I kinda liked this pair of yellow glass vases that I spotted at the Goodwill down the street last weekend. Unfortunately they were $4 each...which doesn't sound like much does it? But $8 for a pair of pretty glass vases that I have no real need for is $8 that I'd rather spend on something worth $25 that I have no need for! Know what I mean?
So here's the crux. I just don't trust my vintage modern glass buying instincts yet. I don't know
glass. Oh sure...a big ol' orange slag glass vase for $10 at the flea market is totally coming home
with the Mr., but that's just obvious. It's this subtle stuff that gives me pause. And I can't buy
just 'cuz I like it. If I did that I'd have WAY too much stuff. I have to temper my collecting
compulsion with a value aspect. I have to know that I can always flip it and make a buck...
otherwise it stays on the shelf.
I remember seeing a show on PBS (I think) a few years ago about a couple of guys who were
"doing" the 127 Corridor 450 mile flea market. And Oh, I so have been wanting to do this
myself...but I can't take those days off work...ever...suck. But I digress...and back to the PBS
show. These guys were just driving along and buying up stuff (picking) for their shop or clients
or whatever back in New York.
One of the thing they snatched that resonated with me was a large glass vase that they
proclaimed Blenko I believe or maybe it was Venisian or whatever...it was worth a ton of dough
and they were paying like $10. They showed the bottom of this large vase and you could easily
see where the glass had been broken free from the punty. It was obvious that the vase was hand
made and I thought I had learned something very important!
But surely just the fact that I can see that these glass vases were hand made doesn't mean that
they are highly prized. Right? What ARE the clues. It's not like glass is marked and since
anything hand made is, by it's nature, one of a kind...unlike say a Russel Wright water pitcher...
I can't just get on Google Images and look for a comparable. How DO you know what to
look for in collectible glass?
So what do you think? Should I have snapped these up? Did I leave a treasure behind or did I
play my cards right? For all I know, these were available at Walmart last week!
I would have left those behind too. So much glass was produced in the mid-20th century, and so little of it is valuable today. On top of that, so little of it is still marked, because a lot of it had paper tags that have been removed. Also, many of the glass companies made knock-offs of the designs of more successful companies. The best way I've found to identify the good from the not-so-good is to buy several books about glass and spend lots of time studying them...and I've barely scratched the surface.
ReplyDeleteHi Dana. ::sigh:: Buy a bunch of books? Those are those old fashion things that are like the internet only made out of a tree, right? J/K!!! Sorta. I guess I'm just going to have to stick with my instinct and forgo the serious glass collecting. Thanks so much for your highly valued (always) input. BTW, Good Luck over at the Apartment Therapy Homies. I hope you are getting some good traffic out of that and maybe some new loyal readers.
DeleteI would have probably left them behind for $4 each but they are pretty and I love that color.
ReplyDeleteHi Hunting T. $8 isn't much and they are pretty and obviously hand wrought, right? And if I didn't already have a TON of decorative tchotchkes I'd have snatched them right up without a second thought. It's nice that I'm not reading "WHAT? You left those behind?!?!" though!
DeleteI have the same trouble, I don't know much about mid-century glass items. They always look so cool, but if I am going to resell it, it must be marked with a famous maker.
ReplyDeleteNow, if it is for myself and the price is low, I will snatch it up!
Hi Rachael. I'm on about the same page as you in this. I seem to "know" just enough to get myself in trouble if I let it happen. I know enough about collecting other stuff that, even though I hate the idea of leaving money on that thrift store shelf, I can say with confidence that I'm not confident enough to buy decorative glass with confidence...or something.
DeleteI don't seem to have my Yellow Glass Vase Self Control Unit installed properly.
ReplyDeleteI was in the Cape Coral Salvation Army Family Store yesterday, saw the vase for six bucks, said "no" to myself, picked it up anyway and got a 29% discount (Feb 29th, get it?).
Paid $4.20 for it.
Hi Dave. You know though, it only take one really good uneducated score to get me all into the research and learning mode! I knew nothing about Franciscan dinnerware before I lucked into my Starburst starter set!
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