This 1922 Hotpoint range, made by the Edison Electric Company is typical of the period. The company was formed by a merger of the Hughes Electric Heating Company, Hotpoint Electric Heating Company and the heating device section of General Electric in 1918, in order to produce products under the Hotpoint brand name. The first range, Model 1, was produced in 1919. The Hughes Company was founded in 1910 by George A. Hughes, who introduced the first "electric cook stove" that year (see another topic). Hughes became the first president of the newly-formed Edison Electric Company in 1918. The Hotpoint Company was formed in 1912, based on the popularity of the "hot point" on an iron marketed in 1905 by Earl Richardson (see another topic). In 1907, the iron formally was marketed as the Hotpoint Iron. Up until 1922, all electric ranges were in black, brown or both. The Edison Electric Appliance Company model shown here, you will notice, did have a white oven door nameplate, a simple flat porcelain enamel sheet, probably to dramatize the new name. But this year, Edison Electric received an order from a Raleigh, NC utility executive for an all- white, porcelain stove. Rather than admit that such a stove was not being produced, Edison quoted an exorbitantly high price to discourage him. Upon receiving an order anyway, they felt obligated to develop a new annealing process to apply the enamel on the entire stove. Thus it was that 1923 Hotpoint models included all-white ranges with nickel trim on the door, and thereafter, white became widely accepted in the industry for ranges, dominating until the 1960s. In 1931, the Edison Electric Appliance Company became the Edison General Electric Company, and in 1934, General Electric and Hotpoint brand production was integrated, retaining both brand names, by that time, in refrigerators, as well. In 1935, Raymond C. Sandin joined the Hotpoint division of general Electric as a one-man design department.

OXO International—founded in 1989 by Sam Farber—introduced Good Grips kitchen utensils, with oversized, ergonomic handles. This new line was designed by Davin Stowell, IDSA, Dan Formosa, IDSA, Tucker Viemeister, FIDSA, Michael Callahan, IDSA, Steve Russak, IDSA and Steve Allendorf, IDSA of Smart Design, and Sam Farber, Betsy Farber and John Farber of OXO. The line was an instant success. In 2000, IDSA named it a “Design of the Decade.” In 2003, IDSA honored Sam Farber for his lifetime commitment to design in founding a number of successful houseware companies, including Copco in 1960, OXO in 1990 and WOVO in 2003. The Good Grips line continued to expand and was recognized as an outstanding example of universal design, or inclusive design, providing improved gripping for elderly or handicapped individuals, as well as for all users. Each product in the range is readily identifiable as belonging to the Good Grips brand and OXO has been successful in cultivating a sense of brand loyalty. Since the first 20 Good Grips products debuted in 1990, nearly 100 products have been introduced. The growth of the company has been equally rapid. From an initial turnover of $3 million in 1991, its sales have grown by 50% each year since. The company attributes its success to understanding the consumer's needs and practicing user-centered design.

The Hughes Electric Heating Company was founded in Chicago by George A. Hughes (1871-1944), the founder of an electric light and power company in Fargo, ND. He introduced the first "electric cook stove" at the National Electric Light Association convention in St. Louis M0 in 1910. Hughes had been developing earlier crude test models since 1904. He began producing refined models in 1909 with three burners and an oven, after he sold his interest in the power company. This stove was the first to integrate ate burners and oven into a single, free-standing major appliance. Earlier "cooking tables" merely incorporated a series of electrical receptacles into which individual electric appliances could be plugged. General Electric introduced such a cooking table in 1905, which included a separate oven. By 1907, GE had a full line of heating and cooking appliances and in 1912, began production of its Model R-1 free standing range. In 1916, Hughes hired Bernice Lowen and Helen Aitken to establish a Home Economics Department, which set a precedent in the home appliance industry. In 1918 Hughes' company merged with the Hotpoint Electric Heating Company and the heating device section of General Electric to form the Edison Electric Appliance Company, and to produce Hotpoint brand name products. Hughes was its first president. Hotpoint was the name Earl H. Richardson gave in 1907 to an electric iron he introduced in 1905 which became the first commercially successful electric laundry iron. It concentrated heat at its point (easier to iron around buttons and pleats), was smaller and lighter than competitors, and was the first to feature a heel stand and a detachable cord. By 1912, the company, originally named the Pacific Electric Heating Company, was re-named as Hotpoint Electric Heating Company, and had a complete line of home appliances. The Hotpoint trademark was registered in 1914. The first Hotpoint electric range, Model 1, was produced in 1919.