Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Metlox - Freeform, Mobile, Contempora. ::Sigh:: It's All So, So Confusing. But I Think I Have It All Worked Out Now. Status: Unsure.

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Ok, so while we were in New Orleans we stepped into a shop way over on the west end of Magazine Street called Retroactive where I found a matched pair of Metlox tumblers that I thought matched my two lil' berry bowls.


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Well c'mon...looky, the squiggly shapes are similar and they are both made by Metlox. Dag, I

didn't even know that there was more than one pattern like this...much less Three! But much

to my surprise and chagrin, the fact stands that the number is indeed...Three. ::sigh::

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I'm not complaining...am I? I was so juiced to find the tumblers thinking I was finally getting the

collection off the ground in a BIG way. When I finally got them together with the berry bowls I

realized that not only are the colors different in the pattern but the finish or glaze is different

too! Ugh. It's kind of a deal breaker with me. I have to choose.

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Can you see that the finish on the berry bowls is Matte as apposed to the shiny reflective finish

of the tumblers? This will drive me nuts. I just don't think I can mix and match both the patterns

and finishes. I'm partial to the matte finish but would rather have brighter colors and squarish

shaped dinner plates.

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So here's the issue, I've got a couple pieces of the Contempora pattern with the berry bowls

and a couple pieces of the Mobile pattern with the tumblers but I have no personal experience

with the Freeform pattern. From what I can see on the internet, Freeform looks like it also has

the shiny finish, but since I don't have a piece in front of me I can't be sure. Anybody out there

got a piece that they can take a look at and let me know if the finish is shiny and smooth? I

think I'm leaning toward the Contempora pattern.

6 comments:

  1. If I'm not mistaken, Freeform and Mobile are the same pattern, different colors...with Freeform having a glossy glaze and Mobile being matte. (If I'm wrong, somebody correct me.) I like the Freeform colors best, but I like the matte finish of the other two. Choices, choices. Whatcha gonna do?

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  2. http://www.modish.net/metlox-contempora-sales-brochure
    Given your extensive collection of dishes you are probably already a member but from what I can tell you are correct. Contemporama is the only one with a satin glaze the other 2 are shiny. Modish is great for asking questions especially if you post a photo.

    mobile http://modish.net/too-much-a-good-thing

    freeform http://modish.net/metlox-california-freeform
    http://modish.net/kradela-gallery-2

    http://modish.net/pattern-identifier

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  3. Ask and ye shall receive! I have some California Freeform that I rescued from a thrift store years ago, and just grabbed a berry dish to snap a photo for you:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/modbetty/sets/72157626375586557/

    The glaze IS shiny, not matte and also the body of the dishes is an "oatmeal" flecked ceramic, not pure white.

    Hope this helps!

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  4. I was in Retro101 this weekend and spotted some Metlox dishes in the window that appear to match your berry bowls. Just thought you would like to know.

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  5. To confuse it further, I have the Freeform pattern in melamine. I can't find that anywhere.

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  6. I have an entire collection that I would like to sell if interested email me at mercerpmba@Yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete