Adventures in thrifting...

So last week I found some time to stop in at a few of my favorite places to look around and do some junkin'. Chamblee has a brand new Last Chance Thrift store, which Ken had told me about a couple of weeks ago. I have been 3 times so far, so it is definately in it's trial phase with me, but this last time will at least ensure I go back a few more times. I found a great Ben Seibel for Iroquois teapot for $6.99. It is in perfect shape and of course I couldn't resist buying it for that price, so I brought it home Several neighbors here in Northcrest have collections of Iroquois Impromptu dishes so I am finding out more and more about the line. We have a nice candelabra in the Pins and Needles pattern, of which I saw an entire set of dishes when we went to 20th Century Cincinnati show earlier this year. I would love to have found the teapot in Pins and Needles to match, but this is a fun pattern too!

Our candelabra in the Pins and Needles pattern.

Set of Ben Seibel for Iroqouis Dishes in Pins and Needles in Cincinnati.

The pitcher I picked up.


Ben Seibel on Ebay:

Eva Zeisel...

Back in February when we went on our roadtrip with friends Brian and Kevin to the 20th Century Cincinnati show (more on the trip here) Jeff fell in love with a set of Eva Zeisel dinnerware in a Kentucky antique mall.  It was timely that we had just upgraded to iPhones the week before (and that we had Brian and Kevin around to actually show us how to use them!), so there we were....walking around the antique mall, thinking it over, researching it, wondering if we would ever have the chance to buy a nice set again.  I can always tell when Jeff really wants something, and he does have a "thing" for all mid-century dinnerware/servingware/glassware and so it wasn't long before they were wrapping them up at the cash register.  We found out that this set of dinnerware from Hallcraft in the Holiday pattern was reproduced in 1999 in conjunction with the exhibition Lost Molds and Found Dinnerware: Rediscovering Eva Zeisel's Hallcraft . The molds for this collection (Tomorrow's Classic) were thought to be lost and the production of this line ceased in the 50's.  Once we were back home in Northcrest and hanging out with some neighbors, our friend Lukas told us more about it and helped fill in some holes on the research we had done.  He also has a lovely set of Hallcraft Tomorrow's Classic in a different pattern.  Here is a portion of it, including my favorite, the serving platter.

Ebay search for Eva Zeisel:

russel wright and Manitoga

When most think of Russel Wright it immediately brings to mind dinnerware.  Although Wright's background was theatre design and sculpture, we most often think of him as the king of modern dinnerware.  His "American Modern" dinnerware line was originally produced in 1939, and the design is still pretty fresh today. 

(American Modern Dinnerware, circa 1939)

(Casual Line, circa 1946)

In 1942 he left New York City and bought a property in the Hudson River Valley that he named Manitoga.  Manitoga has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1996.  Here are some exterior shots.  It is amazing how much it is camouflaged into the surroundings...

Here are vintage pictures taken when Wright lived there.  I can't wrap my head around the scale of the dining room compared to that tree!

The gardens are amazing...we hope to one day trade in our kudzu garden out back for a lush tiered landscape and water feature like this. 

For more information and pictures, visit http://www.russelwrightcenter.org/