I try not to thrift. I really try. But then sometimes we talk ourselves into it, like at the cabin last week. The cabin really needed a tea strainer and a stock pot so we decided to just peek in and see what they had.
In the end, I never even looked for the stock pot. Or the tea strainer. Because I found these and I let out a little audible "Eeeeek!!!!!" and then muttered to Lupine, "These are the coolest dishes I have ever seen." And you know Goodwill. They tend to be… overpriced as thrift stores go. And yes, $2 per plate, $1.50 per bowl, and $1 per cup or saucer did seem steep (which in retrospect was a screamin' deal already). But then I saw it. The "Clearance" sticker on the serving platter (The amazing barn-raising platter above). It said, "Set – $4.99" and I "eeeeeek!"ed again.
So I did It. I bougth a big box of dished that I most certainly do not need and that I love so much I find myself making tea just to drink out of one of these cups. See the buggy? And the folk dancers? And the men hand-hewing beams for the barn? And the farmers!? Good gracious these are awesome. They're like a peek into my future I tell you. We've got beams to make and chickens to feed and fields to plow. I'm sure of it.
I thought they were unmarked when I bought them, but it turns out only the large platter and the small pieces are unmarked. They rest are quaintly labeled "Bucks County" by Royal China, Ohio. I did some snooping around on Ebay and it seems I scored quite the bargain. In Pete's words, "Wow. That means if we break any they'll be really, really expensive to replace."
Because he knows I will never sell them.
Ever.
Now then, I think I need to refill my tea cup. My adorable yellow buggy and hay wagon tea cup. (Eeeeeek!)
How cute! And, yes, I understand the EEEEEEKK!!! feeling. I do the same thing with old dishes. EEEEkk!!!! 🙂
I gasped. Audibly. I would have snatched those up in a HEARTBEAT as well!!! They would look so incredibly lovely in my kitchen in my new (old) house, too! Honestly, though, I’m excited to thrift some really neat things to feather our new nest!!!
Good deal. I would have bought them too at the first price you mentioned.
Well, if you ever want to *give* them away, they would find a great home here. 😀
I am Eeekkking as I read this! I love dishes and these are so very cute! a tad jealous of your score! 🙂
Seeing as I am originally from Bucks County PA, and they are the Bucks County pattern, I think you have to send them to me!!! That sounds fair no?
They are truly the coolest dishes ever. Ever.
They were made for you!
What a great find!
Yep, coolest dishes… ever. May you enjoy them endlessly, cover them with delicious food and sip bountiful cups of tea!
🙂
So very cute! Those are the most frustratingly wonderful finds. The thing you need the least is always the item you find that is over the top adorable. I really love your blog, by the way. I’ve been following for a while and am always excited to see your next posts.
EEEEEEEK is right. Those plates are so awesome. They kind of remind me of The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton. One of my faves. Good find Rachel.
Great find!!! I wish I could find things like that at my local thrift shop!
Now THAT is Thrifting Karma.
So lovely! I love the dancing couple on the saucer, so exuberant!
Must. restrain. jealousy! Love those. Well thrifted!
Those ARE cool! I love thrifting, although I have reigned it in ALOT in the past year since I have been moving in the simple living direction. I so would have picked these up though. What a steal!
Thank you!
I knew you’d dig ’em.
I am in love with those. Nice score!
Ok I agree. Coolest dishes ever 🙂
Holy cats! I’ve never, ever seen those when I’ve been out antiquing. Love them!
Very nice – I would have grabbed them up also for that price 🙂
Hi – I wandered into your blog from….well I am not sure where from! I just had to comment on your Buck’s County dishes. The pattern looks like a Lois Lenski illustration. I love those dishes! Shirley in Washington
those really are fabulous dishes. it looks like an amish barn raising – and there are a few amish in ohio. great blog!
I’m here from ATG and I so relate to your need to have to drink tea from your new cups. That is the fun of thrifting; finding items that just belong in your home and that make you happy. I have silver plate that I must use when I eat certain foods.The pattern is adorable and I too feel they look like Lois Lenski illustrations. Goodwill is expensive but there aren’t thrift stores nearby to search through, so I buck it up and haunt them like a ghost.
What fun, enjoy!
I totally saw an item from that collection recently. Bummer on me for not buying it.
I found a set o these in my grandmother’s attic and they are now proudly displayed in my dining room. They are so fun!
Such a treasure!
Oh my God! I collect those and the story why is amazing. If you ever want to sell please let me know!
Dear Miss “Eeek,these plates are awesome!”. I too own a set of Bucks County dinnerware. But it’s not for any of the reasons you gave for yourself, nor one of those who commented, that I could see.
I’m nearing 70, and as a young teen our family left our home and all its contents behind. This included the beloved dinnerware, Bucks County, was left in the china cabinet.
How beloved? As a child I those dinnerplates with the barns, the dancers…the animals; they kept me amused and curious. They were like storybook friends I could make up farm stories about. We lived in rural Ohio then, and my mother, who’s heritage is Pennsylvania Dutch, told us 5 children how these scenes were from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where many Amish lived, then she explained Amish. I never knew the real design source for this set, and would love to know. Being from the region these plates were produced (Sebring, Ohio), and as a social/cultural historian…it would be fascinating to learn.
Little by little, at flea markets, thrift stores and auctions…I’ve been able to accumulate an entire set of the original pattern and color of Bucks County (which you have…it’s in other styles, colors)…and well, it is a charm and joy to eat from the plates.
Thank you for being so enthusiastic about this treasure.
Hello, Bonnie. What a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing! How heartbreaking it must have been to walk away leaving everything behind, and what a delight that you have rebuilt your magical collection. I wrote this post back in 2012, but just this spring I felt something pulling me into the very same second hand store again (it’s over 4 hours from my home in an area I don’t visit often) and I said out loud to myself as I turned my car off of the highway, “Maybe I’ll find more Bucks County dishes!” Amazingly, I did. A stack of bowls, a couple more mugs, and enough plates that we can enjoy them everyday now without worry. Thanks again for sharing. Blessings! ~ Rachel