Remember when I said that I wasn't going to start collecting MCM dinnerware for fear of ending up with like 100 different incomplete sets?
Woops!
I'm now the owner of a full set for 8 of Jamaica Bay by Taylor, Smith & Taylor, which includes dinner plates, salad plates, small bowls, saucers, and coffee cups (but no regular-sized bowls!).
Yes, I admit it. I'm a Mid-Century Modern junkie.
In my defense, I was extraordinarily tired and in the midst of an estate sale frenzy. I saw that cool atomic pattern alongside the $12.00 price tag and BAM! In a moment of weakness, I brought home the whole set. I just couldn't help myself.
And you already know that I'm now going to be combing through the dinnerware section of every St. Louis thrift store trying to piece together a collection of matching bowls and serving utensils like some sort of fiend. That's the way the sick mind of a Mid-Century Modern addict works.
In a few months time, you'll likely see me on the side of the road selling my body for a butter dish and soup spoons.
I am sooo jealous! I have been searching for that set all over but Cincinnati doesn't seem to have any good MCM stuff.
ReplyDeleteI started reading your blog from the beginning today and am very impressed with the amount of furniture and cool stuff you have acquired. We bought our house about the same time as you but we don't seem to have any estate sales here... (just online auctions of smalls or WAY too expensive furniture). I guess I'll be taking another road trip to St. Louis soon!
Thanks for following! I always love getting new readers and finding new blogs to check out. I'm sure there is plenty of great stuff out in Cincinnati. Check out Bopfish's blog. He's in Columbus, which is pretty close and he has great stuff all of the time. The guy found a freakin' Picasso in the thrifts! You just have to keep at it and eventually the goodies will come.
DeleteThis is very similar to the dishes I mentioned to Mr Modtomic. Ironstone Broadhurst w/designs by Kathie Winkle they were an English brand from 1940s-1970s. The "Rushtone" pattern is the one that always catches my eye but I can't pull the trigger on it. Some others are flowery but the Geometric designs are ok.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I prefer the more geometric designs as well. I'd really like something a bit more "manly" (not robin egg blue), but for a first set it'll do. That Ironstone is gorgeous!
DeleteIf you wouldn't have bought that set for that price you would have your MCM Junkie card revoked immediately!
ReplyDeleteHah! I wish I could stop myself sometimes, but the thrill of the score is just too strong.
DeleteHA! I feel your pain, I really, really do. I have the dreaded "dish collecting disease" too and let me tell you it only gets worse! :)
ReplyDeleteTotal score though, those are great dishes and SOOOO cheap too!
Thanks Sara. I almost bought some Pyrex the other day too. They had a whole set of Primary Color mixing bowls for like $12. Unfortunately, it sold before I could go back. Looks like my case is progressing.
DeleteFor such a near-complete set at a price like that, you cannot possibly be blamed for taking them home. They're awesome!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kim. At least I'm starting out with a mostly complete set. I'd drive myself crazy looking to complete it if it were just a partial.
DeleteThat's a great price! What's up with the missing regular size bowls? I too have several sets that are nearly coplete ...except no regular size bowls.
ReplyDeleteThis coming from the man who bought a Picasso for practically nothing? My find pales in comparison.
DeletePerhaps the sets didn't come with regular bowls. People don't tend to use use bowls at dinner, so maybe they just included the small soup bowls.
I had made the same promise to myself, but like you, I just recently picked up my first grouping of MCM dinnerware. I hit up an estate sale one day and came across the a set of Nordica Mint printed pieces by Marcrest in the corner of a garage. It appeared that the handles on two of the cups had been broken off during setup (they were just placed inside the cups) and a couple of the smaller bowls were cracked but the rest of the set looked in decent shape. It was listed for $15 which I thought was decent for the number of pieces that were there, but I held off and decided I'd leave it be. I decided to drop back by on the third day when everything was 75% to check out a painting I was eyeing and the set was still there. At that point I decided to break the vow and nab them. It was just too cheap to pass up. I need to clean all the dust off of them and post them on the blog and facebook then I'll probably offer them up somewhere so they can get back into use.
ReplyDeleteNice find and good luck on avoiding the urge to collect a ton of dinnerware now.
It was a hard line to draw, but I thought that I was doing fairly well. I'd collected nary a dish until this. Then the floodgates opened...
DeleteUgh! I feel your dish-collecting pain! I have 6 sets! 6! Who even eats that much???
ReplyDeleteAnyway, nice score. :) It is too hard to walk away from them when they are under $20, isn't it? That is how I ended up with my Salem Northstar set!