Vintage Kitchen Collectibles Help Warm Up Today’s Commercial Style Kitchens
Posted on June 14, 2008 | Filed Under
Home Improvement Kitchen
Even though folks are spending less time in the kitchen, interestingly enough, there is a renewed interest in acquiring vintage cookware, baking dishes, range sets and other kitchen items. It seems that people are falling in love with kitchen treasures of the past. And surprisingly though "stay at home" moms rarely identify with homemaker's of yesterday, they still like to be surrounded by some of grandma's kitchen accessories. In fact women (and men) who work outside the home , also enjoy having some of nana's kitchenwares sitting atop granite counters or alongside stainless steel appliances, computers, T.V.'s. and microwaves. Although it is trendy to build kitchens which have an industrial edge, it is also popular to soften the look by mixing vintage style with a contemporary look.
Of course "housewives" of the caliber of your grandmother's or certainly great grandmother's generation are indeed becoming an extinct breed, their "tools of the trade" (kitchenwares) appear to be "living on" in homes everywhere. And while Home Economics Departments which once offered important foundation courses such as the fundamentals of cooking and baking are almost extinct, vintage kitchenwares are still very popular. This is a curious observation since now-a-days , staying home for a "fresh home cooked meal" means popping into the microwave yesterday's container of Lo Mein or a frozen "home-style package of Macaroni and Cheese.
So what's all the fuss about buying kitchen collectibles that will hardly be used? That is the point, they are for show, not for use. Homeowners like these objects because they are charming and bring back fond memories. Of course there are indeed seasoned collectors who really belong in a different category. They are obsessed with their collections and are always buying more and more kitchen collectibles of a particular type. The casual buyer may buy a few vintage kitchen wares for decoration.
Thankfully there are a lot of kitchen collectibles still around because back in the late thirties and throughout the forties so many manufacturers launched new products such as pots and pans, small and large appliances and housewares. Remember, although today we take for granted so many of these gadgets and housewares, back in the day they were hot news. And manufacturers wanted to spread the word so they developed huge advertising programs to get the attention of "housewives". Companies flooded the market with free recipe booklets, samples and even in house demonstrations of cookware and utensils.
Luckily, for collectors and others, there are still plenty of grandma's favorite kitchenwares stuffed away in closets, attics, basements and garages which make their way into shops, tag sales and auctions. . There is no need to panic, despite the fact that women are spending less time in the kitchen cooking and serving their families meals from scratch, there are plenty of vintage goodies still out there. In fact there are also plenty of buyers of these relics as well.
While homeowners buy kitchen collectibles for show, professional chefs are also buying these items. Seasoned cooks who know their way around restaurant kitchens are actually using these items. Vintage mixers, ricers, utensils and gadgets are favored by many chefs who can count on their durability and reliability.
Are kitchen collectibles going to be a thing of the past? Will current day imported products hold up so that they might be passed onto to our children? The older kitchen wares, rolling pins, crocks, bowls, range sets etc have been around for decades and continue to do the job quite well. There still is plenty of quality vintage housewares fortunately still in circulation. As far as the newer gadgets and imported wares... some have their doubts as to whether these products will stand the test of time.
C. Dianne Zweig is a kitschy kitchen collector and the author of Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s (Collectorbooks.com). She has just completed her second book, Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes also by Collectorbooks.com. Her collectibles can be found at the Plantsville General Store Antique Center in Plantsville, CT. For further information write to her at Dianne@CDianneZweig.com
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