So last Monday and Tuesday I showed off some of my scores from St. Vincent de Paul, and mentioned a couple of times a special score that I hadn't shown. I still haven't unpacked/cleaned up/checked over that special score, but I did find a picture online, to show you what I found:
Hallcraft "Shape" line, designed by Eva Zeisel.
The pattern is called "Harlequin".
Image taken from Funky Home Finds
I found several cups, saucers, berry bowls and dinner plates. One or two out of all of the pieces were in really good shape, but most of my haul, I freely admit, was chipped, scratched and even, in the case of one of the dinner plates, a little bit cracked. But the pattern was so unusual, and the price so right that I couldn't pass it up. According to replacements.com the pattern was discontinued in 1955, and according to the guy I spoke to at China Finders on Cherokee Street in South St Louis, it is not easy to find, and not cheap (I thought, since the condition of what I found isn't that great, I might be able to fill it out with some not-that-great serving pieces and have a not-that-great quality, but totally rockin' atomic set of dishes). He didn't have any of it, and only knew of one platter available, for $65.00. Seeing as how I spent less than a quarter of that for all of what I have, and seeing as how I'm all thrifty, I'll stick with my turquoise speckled Melmac dinnerware I've been using proudly for years:
Vintage perfection!
This set is one thing I can guarantee you I will never put up on Etsy. It's beautiful, functional, virtually indestructible, and I love it dearly. I find melamine stuff frequently - you saw the pink set I bought last week already - but this? Since the day I found it, I have never come across even a single piece of this set at any thrift store, garage or estate sale. I am very attached!
So, for anybody who might be reading - a question, in two parts:
Do you thrift? What's your equivalent of my beloved turquoise Melmac set?
