I have to admit that many Sascha Brastoff creations have taken some getting used to for me. It’s not so much that they’re over the top - I just think that the over-use of gold and silver metallic finishing on a majority of his items is just something I’m not as into. As far as design goes though, he was one of the brightest lights in California pottery in the 1950s and 1960s, endlessly imitated by competitors and an innovator in many other types of media besides ceramics.

I’ve mostly found Brastoff ashtrays and orphan pieces of Surf Ballet dinnerware. After the initial novelty of finding his items, I’ve sort of passed on the majority of any further finds in those lines. However, there are several lines which I wouldn’t mind owning, one of which is the Abstract Originals line (one of the ashtrays shown in my photo, I believe). This line is a bit more subdued in my opinion, and doesn’t contain any metal glaze to my knowledge.

I’m not sure which line (if any) the blue-green on gold patterned ashtray is from. I actually like the pattern quite a bit, but it’s just there’s so much gold! I’ve another ashtray that is actually a gold pattern ON gold. This stuff seems to have come back into fashion, with the resurgence of mid-mod design.

I’ve had these pieces in my room for several years now but recently decided to put them back into storage for a time. However, I realized that I never put together a gallery for Brastoff on this site. So I decided to take some photos before they go into hibernation for a bit.