thrift store spoils, ch. 22: Ben Seibel's Country-Time, a Ges Line Ashtray, and humble requests for I.D. help

How about we begin with a thrift-store-find mystery that I hope someone out there can help me solve?

I found these three small bowls on a half-day-seven-thrift-store shopping craze. I have an efficient route that takes me east through four traffic-heavy Northern Virginia cities, yet allows me to complete the run in four hours. (Caveat: I no longer have small children.)

I picked up these bowls because I thought they might be Russel Wright. However, there are no markings on the bottoms indicating such—only three stilt marks on each bowl. Also, after getting home and researching, the color of these looks a little darker than the iconic Russel Wright Coral. So maybe I got knockoffs? I do like them, regardless. But does anyone out there know whether the smaller Russel Wright pieces were ever manufactured without markings?

By the way, the melmac tray in the photo with the bowls is one I picked up at a SA last week. It's also unmarked. I got it because it matches the unmarked melmac bowls that both my Florida Mamaw and my Kentucky Mamaw used to serve us ice cream and cereal in.

This is definitely my best find of the past couple of weeks. Despite promises to myself to never ever venture into the Manassas SA on a Wednesday (when, ahem, the entire store is 25% off, and when everybody and his or her brother seems to know it), I did. I walked in three minutes after the store opened, and I picked up the last shopping basket available. There were two carts left, but I don't like carts. 

I have to say that, despite everyone else's carts getting in my way, I made out okay. And among the items I found were these three Ben Seibel designed salad plates by Pfaltzgraff. The pattern is Country-Time, and the minimalist fruit images are so stinkin' mid-century mod, as are the colors—saffron and gray. Am I wrong?

I probably won't keep them, though; I'm collecting, like, three patterns already, so I can't. But I'm not sure whether I'll list them in my Etsy shop, or whether I'll try an Ebay auction. I'm leaning Etsy, because Ebay intimidates me. (Too much down-to-the-wire pressure.) 

Right now I'm just trying to price them. I haven't found any of these exact plates for sale online right now, so I'm clueless about the current market value. (Thus, the nerve-wracking Ebay auction idea—let the free market decide!)

Anyway.

On the shopping spree day, I  found these two bread and butter plates—also designed by Ben Seibel, but manufactured by Iroquois. I believe the pattern's name is Pyramids, but I'm not sure. I'll admit I don't love the pattern. In fact, I bought the plates for the far out logo and fonts on the plates' backs. I know. That's just sad.

I got this unnumbered blue Pyrex mixing bowl to help Mama complete her Primary set. And I happened across a Taylorstone Cathay dinner plate to add to my recently acquired humongous set, discovered and bought on Taylorstone Cathay Day. This one has a little chip, but I just don't care.

Also for Mama, I picked up this Pyrex 023 Opal. (She likes the Opals.) The bread and butter plate is mine. It's Copper Filigree, one of the Pyrex dinnerware patterns.

I don't normally buy ashtrays, because I simply have no justification. (The hubbie lets his cigar ashes fall wherever they may, don't you know.) But this ashtray is uber-cool. The bottom indicates that it's a Ges Line and that it was "Made in the U.S.A." See? Uber-cool. (Note, please, that I don't know whether the Ges Line does or does not need a dash—like Ges-Line? The name on the ashtray doesn't make it clear, so I'm going with the usage I found online as most common. No dash, it is.)

What'll I do with an ashtray? I'll either use it as a ridiculous candy dish, or list it on Etsy. Not sure which.

Okay. More I.D. help needed, please.

This lovely, frolicking-wild-horse bar glass is dated 1993, but I can't identify the maker. 

Anyone out there recognize this logo? I'd like to learn more about the glass, but I can't find that logo on any of my logo-I.D. go-to sites. 

And still more help, please?

This cradle thingie was priced at 96 cents, and, of course, it has such a fun wooden handle. So there was no way I could leave it sitting on the GW shelf amongst all the common stuff. Too bad I have no idea what it was originally intended to hold and/or display. (At first, I was thinking that it might be part of a Pyrex set, but I can't find a photo of it in any of my regular Pyrex info sources.) 

Clue: It is collapsible.

The two tiny serving pieces were made in Japan. They were a little grungy at the store, but after cleaning the stainless steel and treating the wooden handles at home, they look quite good, if I do say so myself.

So those are the only items I'll write about this week. And, please, if you have any idea what the unknowns up there are, I'd love for you to share.

And I'll leave you with a Remington Steele update (because I wrote about the show last week). This week I watched the first episode of the second season. 

It's the episode in which Laura and Mr. Steele travel to exotic Acapulco, in part to save Laura's housekeeper's son from some bad south-of-the-border dudes. But it's also the episode that explains away the sudden absence of two of the first season's secondary characters, while also cleverly introducing replacement Doris Roberts (a.k.a. Mildred Krebs) as the IRS agent/stickler who, turns out, is a closet adventure seeker. (Spoiler alert: Mildred becomes Remington Steele's receptionist/private-eye extraordinaire and adds immensely to the show's charm.) 

Well, also in this episode, Laura Holt sports some rad vintage 1980s parachute pants. Oh, yes. Check it out.

I lived through the parachute pants days, by the way. And I'm here to tell you that it wasn't always pretty. (Laura carries it off well, though. Look at that itsy-bitsy waist!)

Please note the bar stool behind/next to Laura. Doesn't that look Eames-ish? Could that be an authentic wire bar stool designed by the man himself? Or only a reproduction. Fun, nevertheless.

Thanks to Sir Thrift-a-Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm, We Call It Junkin, and a living space for the opportunity to link up.

thrift store spoils, ch. 18: a missed opportunity, Pyrex, and Lillian Vernon

If you'd like to skip my story of the suh-weet mid-century modern item that I found but was unable to buy, feel free to skip down to my photos. But if you can relate to the thrift store agony of defeat, and if your misery needs a little company, please read my sad tale.

On Monday, I walked into my favorite GW about an hour after it opened for business. And right there in the front of the store, amongst several lousy, cheap occasional tables, was a mid-century beauty: a Gunlocke end table. (Confession: I didn't know for sure the brand upon first glance, but I could tell that it was vintage and very, very cool.) 

But, alas, kneeling beside it was a young lady. She was with what turned out to be her grandmother (not that I learned this by eavesdropping or anything), and they were discussing whether the table would work in a particular space in her little place. But they obviously had no idea that the table was such a great find; they were only considering its size and cost. 

The girl took the tag taped to the table (as you know, this is the thrifter's way of saying "saved") and moved on to look at cheap chairs. That's when I moved in to check out the table. The top was scratched a bit, which would be no big deal to fix, but the rest of it was in great shape. I turned it over, and that's when I learned that it was, in fact, a Gunlocke. GW had marked it at $20, but a 25% discount would be applied. 

Fifteen stinkin' bucks for that beauty. 

I wandered over to housewares and searched the table up on my phone to learn more about it, still hovering at a distance. (Okay. I was spying.) There was always a chance that the girl and her grandmother would change their minds about it and put the tag back, right? But, no. They bought the thing.

So then I had a dilemma. Should I follow the two of them to the parking lot and offer $25 for the piece? Should I at least stop them and educate them about what they had—so that they'd cherish the vintage Gunlocke in their care?

In the end, I did nothing. I was a chicken. Honestly, I kind of feared freaking them out more than anything. (Who wants to be followed to out to the parking lot?)

So by just a few minutes that morning, I missed out on a beautiful, vintage piece. I don't have a photo of the piece, and I can't find one online that I'm allowed to copy and post, but here's a link to one for sell on Etsy.

And here are the finds that I do have in my possession. 

I found two Russel Wright by Steubenville plates to go with my collection of these plates. (Okay. So I now have three of them in my collection. It's a modest start.) But I love the chartreuse. (The granite is cool, too.) I do have two pieces—not plates, but a casserole dish and a sugar bowl—available on Etsy. I believe this set was manufactured from 1939 until 1959.

Neither of these Pyrex mixing bowls has chips, but the finish on each is a little worn. I'm not concerned, though. That just makes me more likely to use them! The green is a 402 (a piece from the Verde set, I believe), and the blue is unmarked.

More Pyrex. The 12-inch plate is the Terra pattern, which lots of folks don't like. One reason for this, I believe, is that the finish is flat. I mentioned in a post a while back that when I first came across other Terra pieces in a thrift store, I thought they were DWD. 

The shallow bowl is Pyrex dinnerware. I have a few pieces from this pattern, Ebony. And this size bowl is good for sour cream, salsa, whatever.

And my last Pyrex find is this round casserole. It's Woodland, 472. The lid is scratched up quite a bit and chipped on one handle,  but the price was right—$2.96. And I like this pattern. (I know this may put me in the minority.)

I love this sweet Lillian Vernon mug from 1983. And, yes, I placed an order or two from Lillian Vernon back in the day. This mug has a timeless reminder ("Call your mom") written across a pretty obsolete item—the land line phone with a cord that you could stretch around a corner and into another room, begging for privacy. 

I tell my kids that I remember in the 1980s having to call Mama and Daddy collect and person-to-person from my dorm room just to get in touch with them. These days, I pretty much only text with my college student kids.

This bright Christmas mug is marked Waechtersbach/W. Germany. I love the simple image of the Christmas tree. I'll probably list this on Etsy shop next fall.

And lastly, I found more Tupperware canisters. This isn't my favorite color, but both were in good shape. And they're so stinkin' handy-dandy in my pantry.

Thanks to Sir Thrift-a-Lot, Magpie Monday and Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm for letting me link up!

thrift store spoils, ch. 15: Dansk, polyester, and Pyrex

About a week before Christmas, I saw an oval tray by Dansk at one of my regular stops. It was in rough shape, but I knew that it only needed some replenishing oil. It was marked five bucks, though (more than I wanted to pay), and it looked like it had originally come with a couple of serving bowls of some sort, which were missing. Three more times before Christmas (yep, I stop in too often), I picked the thing up again, pondering it, but all three times I left it there.

Then over Christmas and while visiting my parents in North Carolina, I had thrifter's remorse (sound familiar?).


So the morning after driving home, I was back in the store. I beelined for the shelf where I'd last seen it, and (Yay!) there it was. When I brought the poor thing home, it looked like this:

But I got after it with my handy-dandy IKEA replenishing product, and looky here:

Pretty nice, huh? I figure I have enough thrift store bowls sitting around (or stored, Lord knows) to take the place of whatever serving bowls originally sat on both ends. Loving my first Dansk tray!
 
Back to North Carolina—in an Asheville GW, I found a groovy-but-nasty enamel cast iron skillet with a teak handle, made by Copco. There were a couple of places where some of the enamel had chipped off, but the thing was orange, so I was compelled to buy it. At home, I applied lots of BKF and more of the IKEA replenishing stuff. Check it out. 

It makes a mean grilled cheese sandwich, by the way.

Also in North Carolina, I found these cute juice glasses.

They're by Arcoroc (France), and they're sweet. I do think it's weird that they're decorated with onions and mushrooms, though. (Can you juice a mushroom?)

And I found this tablecloth (handmade) for a steal. Mama thinks the fabric was originally used by Henredon Furniture on one of their pieces. Henredon used to build furniture in Mitchell County, North Carolina, until they had to close up shop there about 10 years ago. You still see their high-quality fabric and ornate and gargantuan pieces here and there in the area, though, because they used to have a great, largely unadvertised outlet store on the premises. I still have fabric around my house, bought back in the day. 

Anyhow, the tablecloth was orange, so I scooped it up.

Speaking of fabric, I bought this several weeks ago. It's blue; it's houndstoothy; and it's vintage polyester. Simply beautiful. (Can't you imagine sewing the best woman's pantsuit ever out of this?) My husband thinks I'm crazy, but I will make throw pillow covers for our bedroom with this fine vintage fabric.

Back home, I bought these bread and butter plates in sage. They're Harkerware by Russel Wright, like the charcoal ones I found a couple of weeks ago. They're already listed in my Etsy shop.

I also picked up this perfect Pyrex Butterprint 503 fridgie. Always love that torquoise!

I have a thing for vintage iced tea glasses. Libbey made the turquoise polka-dot one, Anchor Hocking made the black and red carriage one, and I have no idea who made the green and white early-American one. (But I do already have several others in that set, God help me.)

I bought more coffee mugs. (Duh.) The New York mug is a Jay Joshua design (not so old), and the beetle mug is by Tyrrell Katz (vintage, like, 2013?). You can't see it clearly in this photo, by the way, but John Lennon is included as a "beetle."

And that Wife/Hug mug, made in Japan, is kitschy-cute, indeed. I've already listed it on Etsy.

I haven't eaten meat in years, and I rarely serve it. But I had to have these utensils. They look like the ones Alice would have placed on the table for that blended Brady family.

And last, here are some goofy odds and ends. More Tupperware. Yay! And I'm always up for fun and inexpensive planters. Come this spring, all three of these will be filled with sweet, tiny Hens and Chicks.

Oops. I almost forgot an update: I wrote about some overpriced mugs/cups that I've seen for two years now at my favorite thrift store in Mama's town. Well, they were still there this Christmas. Proof.

Sending much appreciation out to Sir-Thrift-a-Lot and a living space for the opportunity to link up!

That is all for now. Happy, happy thrifting, y'all.

thrift store spoils, ch. 14: Couroc, Marimekko Oy, and Harkerware

Just to start us off—what I didn't buy:

Yep. Gross.

I'm off schedule with my posts, so allow me to quickly wrap up the latest events of note:

• I've sold nine items in my new (and still modest) Etsy shop, including that naughty kitty-cat mug by Taylor & Ng. Someone commented on my last post about how easy those are to sell, and I guess she was right.(I feel better now that it's not associated with my name. Weird, I know.)
• I have to research the Ebay auction process some more, because I'm obviously clueless. I did sell three Starbucks mugs a couple of weeks ago, though: I made a decent profit on an Istanbul City Series mug; I made a little profit on a classic mermaid mug; and after losing money on shipping costs, I barely broke even on a Christmas mug. Oh, well.
• My Craigslist listing for the Stendig chairs garnered nothing but a couple of scam inquiries. I may try to list them again in the spring, or I may just keep them for myself.
• As noted in my last post, my mom has developed a taste for vintage glass ball ornaments—particularly Shiny Brites. So I now keep a lookout for those wherever I go.

And that's where I'll start today—with the loot I found for Mama this week.

The three single ornaments are Shiny Brites (they have some blemishes, but I got all three for a buck), and the boxed ornaments are by Coby. Mama is now into the pinks, so when I texted her with info and a photo from the store, she told me to grab them. And, what the heck, grab the red ones, too.

And this is my Christmas loot from the same trip. The Marimekko Oy mug by Pfaltzgraff is vintage 1980's, I think. The winking Santa mug is by Holt Howard, and the five tacky garland packs in the back still have their Kmart price tags. (I'm thinking the garland isn't all that old, and I've never ever used this stuff. I'm ready, though. Love the rich color.) 

The rotund Santa in front is kitschy cool, but I don't know what it is. Note the holes in him, please. There's also a big hole on the bottom of him. Mama suggested that he was once used for some kind of scent or incense? But we don't know. Any ideas out there?

At my favorite GW a couple of weeks ago, I found these six Russel Wright Harkerware plates (bread and butter, maybe?) in charcoal. They're substantial in weight. Really nice. I'm not yet sure whether I'll keep these or list them on Etsy.

I also bought this mid-century modern styled compote thingie. It's made of somewhat cheap materials, but I love its lines and the look. I'm keeping this baby for myself.

I've found a Couroc bowl and a Couroc plate at my GW, but this is the first tray I've found there. Oddly, my GW throws the Courac items in with the plastic stuff. So while I'm hunting through the useless dollar-store throw-aways in hopes of happening upon either Tupperware or melmac, I occasionally find one of these beauties. The inlaid wood on the cardinal's perch is lovely up close, by the way.

I have no idea what this flower is. I do know that it's metal and that there's a magnet on the back of it. It was so cool, though, that I couldn't leave it sitting on the thrift store shelf. I'll think of a purpose for it later.

And now to the mugs that I felt obligated to buy:

Another Marimekko Oy mug by Pfaltzgraff. Again, I think it's vintage 1980's, and it'll soon be listed in my Etsy shop. (Too late for this Christmas, unfortunately!)

 

This mug celebrating Clarksville, Indiana, was produced by Louisville Stoneware. (I'm originally from Kentucky, so I have to love Louisville Stoneware.)  I'll list it on Etsy. The second item that I sold on Etsy was a Louisville Stoneware nativity plate, by the way. 

 

This Sandra Boynton mug with the smarta** comment will be listed on my Etsy shop.

 

And I love this groovy mug. Hey—it's orange! On the bottom is printed one word: Daisy. Duh.

(Apologies for the crooked image. Hope it's not making anyone sick.) I found this copper stand—originally intended for a fondue pot, I suppose? And I loved its style, its nifty legs. So I bought it.

 

It's now a hip mid-century modern plant stand. (And it's only crooked in the photo.)

I'm linking up with Sir Thrift-a-Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm, We Call It Junkin, and a living space. (Sending out many thanks to them for the opportunity!)

Happy thrifting and a peaceful Christmas to y'all! 

And that is all for now.

thrift store spoils, ch. 12: Russel Wright and a Cheshire Cat

Greetings. I'll just jump right in with some items I found during the last week. And I'll start with a beautiful bowl and cradle that I have not been able to identify.

I have no clue who might have manufactured this. I've posted an inquiry on a mid-century enthusiasts online community I'm part of, but, alas, I've gotten no responses. The bowl does come free from its cradle, and there are three ball feet on the cradle's bottom. So stinkin' cool. 

Anyhow, I just love it. For the time being, it'll serve as the house pinecone holder. 

I also got lucky at our closest Savers when I found two Russel Wright pieces.

This lidded veggie dish in chartreuse matches the single plate I found quite a while back. I love, love, love the chartreuse.

I also found this super stylish Russel Wright sugar bowl. Check out that fun mid-century handle.

These Christmas plates are a Marimekko design by Pfaltzgraff. The bottoms of the plates are actually marked "Marimekko Oy." (Huh?) I believe they're vintage 1970s, and they have rims similar to the Marimekko mugs I found a while back.

So I bought this Cheshire Cat mug. But wait.

When you pour in hot liquid, all but the cat's grin disappears (sort of). So stinkin' clever.

I don't care for Alice in Wonderland, by the way. The Mad Hatter is way too creepy, and Lewis Carroll was reportedly a bad man in the sickest way. I even get a little creeped out by the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers "Don't Come Around Here No More" video from the 1980s—again, icky. But this mug is fun.

I do love Tom Petty's music, though. Here's the aforementioned creepy video (vintage 1980s, folks!) :

And, of course, I picked up some mugs.

The cat mug is by Otagiri; the Aids Awareness mug was produced by the US Postal Sevice and is dated 1993; and the Maxwell House mug just plain reminds me of the classic Maxwell House commercials I used to watch as a kid—when there were only four channels on the TV. The Conservative mug is a Boynton design and is signed. And the "the Good Guys" mug is a William Logan design and is also signed and dated 1977.

And I bought some Longaberger pottery and some Tupperware. I cannot pass these up.

I hope that everyone out there in thrifting land is finding themselves some good loot.

And I'm sending many thanks to Sir Thrift-A-Lot, a living space, We Call It Olde, Remnant (where I posted with a poorly cropped thumbnail photo!), and Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm for the opportunity to link up.