Hello and welcome to the Blog. I’m really excited to be sharing this find with you today. I think it’s quite special and I was thrilled to see this collection in one of my favorite thrift stores.
I’ve learned, over the years, that successful thrifting is about persistence, knowledge, timing and luck. You have to be persistent in shopping the stores frequently because going once in a while is probably not going to net you significant finds. You need to be knowledgeable about the things you’re looking for. If you collect ironware, you probably know a good piece when you see it and can snap it up. You need timing….know the best days to go for new items in the stores you frequent. Lastly, you need luck in getting some of those great finds. The occasions when persistence, knowledge and timing come together in the perfect storm can net you a treasure.
Above you can see a coffee pot, creamer and sugar in the Friendly Village pattern by Johnson Brothers of England. This is a really well known and sought after pattern that people collect and bring out on special occasions. I’ve run across a few pieces over the years but, if they were in pristine condition, they were pretty expensive so I tended to pass. There are also pieces available on eBay and Etsy. Antique shops would also be a place to look for pieces. You don’t really see them in Thrift Stores too often….at least not in my area.
This collection had just been put out on the shelf in one of my favorite Thrift Stores. I couldn’t believe it. There are 147 pieces and I’ll show you what I found. The coffee pot, cream and sugar from above plus an additional sugar are beautiful and in superb condition.
There are 6 demitasse cups and saucers. Quite lovely and you can see from the picture no chips, cracks or stains. Really perfect condition. These must have been someone’s very special dishes. When I find things like this china I often wonder who the owner might have been, what was their life like, who sat down to dinner at the table and used these same dishes. Fascinating to me.
Next are two pitchers….one is larger than the other and both are larger than the creamer. Again you can see the beautiful condition found in these dishes.
A large number of serving pieces were part of the set. They included two 14-inch platters, two 12-inch platters, 3 round serving bowls, two large oval serving bowls and two small oval serving bowls, two gravy boats, the pitchers mentioned above and a couple of other serving pieces.
This covered butter dish was another piece in the set.
When I separated all the dishes into sizes and types I found 8- 10 1/2″ dinner plates, 13-10″ dinner plates, 8-8″ square plates, 15-6 1/2″ round plates, 4-7″ bowls, 8-6 1/2″ bowls, 6-5 1/4″ bowls and 4-4 1/2″ coasters for using under a glass on a table.
There were also 20 cups with matching saucers and then a few extra saucers.
It was difficult getting every piece into one picture. In all, there were 147 pieces included in the lot of dishes. They were sold together and the store didn’t want to separate pieces. It would probably have been much more expensive that way. These were well cared for dishes and so I am happy to carry on that tradition as they settle in their new home.
I also ran across a set of hand blown glasses with the pontil marks. Loved the ridges that carry the eye up to the flaring rim of the glass. They had a set of 8 so I snatched those up from a Goodwill this week.
The Friendly Village dishes came in at a great price….a thrift store price. Persistence, timing, knowledge and a little bit of luck will allow you to find those thrift store treasures.
Have a wonderful thrifting week.