Dish and vinyl roundup

Wouldn'tcha know it, I finally have some finds to post about and my camera batteries decide to die after two pictures? (I still haven't updated to this millennium with all the cellular phones and pixel cameras and whatnots.)

 

 Other than the bargain ivory Fiesta teacup, the Pyrex pieces were both splurges and duplicates, but having used the Butterprint butterdish for a while, I've got to say, having butterfingers is no joke. I've come close to dropping it enough times that I'd switched it out for the Snowflake blue one I had two of in case I really did break it. Now I can switch it back to Butterprint with impunity.

I also picked up a large round red edged enamelware bowl with just enough wear and damage that I can use it in the garden without feeling like I'm messing it up. I like enamelware, and I've seen many nice pieces of it pop up recently, but with prices that seem like a collector trying to cash out of a long-held collection.

Frankly, I'm too broke for that. Right now what I will buy is cute, cheap and useful. I hope this year I get to go yardsaleing and find some cheap and cheerful pieces!

And not dishes, or even thrift store finds, the local used bookstore yielded more surprisingly good records for decent prices. (And free, really, because we were still using a Christmas giftcard, so all the better!)

Cure vinyl! Squeee. These are the original issues from 1980-81. Makes me wonder if someone bought the 180 gram reissues and decided to trade in their originals.

And in the total opposite end, my husband found a Jane Fonda workout record for me for 50 cents in the local antique store. My favorite workout, too - Prime Time (also known as Easy Going). Lots of times I just use it for the 20 minutes of stretching before it goes into the aerobics. I still get my heart rate up just doing the stretching. I haven't listened to the record yet, but it it's like the video, I can probably do all the stretches by heart now.

I also loaded up with collectors books I didn't get a picture of. An early Huxford's Fiesta book, kitchen bakelite, Depression glass and kitchen glass collectibles. All for less than ten bucks trade credit, so I was a happy girl. One thing I've noticed about the collectors books is that it really can pay off to have each edition made, even if its up to edition 10 because the authors add and remove information in each edition. I've especially noticed that earlier editions tend to have more original advertising and dealer catalogs, whereas newer editions tend to add more and more patterns with less details about them.

Anyways, that's my finds for now. Hope you're finding neat stuff!

Happy Thrifting!

Lucky Day

Seriously, yesterday was my lucky day.

At my first stop, I picked up this poor lidless LuRay pitcher from one of my favorite flea market vendors. It's the first piece I've added to my inadvertent collection I bought all at once as a boxed lot. I joke that me finding good deals is like the 50 cents that will make me spend 50 dollars, because I'm downright compulsive about putting sets together once I find a bit of something I like. I don't just want a piece or two, I want ever color they came in!

But that was just the beginning of the day. Next find was this dreamy turquoise canister set

I'll be honest, they have numerous cosmetic issues. The coffee canister is cracked, they are all stained and discolored even after a nice soak, and the lids are a marriage of two different sets (and I'm not entirely sure which ones are the right ones).

But I still love them. Completely and utterly smitten!

They are marked Cols. Plastic Products, which if I'm not mistaken, stand for Columbus Plastic Products of Columbus, Ohio, parent company of Lustro Ware.

Here I've taken a picture of the largest and smallest canisters from my new turquoise set with my marked red Lustro Ware canisters. Interestingly, each of the red canisters are one size larger than their turquoise counterparts.

Then at the next stop I found only my second new in box Pyrex!

I picked this up for the nice price of $15.00.

It looks like it's never been used. And even has the care booklet.

Quote from the CARE section:

"PYREX (c) ovenware is dishwasher safe; however colors or decorations on the outside surface of the ovenware may fade with repeated washings."

This is the first acknowledgement I've seen from Corning that dishwashers can indeed fade a/o ruin the finish. (Which, unfortunately, all us collectors have witnessed firsthand in thrift and antique stores all over)

And a detail I never realized before. This 474 casserole since it was sold as a single is the darker shade of gold from this version (Butterfly Gold II). When the 474 was a part of the 3 piece set, it was the lighter yellow shade. Meaning there are 3 different Butterfly Gold 474 casseroles.

As my husband and I were heading home (with one last stop at Goodwill in mind), I was just saying how awesome today was. I found really neat things, but I stayed on budget and felt like I still had a little change in my pocket for next time. We stopped at GW, walked though all our areas of interest and were fixing to walk out empty-handed when a worker who was stocking the shelves rolled out with a new cartful of goodies. I couldn't believe my eyes.

A vintage forest green Fiesta coffee pot for 2.99.

And it cleaned up perfectly. Absolutely mint. And probably the most flawless piece of Fiesta I have.

I am truly amazed. The coffee server and mixing bowls are my absolute favorite pieces of vintage Fiesta. This is my third coffee pot, and amazingly enough, the second one that's come from a Goodwill. My other is a yellow with a broken finial I picked up for 5.99.

Such an awesome day, with fabulous treasures!

Hope you are finding splendid treats and fabulous goodies!

Happy Thrifting!

Surprise antiquing

The goodies

Yesterday hubs & I treated ourselves to a shopping trip that we usually only go on once or twice a year. Last time we'd been in the area was on my birthday. This time there wasn't any particular reason to go, except we had some Christmas shopping in mind. I was just tired of all my usual places & high prices, and thought that if I was going to fork out some cash, I might as well spend it in an area with several large antique stores. Increase the odds. Usually, it's some occasion like birthday or anniversary, and we know in advance we're going, so we try to save up some extra money. But this time was completely spontaneous, no extra money to spend really, just our regular pocket change.

The irony was, I got a lot more for my money than I have been closer to home. I was happy to find some neat pieces for reasonable prices, I'm just sad that my immediate area is so high priced. And there's no real reason for it either, except for the fact that the stuff mostly is selling at these prices. I'm just not the one buying it, most of the time.

One last rant before I go on to the loot shoot: Yesterday I saw some Depression Glass Hoosier cabinet style jars that were actually in my price range. I didn't buy any of them because I would have blown through my budget in two pieces. But still, boy were they were tempting. There was a large green Hocking jar, sans lid, that I would have bought anyway, but it had a crack along the bottom I didn't see at first. About broke my heart.

I don't have a lot of Depression Era stuff for one simple reason: I can't afford it. What pieces I do have came to me via thrifts and auctions at well below retail or ebay prices. I love my Pyrex, but I am hitting a collector conundrum: Do I spend 15 dollars on my four hundredth piece of Pyrex or do I put five or ten more dollars with it and buy a single nice Depression Glass canister? If Pyrex prices continue to skyrocket and Depression Era pieces become more available, I think my choice will be clear.

Rant over, on to the loot!

A Moon Deco and a Zodiac in the same day! What are the odds? Neither one of these pieces came with lids or cradles, sadly. And unfortunately, I think with these specific pieces it's the bells & whistles they came with that kind of make them cool. But on the plus side, they were cheap, so I couldn't pass them by. The Zodiac was 5 bucks, and the Moon Deco was 8. I passed up a lidless Moon Deco for around the same price when I first started collecting. I thought it would bother me that I didn't have the lid for it, so I let it go. I thought it was funny that the same piece cycled back around at the exact same price as before. So I bought it. I think this time I can use it without being bothered that it doesn't have it's snazzy deco lid. Maybe I'll find one some day.

These were also antique store purchases, but it felt like I was at the thrift. This is pretty much the closest to opal Pyrex that I ever find these days. I spent 7 dollars between the two pieces, which is also on par with thrifts in my area.

Everything in this picture I bought because it was cheap, except the Snowflake Blue casserole. It completes my 480 casserole set. I rarely see Snowflake Blue in person. It ranks right up there with Friendship in terms of scarcity/desirability. I'll pay a premium for a piece I don't have. And like Friendship, I might just break down and finish my sets by buying online.

And finally, all I can say is, I'm not worthy.

Oh my stars

These are so special to me. It had never even crossed my mind that I'd ever own a single one of these Kromex canisters. I've only ever seen them online, in the collections of people who own all sorts of other-worldly-levels of beautiful things. It never crossed my mind that I'd even see them, much less own them, much less have paid 8 dollars for the set of 3.

8 dollars.

This set is missing the smallest Tea canister. And the Sugar canister is cracked, right in between the u and the g. And they have some fading & yellowing compared to the flawless pink color on the inside of the lid.

But all that is like, who in the world cares about that! It's pink Kromex! They are beeyooteeful. I've been considering replacing the Sears Chicken canisters that have been my photo backdrop since I began this blog.

I dunno. As much as I love these pink beauties, I'm sentimentally attached to my chickens. So they stay. I have no idea where I'm putting my pink beauties, but it needs to be somewhere where they can be seen but aren't subjected to direct sunlight. No more fading on the lids if I can help it.

Finding these amazing, unexpected surprises are why I usually don't buy online. I try to save my pennies for adventures like these. Last week I'd very nearly spent my fun money on a Pyrex set online, but ended up letting it go. 18 dollars for shipping was just too big of a killjoy to me. I would have enjoyed the set, I'm sure. But like I said to my husband, if I'd bought it, I wouldn't have had the money to spend yesterday. Things work out for a reason, I believe.

I hope you're finding fantastic treasures!

Happy Thrifting!

Surprise antiquing

This time yesterday I didn't even know the hubs and I were going to go anywhere today, much less to one of our favorite antique haunts that we normally don't visit but maybe twice a year.

There was definitely less Pyrex than in recent years. And it's pretty much been replaced by Corningware. And I'm a fan of Corningware for sure, it's just that on the whole, I'd rather be finding cool Pyrex pieces.

As you can see, two little petite pans found their way home with me. A mid 80's to 90's pattern, aptly named "Pastel Bouquet". At two dollars apiece, that's more what I consider thrift store prices than antique, so they're coming home with me.

The Pyrex bowl set, Woodland pattern, I couldn't pass up. It's really minty and was 20 bucks. Not a great price, but way cheaper than most Pyrex I was seeing. Woodland makes me want to mix up a batch of brownies or chocolate chip cookies. Maybe I like the pattern cause it makes me hungry? :-)

The two pieces of Butterprint made me happy. They came out of a 40% off booth, and I got them for less than 10 bucks total. No lid on the fridgie. The little round 471 is from the solid Butterprint set that is all turquoise on white. I'm still missing most of these somewhat less common versions. I saw the all turquoise on white cinderella bowl set today for an up-chucking price of $120 dollars and to add insult to injury, the largest bowl was chipped. Crazy dealers!

My Best Deal of the day was the Hazel Atlas Ripple plates. 5 of them for 15 bucks! WHOO-HOO!
For the longest, longest time I've had nothing but 1 pink plate and two pink saucers. Then I found the turquoise set, a minty service for 6, all in one fell swoop. Now I have 6 pink plates. Really cool. Love them all so much!

Here's my Fire King Stripes collection so far. I'm missing the larger two bowls - the matching pink & blue. So far, I've found everything fairly affordably, it's just very rare that I find Fire King at all these days. And it's pricey when I do.

And finally, I've had this oval casserole for a few months, but I didn't have the lid. I forked out 6 bucks, just for it. I felt like a shmuck, but at the same time, I know I would have been willing to buy the piece complete for the same amount I paid buying them separate. I saw a few Pyrex lids I would have been happy to have today, but they were all priced at 8-10 dollars each. I'll take my chances that I'll find a piece with a lid for not much more than that.

I was very pleased to get out of the house and get to the antique stores I don't get to go much. It was a nice surprise day out.

Hope you had a fantastic weekend!

Happy Treasure Hunting!

Birthday shopping extravaganza!

Sagaform teapot

My husband bought me this loverly new Sagaform teapot for my birthday. I'm not entirely sure how I discovered Sagaform, but I really like many of their designs. This one is appropriately called "Retro". Some of the others I like a lot are "Season" & "Blossom". This Scandinavian firm puts the name of the designer right on the dish, reminiscent to me of vintage designs by Eva Zeisel or Ben Seibel for firms such as Mikasa, Iroquois, Red Wing, etc.

But as usual, this birthday was all about the Pyrex.

Let me just say, Pyrex prices have just about doubled from when I first started collecting. And I'd say the supply is somewhere around half what it used to be too, even with blood-thirsty (and sometimes incredibly greedy) dealers in hot pursuit of it for their booths.

I paid an arm and a leg for the turquoise 402 bowl. But I was looking for that exact one to nest in between the smaller and larger bowls I already had. So that completes a 3 bowl set. I'd be very glad to find a large turquoise 404 bowl, but I'll live if I don't find one soon.

The big red 404 is only the second time I've ever spotted it. First time, I didn't buy it, because it was scratchy and they still wanted 30 bucks for it. This time, it was very shiny, only minimally scratched, and a much more tolerable 14 dollars.

The little blue completes a primary set. I won't even tell you how many primary sets I have. You'd put me away. I've sold one, and I'll probably sell another one or two when the mood strikes. But yeah, I'd say I have a problem, lol. Oh, and that big yellow 404 there, guess that's the beginning of a new set......;-)

And that poor pink. Maybe you can't tell, but it's dishwashed. Very, very dishwashed. But it was 4 bucks. I picked it up for my mom, who adores pink pyrex, but never steps foot in an antique store. She's a little rough on her dishes, and this is one I won't be too heartbroken if I see it being used as a cat dish.

And that plate is lilac Fiesta! My second one. I thought my first one was a way good deal at 10 bucks, but this one was the interesting price of $4.29. It's in similar shape too, it still looks good, but has totally been used, so in to regular rotation it goes. Yay!

 And again with the dishwashed bowls. That orange dot bowl should be a lot more orange. But it was appropriately priced at 5 bucks. It's a totally acceptable placeholder bowl for my set until I can find a nice, shiny one (which may or may not happen soon, with my luck). I still need the largest 404 green dots bowl. It's the big one, sold separately, that sells for a minor fortune on ebay. Yuck.

These are all duplicates for me. My husband say's I have "a sickness for Butterprint" - and yes, he actually uses the correct pattern name. I needed one little fridgie dish to complete *another* set, but there were these other two sitting right there. Just sitting there, saying "Buy me. You know you want to."

So, sickness it is.

Oh, and you know what else is sick? How about 200 dollars for 3 pink Pyrex bowls? The 3 smallest. Not even the somewhat harder to find 404. Remember what I just said about greedy, blood-thirsty dealers?

And sadly, this was the first time I'd seen those bowls in the wild in all this time. I think at that moment my husband was actually glad I'd broke down and bought them online.

Also saw my first two Cathrineholm items same day. Both "Lotus" pattern. A large tan mixing bowl for 45 dollars, and a Verde-colored coffee pot for 88. At those prices, I don't think any Cathrineholm is in my future. But I'd be all over it at the thrift store!

If I feel froggy, I'll make another post about the cool things my hubby found (and won't post about, because he's a LAME-O).

All in all, great birthday!

Hope you're finding cool treasures!

Another complete set

Yesterday the hubs and I hit up the local flea market, where I finally found the smallest bowl from this yellow & black version of "Gooseberry" Pyrex.

The largest three where a surprise Valentine's Day present two Valentine's Days ago and I've been hunting this smallest bowl ever since. Very glad to have it completed now!

And if you've ever wondered what I'm using in these photos to prop up the bowls, here's a snapshot:

Two of the smaller sized 5" Fiesta rice bowls (a Dillard's exclusive), and a Fiesta Bullion bowl/cup. I love Pyrex and Fiesta together!

And finally, my other finds of the day. This cream & burgundy "Trailing Flowers" Pyrex casserole is called a Bake 'N Carry. Originally, it came with a lid and a cloth cozy to keep the contents warm - and portable, too. There's another one of these that is smaller and the color scheme is exactly reversed.

This wasn't a pattern that was on my wishlist exactly, but at 6.50 it was in too nice of a piece to pass up.

The mixing bowl here is unmarked, but I'm certain it's Glasbake. I don't know an official name for this pattern, but I'm going to say "Blue Onion" because of its resemblance to so many china patterns of that same name and style. It was a thrift store find, 2.99. I don't love the pattern, but it's my very first Glasbake mixing bowl, so I'm happy to have it.

Hope you're finding thrifty treasures & treats!

More Fire King fakes

Reproduction Fire King C-handle mug.

Saw this guy here in an antique store in Georgia about a month ago. First time I had seen a completely fake Jadeite mug. Notice the handle. It has been made to look as close as possible to the increasingly pricey Fire King C-handle mugs. For a comparison of the real deal Fire King mugs, check out this excellent resource.

(Edit 8/18/2014: Here's a little wayback machine snapshot of the site that might help if my original link isn't working)

Forgive the less-than-ideal cellphone picture here. It's really really difficult to capture the differences between the fakes and the real stuff! But first clue here should be it's priced at $15.99. It was out in the open - more valuable jadeite items are typically behind a locked case. Perfect condition, including the bold black lettering with no wear.

Another thing to note with this reproduction Jadeite (or Fake-ite, as I've dubbed it) is that it does have some textural differences from the real Jadeite. New, reproduced jadite can be very glossy. Depending on the piece, it can look wet, almost like the glass is not 'set'. Items that are decalled or have lettering, the colors are crisp and perfect. Too perfect.

And to my knowledge, Fire King never made a Tom & Jerry mug in Jadeite. If that is the case, this item gets termed a "fantasy item", meaning one that never originally existed. What can make these items seem so realist is that they are frequently a combination of two different companies actual work.

This is my previous post about Fire King reproductions, namely decalled items such as mixing bowls, grease jars & shakers.

Happy Treasure Hunting!

Anniversary Swag!

This is my wonderful Anniversary loot! I love it.

First, I have to say, this is the least I've ever bought for the most amount of money. I'm so far out of my league buying Fire King that it is not even funny! However, in both mine and my husband's cases, we both love to collect certain items that are typically beyond our flinch-point, so we tried to budget it out in advance.

At first, some jadeite Fire King "Charm" luncheon plates were in the running for my splurge-tastic purchase, but when I saw this 4 quart FK Black Dots bowl, I knew the momentary love-affair with jadeite was doomed to be just a fling. It also didn't help that the booth owner just-so-happened to walk by when I was eye-ing his GORGEOUS bowl collection, and sweetened the pot with 25% off.

And in that same booth was an Apples & Cherries grease jar, fairly inexpensive because it was missing its lid. Cha-Ching! I had one at home that I had paid a whole quarter for, way before I knew what the heck it was!!! Mine.

The Pyrex "Sandalwood" mixing bowl is the very same one that I complained was too expensive the last time I went to this very antique store. This time, it was marked half price. Hooray! I really, really like this pattern, and the understated sandalwood color. It's not an especially popular pattern, but it's one of my very favorites. Just the smallest bowl left to find and I will have a complete mixing bowl set. Finally, the oval casserole is a 1957 promotional Pyrex pattern called "Black Tulip". I spotted it the last trip as well, and it was one I actually regretted leaving behind. This trip, my budget was already blown -just like the time before- so the hubs stepped up and said "I'm buying this for you. I know you wanted it last time, so I'm not letting you leave without it." Awwww!<3

I was sad to see that many of the same items I drooled over last time where still there. Overpricing at its worst. And of course, one of the things my husband liked last time, was one of the things that HAD sold. Poor guy!

BUT, right before we left, we stopped at a Goodwill close to our ATM. He doesn't usually have much luck finding specific things he wants at the thrift, but this time he did. So he had some good fortune there. I, on the other hand, was confronted with a sad, totally dishwashed Verde green Pyrex Cinderella bowl that was priced at an eye-burning $8.99. Come ON! If I wasn't about an hours drive from some actually NICE Pyrex, I would have cried a little & and then punched somebody. (Not really. But I like to have imaginary pity-parties for myself, Scrubs-style, lol)

Also, I'm going to interrupt my own swag-blog for a total digression: Same day, we hit up a big used book/game/etc. store. While browsing the records, someone's phone went off & their ringtone was the Scrubs theme song. Now, I LOVES me some Scrubs, but my husband and I just threw a look at each other and it took everything we had not to chuckle.

Good day, good swag, great anniversary!

Antique Stores: Friend or Foe?

Friend:
To me, antique stores are charming. Much like friends, booths have varied personalities. Some are quite tidy and organized, others are a casual jumble of happy colors. Some are so specialized that you can tell at a glance whether it's 'your kind of booth' or not. Other booths are so stacked, packed and knick-knacked that you fear even stepping foot in it, afraid that you will not just knock ONE thing over, but cause a tsunami of tchotchkes to tumble out every-which-where.

Digression: It's kinda funny I count these messy booths in the 'friend' category, but with some very careful & precarious, ballerina-like 'positioning', I have pulled out some of my very favorite treasures from these types of booths. I've come to think of it as American Pickers-style antiquing, but with air conditioning :-)

Also, like friends, you find booths that either wildly overvalue themselves as well as those who are on the shy side, price-wise. Generally, I find the spacious, well-groomed booths to be a good bit more pricey than their rumble-tumble brethren. Are they the equivalent of what we call "high maintenance"?

But on the whole, variety really is the spice of life. It just wouldn't be a good antique store without the mixtures and contradictions. A good antique store can feature finery behind locked and lighted glass display cases, as well as provide a welcoming home to kitchy kitchenalia.

Foe:

Are you ready to rumble? Cause I sure am!
In no particular order, things I hate to see in a booth:

*Dishwashed to Death. There's almost nothing sadder to me than finding what was once a lovely, colorful vintage mixing bowl (think Pyrex or Hazel Atlas) that is quite obviously stripped of color and shine. I expect it at Goodwill, but when it makes its way into an antique store - Shame on you. I'm especially sassy about this because you tend to be the same people who price it as though it was still in mint condition. And you may not think much about the blogging community, but this is so common that we've coined our own term for it: DBD. Death By Dishwasher. Please don't do it.

*Reproductions and reissues not labeled as such. Now this is an issue where booth owners get cut miles of slack. Good-natured antique buyers assume the owners may not be aware that a certain depression glass patterns were commemorated in unique colors or styles. Or that "fantasy items" were produced and sold through places like MarthaStewart.com or Cracker Barrel restaurants. A good booth owner should care about their items, research them individually, price and label them with fairness and honesty. Being "unaware" is a losing proposition for both buyers & sellers!

and finally, my personal pet peeve:

*Sellers whose booths seem like nothing more than a public tribute to their own personal collections. Please tell me I'm not the only one who has encountered this. Wildly overpriced pieces displayed gloriously and meticulously in spaciously well-appointed booths. Sometimes I halfway expect the booth owner to be sitting right there in a fine leather chair, black phone in hand, talking in serious and hushed tones to J. Edgar Hoover.

But if this isn't ringing any bells, maybe it's because it's not the right kind of rebel. This could just as easily describe the James Dean booth, filled with movie memorabilia. Or the Bruce Lee booth, filled with ninja stuff and swords.

Likely enough, it isn't even a rebel thing. It's a personal identity thing. Childhood toys and games, record collections, glassware collections, you name it. The tip-off here is not necessarily the content itself, but how it is priced. And when it's priced to stay forever, I tend to come to the conclusion that instead of paying booth rental fees, they should perhaps consider putting that money towards a safer way to enjoy and display their personal collections.

***

My rants are many. So many good things about antique stores. So many minor annoyances. But always, I will go back again and again. The thrill of the hunt! To me, antique stores are the perfect remedy to a disappointing patch of thrifting, and thrifting is the perfect remedy to antique store sticker-shock. But I've gotten so many good deals both ways, I will continue to love them both.

Happy Hunting!

Rant blog for my fellow Pyrex junkies

And just a little bit of rant in relation to my last blog. I got GREAT DEALS yesterday. I don't know why these pieces were reasonable prices floating above the sea of crazy, but they very much were. Same day, same mall:

Booth I got the yellow Embroidery casserole for 12 dollars with carrier was charging 15 bucks a piece for 12 ounce red square ramekins.

Same booth I got the $25 pink Scroll casserole had a delphite divided dish for $45 dollars.

Different store, bought NOTHING there, wanted $45 for the (444) largest Cinderella pink Gooseberry mixing bowl & $25 for the next smallest. And they were NOT in very good shape!
$22 for largest Sandalwood Cinderella mixing bowl, $20 for next largest. *sniff* I so would have bought that one if it had even been flirting with being reasonably priced.

Not the same day or place, but these prices reminded me of a more local store that wanted $25 for the smallest patterned Friendship mixing bowl.

So, once again, I don't know why I found a couple of great pieces for great prices, but I'm happy I did!