Earth Day - Vintage is Green

I'm glad to see Earth Day expanded to Earth Week. It got me thinking about vintage dishes, and why vintage is green.

Vintage is recycled by nature. It’s been discontinued by the manufacturer. Most pieces some from the secondary market and were previously owned. Dishes with a history. They’ve been around once and are ready to go around again in a new home…yours!

Vintage has already been made. All the inputs (clay, glaze, electricity to heat the kiln, etc.) have been used. Vintage may have age, but it also has enduring quality.
Vintage still has useful life. No need to get new dinnerware when vintage pieces can serve as well. We can make the most of them by continuing to use them.

Vintage reminds us of nature. Many vintage patterns are based on nature themes, such as flowers, leaves, trees, birds and other motifs drawn from the natural world. These patterns remind us to seek harmony with nature.

Vintage holds good personal memories. We get many comments from shoppers and buyers about the dinnerware they used as a child when they ate at grandma’s house, or the china that came from mom’s estate. Vintage makes us happy when we use them and remember special people, the past, or simpler times.

With vintage, it's easy being Green...

Depression Glass, Classic Style

This past weekend, the local Depression glass society had its spring show. Always a treat to see this beautiful glass, and the society members make it enjoyable. They run a table where you can get help with identifying your own glass (included in the cost of admission).

They identified ruffled blue berry bowl in the “Fancy” or “Diamond Arches” pattern by Hazel Atlas for me.

I’m old enough to remember Depression glass from my grandmother’s and great aunt’s collections. Charming patterns like Cameo or Sharon in pink, Parrot in green, or blue Aunt Polly.

I remember going to the flea market at Shipshewana, Indiana in the 1980s, seeking and finding treasures.

At the show this weekend, I was glad to see a competition for setting a table with a mix of vintage and new elements. My favorite, featuring Manhattan glassware, didn’t win, but I loved its sleek, modern look.

The contestant combined Manhattan clear dishes with new flatware made by Retroneu, set off by a colorful flower arrangement. A bright and shiny, festive table setting if ever there was one! Note the spark of deep color from the arrangement, reflected in the shiny flatware.

I’ve been following the trend to use an eclectic mix of dishes and tableware, vs. matching everything, and it makes so much sense to me. There are so many ways to be creative with color and texture by mixing different china, glassware, flatware and other elements on a table. Even items not intended as tableware, such as garden ornaments , planters and figurines, can be added to the decor to fit a theme or color scheme.

Complementary colors in glassware especially can go with your china or pottery dinnerware. For example, yellow or red glass tumblers, cups or plates bring out the charm in your blue and white china. Smooth glass can complement textured dinnerware, and the possibilities are endless.

Inspiring to see all this beautiful glass…..

Love casseroles!

We'd never heard of Merry Mushroom, though we must have walked by pieces in this pattern many, many times. This motif is the height of 1970s kitsch...

There are lots and lots of items made in this pattern, right down to the napkin holder, wall clock and dishes for corn on the cob. Many of the items were made for and sold by Sears.

This 4-quart casserole was made by Corning. Note the different style of the glass top, with the indents. The center knob is indented in the center, though the item is weighty nevertheless.

Reminds me of the dancing mushrooms that you might see in a Disney movie...

Yummy dish for a yummy dish

Pfaltzgraff has a discontinued pattern called Jamberry. It makes my list of dinnerware patterns that are sweet for this time of year, when my craving for fresh fruit pops up as quickly as daffodils on a warm spring day…

The Jamberry pattern of stoneware china includes dessert bowls (the small ones for applesauce or fruit), and a larger salad or cereal bowl in the table setting.

Rhubarb shortcake is at the top of my dessert list for April. At home, Mom made Rosy Cobbler. The recipe probably came from the Bisquick box.

Rosy Cobbler is a great dish to serve in your coupe shape soup bowls, or deep ones sometimes called cereal or ice cream bowls. It’s a broad shouldered dessert. A larger bowl will give plenty of room for the sweet-tart rhubarb juices (and bit of cream if you like) as you enjoy the first fruits of spring.

Rosy Cobbler (Rhubarb Shortcake)

¾ to 1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 cups of 1 inch slices rhubarb (1 pound)
1 tablespoon water
1 ½ tablespoons butter or margarine
¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Mix sugar and cornstarch; stir in rhubarb and water. Heat to boiling and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Pour into 8-inch round baking dish. Dot with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon. Top hot rhubarb with Biscuit Topper. Bake at 350 degrees for ½ hour.

Biscuit Topper

1 ½ cups Bisquick
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
1/3 cup milk

Combine Bisquick and sugar. Add butter and milk; mix with fork. Drop by spoonfuls on rhubarb. Sprinkle dough with a bit of sugar for sparkle.

...and when it comes out of the oven, enjoy!