For me, part of the appeal of thirfting is rescuing useful or beautiful items from being forgotten or thrown away. I have many treasure but some of these "diamonds in the rough" are rougher than others. I like to call these "orphans" and I have found them in places other than thrift stores: One of our cats is from the humane society and quite a few pieces of furniture have been curbside finds. Also, many of my house plants have come to me as orphans; they are the marked down African violets or orchids that are not full of blooms and nobody else seems to want them. In the world of Pyrex collectors, red dishes from the early "primary sets" are much sought after. This little red fridgie has definitely seen better days with its lack of a lid and obvious dishwasher damage.
Priced at $1.99, I figure that it was worth taking a chance on this cutie. After washing it, I applied vegetable oil and let it sit for a few hours before giving it a little buff. Significant improvement, I would say and certainly a serviceable piece of Pyrex. I hope that the photos show the difference. While I have put away my overtly Christmas linen, I cannot bring myself to put away the wintery patterns such as snowflakes. 
This little cream jug was also found in my latest thrifting foray. I have been collecting this type of "utility china" for a while now. It started with just one, but, of course, has grown. It is marked Royal Art Pottery and you can find similar lovelies on Kitschen Pink's Utility China flickr stream. 
These earrings were also found on my weekend thrift mission. The box does not present them in an inviting way. They were an unclaimed auction item at the Salvation Army and I was able to purchase them for $10.00. That is more than I usually pay for costume jewellery at the thrift store but I was sure that I was getting a good deal. I did! They are signed Sherman. The overall design of the piece is what usually catches my eye and then I consider its condition. Now that I have a large number of pieces I am starting to consider resale value and whether a piece is signed can effect its value.
These are the other finds of the weekend: the rhinestone earrings and cameo brooch are signed Coro, the round earrings are Monet and the lovebirds brooch is signed Gerry. Sorry that the contrast in the photo is not good enough to show the detail of jewellery but I really wanted to share the cute mitts that I also found last weekend.Enjoy all the other thrifty finds at Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday
3 comments:
What a difference a little TLC does for the red fridgie. That little creamer would look great with my small collection of white creamers. Great finds on the jewelry.
I'm not familiar with oiling Pyrex. Off to give it a try. Love the Sherman earrings
Wowsers, I want to know where in Ottawa you thrift shop! If those are real Sherman earrings (lots of fakes out there but generally if they look like good quality 'stones' and they're prong-set, you've got a keeper), they could be worth a good chunka change and were well worth the ten bucks you spent on them. I've been to antique markets where Sherman bracelets (granted with more 'jewels' in them)are selling for hundreds of bucks. The Coro could be worth something too, though that company developed various lines that ranged in price. Have never heard of Gerry.
I'm still learning about vintage costume bling (and I must say I haven't found as many collectible goodies thrifting as you have), but to answer your question, a signature really doesn't mean much - granted it's the first step in helping you identify and possibly authenticate a piece (assuming its not a fake), but what matters more is how rare the piece is and what the market is commanding for it at the moment.
I do have vintage bling envy, sigh.
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