Please see above the objects of my domestic obsession, CorningWare. I'll jump over a six foot fence to grab a piece at a garage sale. I have been known to bum-rush the corningware section at Goodwill like a quarterback.
My addiction to CorningWare began rather innocently, I had to furnish the kitchen of our new home and I needed everything. But I was not going to spend a young fortune, oh no, I am a thrifter from way back. My Grandmother taught me the wisdom of shopping thrift stores at the tender age of 12.
Roaming through the racks and racks of gently used clothing at the Veteran of Foreign Wars (VFW) Thrift store at 43rd and the EL was my idea of paradise. I was the only 13 year old I knew with a full length mink coat that cost me $3.00.
A lot of my teenage contemporaries teased and made fun of my 2nd hand clothes, I cared not a jot.
I've always had a high sense of drama and wearing fine silk and satin that I had paid pennies for was and still is a blast.
Love to get that rush when I wear one of my Paloma Picasso leather handbags and someone compliments me on it.
When I started shopping for kitchenware, I hit Craig's List hard, and got lucky first time out. Went to an estate sale in the 'burbs and got 15 pieces of cware for $20.00. After doing a little online research, I was hooked.
CorningWare is the workhorse of cookware, you can freeze it, heat it and put it in the dishwasher, it is versatile and beautiful. Another advantage is it is good for the environment cause it never wears out, take care of it and you can leave it to your grandchildren. Don't drop it on a tile kitchen floor cause it will shatter like a bomb. It is truly a miracle of modern science.A miracle that was discovered by accident in 1953. Dr. S. Donald Stookey, a scientist for the Corning Glass Works in New York state tried to heat glass to 900 degrees. At 600 hundred degrees, the glass milkified, turning milky white with remarkable results.
In 1958 Corning launched CorningWare and made billions. Dr. Stookey was no one-trick pony, not at all. He also developed the technology that allows transition lens for glasses that adjust to your environment. Dude was awesome.
When he graduated from college he got two job offers, one from Nabisco and one from a glass company in New York state he had never heard of. He didn't want to be a baker, so he went to New York. I am so glad he did.
CorningWare is so versatile, freeze it, bake it, microwave it, it will never let you down. You can even put later models in the dishwasher. Yeah I know that is verboten amongst the purist in the CorningWare coven, but busy Mom does not have time to hand-wash a damned thing.
CorningWare is in high demand. I have seen EBay listings for a rare promotion items in the thousands. Some folks have a serious hard-on for unique items.
Not me, I like the ordinary, run of the mill Blue Cornflower. Simple, elegant and a beast in the oven. I had no idea that I could fall in love with cookware and it would love me back. No muss-no fuss cleanup, multi-functional and pretty to look at. What more could a girl wish for.
But here I am...I am ashamed to admit that I have 'bowed someone to get to a 10x10x2 roasting pan, but all's fair in the CorningWare Conflicts.
When I started collecting, about 3 years ago, CorningWare was dirt cheap, now thrift stores keep it under lock and key.
In order to keep my CorningWare addiction at acceptable levels I never spend more than $5.00 on a piece, but I have seen eBay auctions that gave me a nosebleed. While I have to admit, Cware is pretty neat.I am not taking out a second mortgage to pay for it.
Only died-in-the-wool super-thrifters understand the thrill of finding cware with lids(!) on senior 50% off discount day.
While hunting down bargains, we super-thrifters give each other the nod of respect as we search for undiscovered treasures. I get absolutely giddy when I remove the $1.99 sticker from my latest find.
Hubby is slowly coming over to the cware side, he can spot a range topper from two rows away. He is truly a super-thrifter's dream come true. He never complains that I have too much cware, he just helps me find somewhere to put it .
So in a way, cware is good for my marriage, our dates are not confined to 'date night', we 'day-date' at estate and garage sales. I think he gets a kick out of my cware happy dance when I find a great piece in the wild.
There is something soul-satisfying about reducing our family's carbon footprint by switching from Rubbermaid plastic to cware. Makes me feel rather smug. Here I am reducing the carbon emissions from my household and everything, go me.
Mid-Century Modern collectors are a special bunch of folks, all the things of our Grandparents that we threw away, we're scrambling to buy back.
My Grandmother instilled in my the love of a bargain, and the one of the proudest moments of my life is when my son asked to go thrifting with me. I knew I'd done something right as a mother.
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