Inside peek at my hoosier-style cabinet

I never actually got around to posting about completing my Primary bowl set. It's a sordid tale of spending too much money for individual pieces, then spending even more money on individual pieces because I lucked into some of the original T.M. Reg 1940's versions that are somewhat heavier, thicker, and have some color variation.

So, long story short, I have a complete set of 1940's older bowls, and I'm one 'modern' red bowl away from having an entire 1950's-and-beyond set. Honestly, I could have paid the typical antique store ransom price and had 1 bowl set, and that would have been the reasonable thing to do. But, the problem is, I'm not a reasonable person, lol!

I did not realize when I bought the lidless bundle of mostly primary refrigerator dishes back over the summer, how crazy it actually was to be purchasing most of 2 primary refrigerator dish sets in one fell swoop. I paid 23 dollars for 2 yellow & 1 orange (citrus daisy) large fridgies, 3 medium blues, and 3 reds. They were all taped together, so condition was a question mark. The large fridgies and reds have been through a dishwasher. They aren't awful, but they have lost some shine.

On the bottoms, they were marked in black permanent marker, one dollar for the large & medium, 50 cents for the small. They obviously came from a thrift store or yard sale. I'm supposing the seller thought a markup from 8 bucks to 23 was good enough profit, especially since they didn't have lids.

This bundle has been both blessing and curse. I've seen many a single primary fridgie for more money than I'd ever pay, but starting off with so many with no lids, I'm constantly on the hunt for them. I've found two lids since, and I've bought a few more pieces that I lid-hop around. I have enough now that I've 'retired' the older style lids with the pieces they belong to & use them for display, and have one of each size to use regularly. These are brilliant for holding leftovers, and I was happy to add in another small way that my food does not come into contact with plastic. (My feelings towards plastics are another rant for another day. I have flour in Tupperware canisters as we speak. To me, it's less about trusting or distrusting plastic and more about genuinely questioning something that is so pervasive, it's almost impossible to avoid.)

The other two pieces, both pottery, are an unmarked teapot I've since found out was made by Cronin, and a Hall for Westinghouse refrigerator dish. The Hall piece has a humdinger of a chunk chipped out from the inside of the lid, but it was also a bargain at 3 dollars. It still displays beautifully.

And it is probably ill-advised to admit to this, but it had a horrible metal ring-shaped stain on the top that would not soak or Magic Eraser out of it. I hit it with Bar Keepers Friend and it took it right out without doing any apparent damage to the piece or color. Once again, this is not *advice*. This is merely a *rambling recollection* from a girl who is willing to potentially damage a piece in order to *potentially* improve it.

How's that for a disclaimer? ;-)

And also, this is the inside of my very-much-unrestored Marsh hoosier-style cabinet. On one hand, I'm eager to (hopefully!) return it to it's former glory. But on the other hand, what isn't showing in this picture is the horrible-looking black chewing gum stuck on the insides of the cabinet. This horrible black gum actually makes me kinda sad. My mom told me stories of 'saving' her gum in funny places when she was kid (the bedpost idea wasn't just a song!) so she could chew it again later. When the day comes that I have to remove it to sand and paint, I will probably have to try to convince myself that it was just a gross adult who did it, lol.

Tickled Pink

Pink & turquoise blue are my favorite colors for vintage kitchen wares. These two colors were quite popular in the 1950's - which also seems to be my favorite era. I can just see my grandmother as a young woman in her late 20's - 30's, and my mom as a little girl, romping around the kitchen, clutching her "Tiny Tears" doll.

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.

1950's Vintage Love

Yellow Cronin teapot I mentioned in my last post. From what I saw, the yellow is less common than the blue (but they are both perfectly lovely in my opinion). This dates to the 50's and was an A&P grocery store premium.

This pattern also coordinates with DRU Holland enameled cast iron from the same period. I've been wanting to try enameled cast iron but am gollywhopped by the price. This may end up being another thing were the vintage alternative is actually better (and cheaper even!) than the current. *ahem*cough*LeCreuset*holymoly*cough*

Two early Pyrex patterns also dating to the 1950's: Pink Gooseberry & Sandalwood.

Pyrex dinnerware in Dove Grey. Cream & sugar in Regency/Forest Green. The cream & sugar are the only pieces I have in this color. They are gold rimmed and I'm trying to collect pieces without it. But they were 4 dollars at an antique store, so I could not resist.
And finally, all the rest of my Pyrex dinnerware. Flamingo pink. 4 of these saucers have the mark in-mold and are a slightly different color. I suspect these could actually be a part of the restaurant ware line. The color name is Coral. I don't know how to find out for sure other than post these to Pyrexlove on flickr and see if I get any feedback from the restaurant ware collectors.

The casseroles above are Blue Stripe/Blue Barcode & the green is called Square Flowers. I got the two smallest pink gooseberry fridge dishes and the two blue barcode casseroles the same day, same place for 15 dollars. On a different day, I got 5 of the Flamingo plates and the cream & sugar set for 15 dollars as well. The funny thing is, it's this crazy little store that mostly specializes in comics, cards, toys and general fanboy fare. But the guy who runs it always has at least a tables worth of Pyrex, Fire King and other vintage glassware. A real his-and-hers kind of place if you are into vintage glassware. Definitely a one of a kind place to shop, and reasonable prices to boot.