Vintage Thingie Thursday

Wow.  It's been over three weeks since I posted.  A lot of factors have contributed to that.  One is the good old busy-ness of life.  The kids have had a lot going on, blackberries have needed to be picked, I started a MAJOR room rearrangement upstairs, etc.  The second factor is the heat.  Good grief, it's hot in Arkansas.  We have hit 100 degrees repeatedly this month.  For the past two nights the temperature at 9:30 pm has been 89 degrees!  That's just wrong.  Our normal June temps are low to mid 80's, with nighttime lows in the low to mid 60's.  The result of this blistering heat is a lack of energy and upstairs rooms that are uncomfortable to be in after noon.  Just to make sure the heat is as unbearable as possible, we're also in a drought.  So I add about an hour a day of watering flowers and vegetables to my routine.  Ok, I'm done complaining now, so on to some vintage yumminess.

I've been collecting mid-century dishes and cookware for several  years.  During that time I've found a few designers whose pieces I really love.  One of those is Ben Seibel.  Seibel's designs are so beautifully elegant and, dare I use a trendy word, organic.  His pieces catch my eye from across the room.  Over time I've collected a few, all by chance, and all at very, very low prices.

I love them all, but the milk pitcher and cream pitcher are exquisite.  And the serving bowls.  And platters.  And tea cups.  This photo includes pieces in the Rosemary, Blue Diamond, and Harvest Time patterns.

Recently I scored a large amount of Ben Seibel Blue Diamond dishes at my local Goodwill.  I bought them planning to resell most, but they are so beautiful that I have not yet been able to let go.

I'm not usually a big fan of blue dishes, but these are so gorgeous!  All of the colors on the Ben Seibel pieces are very calming and pleasing to the eye.  When I happen upon them I often find myself thinking, "Oh, that's the prettiest shade of blue (or green, or pink)."  I love that the solid color is used on the underside of the plates and saucers, and the outside of the bowls.

As lovely as the colors are, I think it's the shapes that get me.  They flow so subtly, and look as if they would fit perfectly in your hand.  I'm a lousy photographer, so I've attempted to take pictures from several angles, to show the different shapes of these pieces.

The only negative I've found is that all of the dinner plates show wear to the pattern.  It ranges from mild to nearly complete fading of the image.  One of the Rosemary bowls that I have shows much more wear on the flower than the other.  If you are lucky enough to find some in good condition, be sure to handwash them to preserve their beauty.

Do you own any Ben Seibel pieces?  Do you have another favorite mid-century designer?  Share in the comments.

I'm linking up with Coloradolady at Vintage Thingie Thursday.  Go see the other vintage goodies, and keep the folks in Colorado in your prayers..

Thrifty Finds

Today's title is a bit of a misnomer.  I have a new camera, which I think I'm going to love, but I used the new 4gb stick that came with it, and my computer doesn't want to play nice with it.  Husband, king of all things computer related, will be home tomorrow, so I'll wait and let him work with it.  In the mean time, this seemed like a good opportunity to share some thrift store items that I did NOT buy.  These are things that I saw that either intrigued or amused me, but were not purchased for various reasons.  I take pics like this with my phone, since I don't usually take my camera into stores (i might need to change that policy), so I was able to email them to myself.  Here we go.

This first pic is of something so gorgeous and simultaneously so awful, that I almost brought it home.

 

That's right.  Those are aqua blue plastic coasters with excessive plastic lace trim!  They look like Tupperware.  I'm not gonna lie, these babies almost came home with me.


Next we have a pair of lovely finds that I had to pass up for two reasons: 1) they were huge, 2) my house is a 105 year old folk Victorian, and most of my mid-century treasures are in the kitchen.  Nevertheless, they were a find for someone.

I assume those came out of the same home.  They were on the floor at our local Salvation Army at the same time.  Ponder for a moment what else was probably in that home.  The mind reels.

And lastly, a pretty little serving dish that almost went into my cart, but it was not a pattern or color I collect, and in an effort to have room for my family to move about in our home I am trying to limit myself to true midcentury items in pinks and turquoises, or with atomic patterns.

Can anyone identify this pattern for me?  I haven't tried to put a name on it yet.  Someone out there is shrieking, "IT WAS A DOLLAR AND SEVENTY FIVE CENTS!  IS SHE CRAZY??"  Maybe.

So is there anything here that you would have taken home with you?

That's it for today.  I'm linking up to Thrift Share Monday with Apron Thrift Girl and Magpie Monday with Me and My Shadow.

Turquoise Tableau

I love my turquoise dishes and kitchen ware.  Don't they make you smile?   I gathered some of my favorite pieces for this shot.

In the center, front and back, is of course Pyrex.  I have two round casserole dishes and the butter dish in the Butterprint pattern.  (i realized after i posted the pic, that you can't actually see the pattern on the larger casserole, because the butter dish is blocking it.  my photography skills are lacking.)  This pattern came in white on turquoise, like the two casserole dishes, and turquoise on white, like the butter dish.  There should be a turquoise on white casserole in between the other two sizes, but alas, it was missing from the thrift store shelf.  I grabbed these two minutes after they hit the shelf, and I explained to the volunteer that there was likely a third piece, in the opposite colors, somewhere in the donation pile.  She was not sympathetic to my needs, and did not go to check.  Pity.  These were both missing their lids, but there was one to fit the smaller size in the random lid box.  Each dish was less than $3.  I know!  The butter dish was a Christmas gift from my dear brother.  The sweet baking dish on top is also a gift from my brother.  It is in the Snowflake pattern.  I know where to find a casserole dish in that pattern locally, but it's a bit more than I'd like to pay.  Pyrex has several other lovely turquoise patterns, such as Balloons and Eyes.

Flanking the casserole dishes are my amazing footed mugs.  They have a retro rooster design.  I got three of them at a little flea market in a tiny town.  Alas, one was broken within a week.  That's how it goes when you actually use your vintage dishes, as I do.  I don't know who made these, but I suspect they are Federal Glass.  If anyone knows, please share in the comments.

Front left is one of my favorite coffee mugs.  My sweet Rachel gave me that for Christmas, and I love to use it.  Again, no markings, but this one has a Fireking feel.  Rounding out the photo is a cute little clear glass apothecary/snack jar with a pretty turquoise pattern.  This has a matching orange jar, and they stack.  I assume there was once a lid, and possibly other jars, but I've never found anything about them online.  Again, if you know, please share.

This is not all of my turquoise, but I'll do another post with items that fall more into the blue category, as well as my Federal Glass snack/luncheon sets that have some turquoise.

Next up:  PINK!

Thrift Share Monday

This will be my first link up with Apron Thrift Girl for Thrift Share Monday.  I went to the thrift store THREE times last week, so I have some good stuff to share.

Those of you who thrift in northwest Arkansas are familiar with Potter's House Thrift Store.  It's big, it's packed, and the best part is their rotating pricing system.  By lowering the price of an item each week after the first two, they really move the merchandise along.  And if you see something you like, but don't like the price, you can take your chances on getting it at a later date for less.  Almost any item left after four weeks is fifty cents.

I'm not going to show everything I got, because it's late, I'm tired, and I haven't photographed all of it.  Here is the highlight, though.

Franciscan Tulip Time

A beautiful set of Franciscan serving pieces in the Tulip Time pattern.  These are so beautiful.  The teapot and sugar bowl have repairs, but the other pieces are in excellent condition.  I love these colors, but I am trying to limit the things I keep to a few patterns that I really love, and pottery like this is not high on the list (although this has a marvelous buttery soft surface).  This will either be sold to buy what I want, or traded locally.

Pop over to Apron Thrift Girl and check out more thrifty goodness.

ETA:  I just discovered Me and My Shadow and Magpie Monday, so I'm linking there as well.