Vintage of the... Month: Small Brown Plates

Sometimes I set goals for myself that are a bit unrealistic. Like, keeping up with a blog in addition to a new house, a new recipe development and food styling business, two weekly columns, and a food blog I edit. Or posting a vintage item to Etsy EVERY DAY.

I know some people are good at sticking to things like that, but not me. I hope I can get better at it, because I think I could make a decent income, but listing vintage items is a lot of work. As I get better and faster with a camera (I got a real one!) and Adobe Lightroom, it will get easier.

I'm also beating myself up about all the great stories I haven't posted here over the last few months. But instead of trying to play catch-up (another way to set myself up for failure), I should just pick back up and do what I can as often as I can.

So, here I am with the Vintage of the Day, which is more like Vintage of the Month. I love these brown plates, and not only because it's rare to find a more masculine dish pattern.

Set of six brown 1970s Cloisonne by Mikasa Brown Stoneware Small Plates, Masculine Brown Leaf Pattern: $55 [pyrexandpennies.etsy.com]

Vintage of the Day: Last Pair of Ball Jar Salt & Pepper Shakers

Well, if last week wasn't a total "Vintage of the Day" fail. It was.

Jeff (my business partner, not to be confused with my life partner, Kyle) and I recently accepted a really big project with foodandwine.com. We'll be doing recipe development and photography. We both do the recipe developing, I do the styling, and Jeff takes the pictures.

It's exciting and pretty amazing, but also time consuming. We're doing 100 recipes a month! So, I'm adjusting to this new schedule (and a new space, right behind the new house... more on that later) and really dropped the ball on my Etsy store last week.

It's pretty amazing that as soon as I stopped adding an item a day, I stopped selling an item a day. So I'm back to it. This time, I'm parting with the last of this lot of tiny Ball jar salt and pepper shakers. I've bumped up the price a bit, because these have been my best sellers by far. I hope to get my hands on another lot and relist them soon.

Tiny Ball jar salt-and-pepper shakers: $12. 

[pyrexandpennies.etsy.com]

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Vintage of the Day: "How to Plan a House" Illustrated Mid-Century Architecture Book

If you've ever dreamed of building your own mid-century style home, this hefty how-to book is for you.

"How to Plan a House" by Townsend and Dalzell: $24

[pyrexandpennies.etsy.com]

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Vintage of the Day: More Tiny Ball Jar Salt & Pepper Sets

This tiny vintage Ball jar salt-and-pepper set has been so popular I've already sold out of all four I had listed. Luckily, I had a few more tucked away and just listed two more. 

Tiny Ball jar salt-and-pepper shakers: $10. 

[pyrexandpennies.etsy.com]

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Vintage of the Day: 1950s Fire King Milk Glass with Gold Trim Creamer and Divided Tray

I'm really into gold tones lately, so I've been picking up "new" gold vintage stock. I've also been listing some I've had for a while, including these two pieces of 1950s milk glass from Fire King by Anchor Hocking.

They're new in the shop today and the creamer is only $6.50 and the dish is $14.

[pyrexandpennies.etsy.com]

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Vintage of the Day: Pink Flamingo Pyrex Cup and Saucer Sets

More mugs today! Well, technically, I think they're tea cups. And the pattern is called either Pink Flamingo or Flamingo Pink. I've heard it both ways. (Tomato, tomato.)

I hate to let these pretties go, especially because they're in such great condition, but they should be enjoyed by someone who doesn't need her caffeine in 32-ounce servings. Find them in the Pyrex & Pennies vintage housewares Etsy shop today.

Set of 2 vintage Pyrex Pink Flamingo pattern cups and saucers: $22.

[pyrexandpennies.etsy.com]

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Vintage of the Day: Colorful Fire King Mugs from Anchor Hocking

Here's what's new in the Pyrex & Pennies vintage housewares Etsy shop today: Colorful vintage Fire King by Anchor Hocking coffee mugs. Each is listed individually, so whether you want orange, blue, green, yellow, or the flower (it's called Daybreaker) pattern, you can pick and choose. I'll gladly combine shipping if you want more than one. Prices range from $5.50 to $8 each. I hate to let go of these, but I'm pretty good at finding them.

[pyrexandpennies.etsy.com]

Vintage of the Day: Gold Glam Glassware

Here's what's new in the Pyrex & Pennies vintage housewares Etsy shop today (these will come a little earlier from now on).

I'm featuring two of my favorite finds today: a beautiful seven-piece vintage martini or cocktail set with lots of gold trim and gold handles, and a selection of 24-karat gold Stetson vintage china. 

Seven-piece gilded martini or cocktail set. Six of these beautiful glasses, plus a tall pitcher: $90 [pyrexandpennies.etsy.com]



Dinner/luncheon plates, appetizer/bread plates, and saucers/small plates in the Stetson 24-karat gold Greek Key & Shields pattern: $4–$40 [pyrexandpennies.etsy.com]

These plates need a good home and should never go in the dishwasher or have a Magic Eraser or abrasive cleaner taken to them. If I didn't already have my husband's family's china, I would have tried to fill out this lot to make an entire set for myself. This is the most beautiful China I've ever encountered.

Find these items and more at the Pyrex & Pennies Etsy shop: pyrexandpennies.etsy.com. "New" vintage items added daily. And if you're looking for something in particular, let me know, I love hunting with a mission.

Thanks for looking.

-Emily

Introducing the Pryex & Pennies Vintage Etsy Shop

After talking about it for ages, then opening and quickly closing a not-so-successful booth at a nearby shop, I have finally started my very own vintage Etsy housewares shop, Pyrex & Pennies (of course).

I won't say I was forced into it, but the fact that I was quickly learning the difference between revenue and income lit a fire under my ass. Money is tighter than I hoped it would be right now (though once the freelance checks start rolling in, I should be just fine). And it got scary for a minute. After going through our bills and accounts a few weeks ago, I was just about to hit the pavement to look for a serving job when Kyle asked, "Don't you have anything of value you can sell? You have all of this vintage stuff you claim is so great."

My vintage stuff is great. So I am selling it. At least some of it.

I'm even slowly and somewhat painfully parting with bits and pieces of my vintage Pyrex collection. Not my most loved or rare pieces, or anything that I've been gifted by someone I love. But I'm ready to part with the pieces I picked up along the way just because I was collecting vintage Pyrex. And I'm acquiring "new" vintage Pyrex pieces to list, too. I must admit, though, I'm having the most fun finding and sharing all kinds of other great vintage housewares, like this amazing cocktail set, and these robin's-egg-blue TWA in-flight service trays.

I launched the Pyrex & Pennies vintage shop August 26, but really only populated it late last week. Since then, I've made three sales. My very first one — a set of tiny Ball jar salt-and-pepper shakers — was the most exciting $9 I've ever made in my life. This week, I've sold two vintage cake stands.

To stay relevant in search results and actually have the potential to make some real money, I've decided to list new items every day. I'm sure some days it will feel like a drag, but I am still Emily Farris, so this also gives me an excuse to shop regularly... and responsibly. My total bill for this morning's quick trip to the thrift store was the same amount as the cake plate I sold yesterday. Listing daily also keeps me from having to hide out for a week or so every month to photograph and measure everything. (Though I'd be lying if I said this whole thing wasn't a time suck. It is, but I love all of it.)

The best part? I'll be posting to this blog daily, because I want to post the day's vintage finds for everyone, but I promise it won't be the only thing I post. Pinky swear to the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

For now, though, I hope you'll go browse the Pyrex & Pennies Vintage Etsy shop, and maybe even follow the example of Old Emily and spend, spend, spend!

I'm off to do what I am perhaps worst at: mail stuff on time.