Since I have small kids at home and I don't want to make my house a museum of knick-knacks and prized possessions I try to keep my collections in check by specializing in only certain types and only adding pieces that are either valuable, that I REALLY love, or that speak to me, not just because they're part of the collection. I also, for the most part, don't collect very many things that I can't use and enjoy.
Let me share a few of the ones I am most in love with.
Pyrex
No, not the glass bakeware you got in multiples when you got married. The old stuff. The colored glassware that comes in a variety of colors and patterns dating back to the 1940s and 1950s. My true love? The primary colors. The ones I'll pass on any day of the week? The avacodo and mustard colored ones from the 1960-70s. I have a little of everything but I adore the primary colored stuff the best. All shapes, all sizes, all types. I have a special cupboard that I have dubbed "the inner sanctum". It has pull out shelves and it contains nothing but vintage Pyrex bowls and casserole dishes. Occasionally I'll add a piece of vintage FireKing or Glasbake to the group but not often and it better be just suh-weet. Do I use them? Absolutely. I just cleaned out all the modern day Pyrex I received as wedding gifts and use only my vintage now. Tip: NEVER put colored Pyrex in the dishwasher. Ever.
Milk Glass
Something I've always loved but have to be choosy what I buy. It was once so mass produced and used by florists that the really good stuff takes a careful eye to discern. I try to look for the older pieces and choose ones that are pretty but also that I would use and decorate with and that is not too formal in style. My true milk glass love is a dotted pattern called "hobnail". Mmmm, so cute.
Cookie Jars
Because they take up so much room I've narrowed my acquisitions to only vintage collectibles such as LA Potteries, McCoy (someday I hope) and the like. Currently my most prized is the LA Potteries cookie patterned jar. I've eyed this one for years, missed one at an estate sale by minutes, and stalked them on eBay. My friend April scored it at a yard sale for a song from an unknowing seller. I treasure it.
Vintage Homewares
Again, things I enjoy putting to use but also things for decorative purposes. I love canisters, chrome, coffee mugs, trays, utensils,
shredders, aprons, etc. I use them, I love them, they make me smile, they provoke my imagination in wonder of how many birthday cakes were mixed in a bowl, how many hands smoothed this handle. Fun.Josef Originals
Vintage figurines with detail and style that make my heart quiver. I stick to the figures of children, specifically the birthday girls for Spicey and a few series that are also children. Josef's can be spendy so I don't buy them often. It's also hard to find them in perfect condition. Ebay can be a risky place for buying them.
Linens
Specifically printed cotton tablecloths and an occasional embroidered something or other. Hankies are fun too.
Crocks
I have one Redwing number 2 which currently serves as the kitchen catch-all and I hope to someday add a few more. My SIL introduced these to me and she has almost all of the Redwing crocks from sizes 1-15 (gallons, that is) and a few bigger. My other friend, J, has a 25 gallon crock that she uses for laundry. Maybe I can get my SIL to take a picture and send it to me. Her collection is a sight to behold.
The unmarked 1 gallon size makes a great utensil holder.
In a month I head with the girls over to the Big Antiques Show. Three enormous expo buildings plus a huge outdoor area full of vendors. Everything you can imagine. It is amazing and I can't wait. I hope to find a few elusive pieces of Pyrex, a few linens, and maybe a crock. I pretty much have this trip on the brain now that the countdown is almost a month away. You may be hearing a lot about this stuff in the next few weeks.
There is a lot of time and research that goes into discerning what is authentic vs reproduction and what is valuable vs what is merely collectible but that would take all day to type here. If you have a questions about my collections or collectibles you're interested in leave it in the comments and I'll reply. If I don't know the answer (which is very likely) I'm pretty sure my antique dealer friends April and J will know. We're not the Kovel's but we really like to learn and share about this stuff.
What do you collect?
25 comments:
You forgot your mixing bowls!!
The first thing that came to mind is that I collect dust. :) Will you e-mail where the show's going to be?
ABC Momma has it right...my first response was that I collect lint. And unfinished craft projects. That's about it.
I smiled when I got to your Red Wing crocks. My dad is obsessed with collecting these and attends the Red Wing convention in Red Wing, MN every July. I always rolled my eyes whenever he commented about how they will all be mine and my siblings one day, but now they're growing on me (especially when I consider how much they are worth!) :)
Thanks for sharing your collections with us.
-an avid reader, first-time commenter
What a fun post this was! I know YOU know what I collect, but since other people don't know and you asked....
Tea cup and saucer sets, Teapots, Dickens Village houses, Pig style piggy banks, Josef Originals girls of the month figurines, Precious Moments figurines
Far too many collections for any one person. But mostly, as with ABC Momma, I collect lots and lots of dust!!
I'm DROOLING over your collections! Especially the pyrex and crocks...I love them! I hate to dust so I don't collect anything knick-knacky, but I collect teapots, and I can't stop collecting vintage sewing and knitting supplies (ie: vintage knitting pins in the original sleeve, old needle cards, darning supplies, patterns, old sewing "manuals" from dressmaking schools, etc.). You've inspired me to post about it sometime.
Oh my goodness! I LOOOOVE Holt Howard!!! There were less than five pixie style HH at the Big Antique Show last year and I walked away to "think about it" and they were gone by the time I returned. Lesson learned! I hope to someday own a few of the kitties.
KATE- my friend specializes in selling vintage sewing stuff (a little of everything you mentioned)- mostly Singer. Her ebay seller ID is April1930s.
I collect hinge boxes (only the ones with the treasures inside), unique crosses, and unique pottery pieces (typically pitchers.
I love to get a great "find" at a garage sale! That's the very best acquisitions! I also love to "hunt" for other people and their collections...what can I say...I'm a shopper at heart.
I love, love, love the Pyrex. My mom still has much of it that she received as wedding gifts. I especially love the glass dishes with the lids.
I collect vintage Halloween noise makers, advertisements, and decorations. I was collecting the Dept. 56 Halloween Village (part of Snowbabies, but I don't care for the Snowbabies), but I have so many and the new ones are that great. I'm quite picky.
Would you mind letting us know where this great antique show is?
I collect... smart and enterprising friends like you :) no seriously, I don't collect anything but I completely admire the research that goes into building a serious collection. Lovely pictures.
Wow, that's amazing. I can imagine the thrill of hunting and then finding the things you collect! I don't collect anything either. Except for airmiles and any loose change & money from returning bottles to put into a jar for my kids education funds.
I love antiques, especially old books and photos. Anything that gives me a glimpse into the life of the previous owners. By accident, I also seem to have collected a huge crapload of ugly Ikea furniture...
What do I collect.... hmmm - what DO I collect? WHAT do I collect? What do 'I' collect? What do I COLLECT!? Well, seems like I have a passion for most everything vintage and antique - but like your mom, you already knew that. It's pretty safe to say that if it's from the 1930s or 1940s - I L U V it! Sewing Stuff, Kitchen Memorabilia, Linens, Cards, Furniture, Jade-ite... my heart does quiver over most things "children-ish" that's old.
P.S. I use my 30 gallon crock for a flower pot (it's cracked, but it's a good patio use - no one will steal it without getting a hernia first).
I used to collect Barbies, not so much anymore, though I still have them...
Now I just seem to be collecting children.
Actually, I am such a dork, but I sort of collect Pokemon videos. If I see one for less than $3 I buy it.
LOL Stephanie. We seem to collect those too. Deseret Industries never lets me down in that area.
What a crock! Seriously. I love those. I covet the 1 quart for the kitchen. I also LOVE the tablecloths. I so wish I could go shopping with you guys for the big trip.
i collect tiny boxes; from other countries, wooden, ceramic, blahblahblah....yeah. weird.
i also have one really old piece of pyrex from my great-grandma -- it's blue with flowers. i don't collect pyrex at all, but i really love this piece.
I used to collect lots of Mary Engelbreit (ME) items. I still love to see them, I just don't have time right now to dust the collection. Someday I'll unbox them all. My mom bought me a set of ME Christmas dishes last year, and I like to pull them out to eat on every once in awhile. ME isn't vintage or anything, I just think she's fun and whimsical and I love her artwork!
Love the pryex - but now that I know they're worth something - I feel extra bad knowing that I accidentally broke a huge pryex bowl of my mom's when I was little! Darn!
Karen -- I love your collections, especially because you make use of them.
I love the old hobnail milk glass, too. We had several pieces when I was growing up.
I collect teapots and teacups, and I love to have tea parties with an assortment of different patterns represented.
I also love the linens. I have several cherished tablecloths, runners and napkin sets from my husband's great grandmother.
Great collections!
Cows. I collect cows. Lots and lots of cows. At last count, that was two years ago, I had 316. I have many more than that now. I can tell you how it started and how it turned in to an obsession. Maybe I will make it a post.
Kids. I collect kids.
I love the crocks, my mom has some. Fun collections Karen!
I know this comment is coming years later but I just have to say how fun this post was to read! My Mom was (and still is a bit, on Ebay) an antique dealer and I've begun to love it as well. I totally dreaded hanging around the antique mall when I was a kid but now I want to check them out everytime I pass by. When you mention words like FireKing, Milk Glass, McCoy... man, it just TAKES. ME. BACK. When I was a kid my mom had two FireKing bowls that were only used for Mac & Cheese by my sister and me. She recently handed them down to me but I had an unfortunate incident and stinkin broke one. I'm on the lookout for a replacement now. My parents also have quite a few crocks at their cabin and I'm going to see if any of them are Redwings next time. Seriously though, I loved this post! Too bad those Flickr pictures don't show up anymore :(
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