collecting: thrifting for transferware

Monday was a fun day as I had a chance to catch up with my dear friend Laura at her adorable new home in Orange and do a little thrifting with her as well!

Laura recently moved to the historic district in Orange to be within walking distance of the adorable downtown area there. Her home is actually a little 1946 cottage that she and her husband recently updated with the most amazing mid-century style!

We had fun catching up at Pandor for breakfast and then immediately hit a few of the antique stores there near the Orange Circle.

Laura and I are truly thrifters at heart, so we quickly moved on to a few of the local thrift stores, and began fun treasure hunt, with transferware being at the top of my hunting list!

I rarely find purple transferware and couldn’t pass this plate up. It’s actually a souvenir plate, similar to the state plates that I love, and just look at the floral border!

These shops did not disappoint, and here are the handful of pretty plates I found. In addition to this fun transferware, I also found three more faux bamboo forks and knives to add to my collection. 😉 

I just love blue and white state plates, and I found the Chicago and Nashville ones on Monday! They're going to look great on my red, white and blue table that I'm setting for 4 of July. 

What could be more patriotic that featuring your favorite states at each place setting?

Red transferware is always on my radar as well, and I just love the tea cups that have intricate designs on the inside as well.

This one had no saucer, but guess what?! It’s so easy to mix and match single cups and saucers and make new sets.

Sometimes the hallmarks on the bottom of these pieces are just as interesting as the intended design on the top!

Since I was a little girl, I’ve always loved the patterns on this type of china. The red transferware also works great with green, which is harder to find.

I think I only have two sets of green, and you may remember I used these for a Christmas tablescape a few years back.

Black transferware is also amazing! I love it at Halloween, or just to set an elegant table any time of year!

And then there’s brown which is so pretty for fall. Here I've combined it with this pretty April Cornell tablecloth that coordinates so well wit this viney pattern on the plates.

I especially love the brown transferware that’s hand painted with some color. You see a lot of this for Thanksgiving featuring a turkey or fruit.

I have used purple for this Mardi Gras table a couple of years ago, but like I said, it's hard to find vintage purple transferware while thrifting. 

I got lucky on Monday with that one plate! The ones above were actually found at TJ Maxx years ago!

So now that I’ve got a few more state plates, I’m working on a fun red, white and blue table.

Are you a crazy dish collector like me, and do you collect transferware? If so, what’s your favorite color?

I hope you’ll check back later this week for more on the patriotic table I’m working on…

ciao! fabiana