixtures – under the brand name Indiana Brass Co. – but they eventually had to exit the business as the mainstream fixture market moved to Asia. They had been looking for something unique to fill the gap – and are seeking to give the Dishmaster brand a whole new lease on life.

From Dishmaster factory, Mitchell, Indiana

At the end of the tour, Roger even showed me all these mint-in-box, new-old-stock Dishmaster faceplates from history, bought up with the factory and tooling four years ago. Guess what I came home with.

• Want to buy American?
• Want authentic retro?
• Want to save water, detergent and energy?
• Want to make after-dinner clean up fun?
• You know where to get a Dishmaster of your very own!

Thanks so much to Roger, Millie – and Ronda, my key contact at SilverStream LLC – for their exceedingly kind southern hospitality!!!

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From Mid mod Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky

Over the past year of blogging, I’ve decided (and henceforth declare) that the true epicenters of main street middle class mid century modern are: Columbus, Ohio, and Rochester, N.Y.

Last week I got a little closer to the source when I visited family in Louisville. I filled the week not only with nephews, nieces, enchilada dinners and just plain visitin’, but also with some serious retro renovation recon.

That’s me with Sumac Sue, aka Judi!  I’ll be reporting on the visit starting this week — with some breaks for reader questions/spotlights — including:

From Mid mod Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky

• My visit with Sumac Sue: Judi is one of the original retro renovation readers so I had to visit! She boldly knocked on doors and got us invited into three neighbors’ homes for some serious retro recon. My little sister Jenni joined us!

From Mid mod Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky

• Cindy’s pink bathroom: Cindy has a time capsule pink bathroom. She is an eclectic, artsy decorator – and her bathroom is a delightful mash-up of retro, girly, bohemian, Victorian and even Hello Kitty….

From Mid mod Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky

• Amy and Gary’s aqua bathrooms: “You can have them. Today.” That was Amy’s response when we cooed over her two time capsule bathrooms filled with aqua tile and fixtures. By the end of our blitzkrieg, she agreed to put the bathrooms in front of readers for suggestions on how she might keep the retro fixtures yet still update or decorate the bathrooms for resale. Readers – we have a chance for an intervention this week!

From Mid mod Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky

• Mr. Bartlett’s 1954 time capsule: Original kitchen, den, sofa and draperies, bathrooms. 70s wallpaper. Heaven. That’s Jenni on the right.

From Mid mod Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky

• Antiquing in Louisville: 5 floors of antiques at the Louisville Antique Mall and a mid mod treasure trove down the street on Barrett Ave. I’m developing a true lust for Outrageous Oriental!

From Mid mod Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky

• Huckleberry’s Chair Fetish in Lexington: Earlene Huckleberry is a life coach who got bit by the retro bug just one year ago – and she’s now in full fever just like us! Her shop in the Chevy Chase neighborhood of Lexington is tons of fun.

From Mid mod Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky

• And a visit to the home of the Dishmaster in Mitchell, Indiana: Can you believe that the home of the Dishmaster in Mitchell, Indiana, is just one hour away from my mom’s house atop Hog Waller, Kentucky? Pam and Fran take a road trip!!!

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Dishmaster kitchen faucets are not only stylish — they are functional, too. In the postwar era, there was a Gadget Revolution, with an explosion of labor saving devicies for the kitchen, in particular. The Dishmaster fit right into that mold, promising to make a tedious task easier on your hands and enjoyable, even.

Ronda handles customer service at Silver Stream, which manufactures the Dishmaster today. And she underscores, that when the girls clean up at her house after Thanksgiving — everyone fights over who gets to use the Dishmaster. Now, doesn’t that sound fun?

With Christmas around the corner – consider Dishmasters for gifts for friends, family, “the house” — anyone moving into a new/old house or with a retro renovation kitchen project under way.

For sale at dishmaster-faucet.com.

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Dishmaster was founded in 1948 – in the wake of World War II and during a period of massive American economic expansion. Before the war, most Americans lived on farms or in crowded cities. The country had suffered through nearly 20 years of deprivation, first from the Great Depression and then the war.

It’s hard to imagine today, but until 1946 the concept of a “fitted kitchen” full of matching cabinets and all the gizmo’s to go with them was a foreign – or at least unreachable – one to most Americans. During the war, technology rose to meet our fighting needs. After the war, we turned that know-how to building up our country. And that started first and foremost with new homes — and inside of them, with the American Dream Kitchen.

The Dishmaster is a very typical invention of the time. Automatic dishwashers were around – but were still quite rare in domestic environments. In many farm kitchens, you can imagine a Dishmaster being added to the new steel Youngstown sink base with its porcelain drainboard. In a new suburban kitchen, the atomic styling was mirrored in the headlights of the ‘48 Ford – another famous ‘48 model!

Dishmasters started in Pontiac, Mich. Gerity was a merchandising partner in the early years.

Today, the brand and tooling are owned by SilverStream LLC, which manufacturer the Dishmaster in Mitchell, Indiana, and offers it for sale online and through various retailers. Another great icon – saved! Thank you, Silver Stream!

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Yes – you can still buy this terrific retro kitchen faucet, which is made in America.

Dishmaster advertising is terrific – so I’ll be featuring it all week in celebration of the sales launch. How about this beauty from 1955? He reminds me of Don Draper from Mad Men.

And – did you know – that today’s Dishmaster M76 model can also mount on the wall – just like in the most recent Indiana Jones movie.

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Can you believe – they still make the Dishmaster! It’s available from the manufacturer — at dishmaster-faucet.com — and also at other retailers.

I love this product and its authentic retro style.

Make a happy mess in your kitchen – then have some more fun cleaning up. Yes – this faucet makes washing the dishes fun via the “Push Button Dishwashing” action of the special aerator brush wand – which dispenses soapy sudsy water and rinses clean, too. Feel good about use of precious resources as well: The Dishmaster can conserve water, energy and detergent when used in place of an automatic dishwasher. And, it’s Made in America, by a small company right in Indiana that literally came to the rescue to save the brand! Thank you, Silver Stream LLC!

In this economy, who wants bling for Christmas? Get yourself a Dishmaster!

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