Vintage Couroc of Monterey “Sip” Tray

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Black resin tray by The Couroc Company of Monterey made with inlaid wood spelling out SIP and listing various spirits … Read more Black resin tray by The Couroc Company of Monterey made with inlaid wood spelling out SIP and listing various spirits like Vodka, Rum, Rye, Gin, Bourbon and Scotch.

Starting in 1948 Couroc trays and barware were produced for more than 40 years by highly skilled artisans in Monterey, California. Due to a unique process of hand-inlaying natural materials and fusing them into phenolic resin, no two Couroc pieces are exactly alike.

Couroc's founder, Guthrie Courvoisier, worked with a variety of plastics while working in the war effort during WWII. He used his experience and developed a proprietary formula of phenolic resin material that was not only durable enough to form into trays but was also impervious to alcohol and flames. Courvoisier's wife, Moira Wallace, acted as Couroc's chief designer and led an art commune of skilled artisans in arranging an array of local items into Couroc's resin pieces.

Couroc's products were very popular and sold in high-end department stores. Alongside its whimsical designs, the company's saying for its trays stated that "Any tray can serve a drink. Only Couroc can start a conversation." The company closed in the early 1990 See less