Unfortunately (for my wallet!) many, many other collectors are just as in love with this same era! And sometimes, I suspect a generation battle is occurring. My mom, a baby boomer, grew up with these items and decor, and I'm sure there is a nostalgia factor to it. Me, on the other hand, grew up in the 70's and 80's, where the color palette of "my generation" could probably only be described as 70's autumnal or 80's crazy neon. And neon did not seem to catch on as a kitchen phenomenon. What we got instead seems to me to be a powdery, country colors. Rose pinks, country blues, ducks, stuff like that.
So, as for collecting, I think the boomers are buying up nostalgia they experienced in their lifetimes, and the Gen X and Gen Y kids are, well, jealous. (My apologies to all 3 generations here for the tongue-in-cheek generalizations! ;-)
As an X'er, I have yet to embrace the 70's dingy of my childhood. Perhaps one day I will truly embrace Av0cado green (which my mom jokingly pronounces ah-vah-kah-doo), burnt orange, or 80's mauve pink, or country blue with little duckies on it.
But right now, I'll be honest: I covet pinks, turquoise, yellow, accents of reds and greens. Pastels and Primaries in lovely harmony. I covet 1950's, when my grandparents were approximately the same age as I am now.
And by far, the most expensive vintage fancy I have is Pyrex. Pinks, turquoise and Primary sets are some of the most expensive Pyrex available today (IF and WHEN available). And the thing is, Pyrex is still one of the least expensive options. Help my soul if I was actively collecting Fire King, Hazel Atlas, or McKee from this same era. (I passively collect these items, gladly, on the rare occasion they turn up at a thrift store. I tend to draw the line at picking them up at antique stores, mostly owing to the prices).
So in 8 months of collecting, and visiting very local antique stores, I had never even seen a piece of pink Pyrex for sale. Disclosure here: I live in the South, where prices are reportedly higher than in other areas of the country. (I've experienced this!!!) Also, what I mean by pink, is the light pink - not the darker flamingo shade, which I have seen and bought before.
My only two pieces of light pink were the two smallest Gooseberry refrigerator dishes, found at an odd little collectibles shop that specializes in cards, toys & comics. But of the dozen antique stores in a 25 mile or so radius, not one single piece of pink Pyrex - at any price!
So yesterday we ventured about an hour out of town, to a small antique district, where I found my first pink pieces. I also broke my own record for most money spent on a single piece. Not exactly something I'm proud of, mind you. But it was necessary in order to come home with these:
So there we have it! Every single piece of pink I own. From top to bottom: Pink Gooseberry, pink Daisy space saver 1 1/4 quart casserole, and Pink Scroll 2 quart space saver casserole.
The pink daisy was 10 dollars, and I was very happy to get it at that price. When I got home with it, I noticed the lid was priced separately! $6.50 for a lid?! But neither I, nor the cashier noticed this, so I got it for the 10 bucks I thought I was paying!
But the pink Scroll is my most expensive piece. It was $25 bucks. I'm pr etty sure most of my family and friends will think I am crazy. And I almost didn't buy it because, honestly, 15 dollars is about my limit.
But, this same piece just recently sold on ebay, mint in carrier for over $ 153 dollars. And no, I'm not kidding.
Funny thing is, I got a carrier the same day. $12 bucks for this Embroidery promotional space saver:
What an UN-fabulous backdrop, lol. My very much un-renovated kitchen with its wood paneling and my very much un-restored hoosier-style cabinet. Ah, future projects...
And while my pink Scroll is not the minty-fresh example that sold for 153 bucks on ebay (!!!!), I do have an original carrier to put it in, so I'm tickled pink with my most expensive Pyrex purchase.
No comments:
Post a Comment