How pretty are these champagne glasses? Sometimes beautiful vintage treasures are waiting to be found and sometimes I’m lucky enough to find them! But in some ways its not luck at all. I’m always looking for hidden gems and patience is rewarded.
When I spotted these glasses in a thrift store in Northern Virginia, I was just looking for blog props. Yes, that is the life of a blogger, constantly looking for that pretty piece that will look lovely in a photo while also highlighting your recipe. And what’s coming up? Lots of holidays where bubbly cocktails are served! Which means I need elegant and festive glassware that’s easy on the wallet.
As a thrifty shopper, you have to have an eye for a diamond in the rough. Over the years I’ve become much more selective, preferring to purchase items in mint or near perfect condition, but condition can sometimes be hard to determine. These champagne coupes were cloudy with dirt and covered in some brown sticky goo. Just touching them made me long for hand sanitizer like it was flu season! But I looked beyond the grime, seeing the curvy shape, the delicate etching and decided that at $1 a glass this set of eight could fill a void in my cocktail glass collection.
I took a chance, and am thrilled to say that a good cleaning revealed they are in great condition. One of the glasses has a couple light scratches and a flea bite but the rest are in excellent condition. Not bad for $8! But this find gets even better!
The glasses were unmarked so I did a little research on Etsy and it turns out that these champagne saucers are the Holly pattern manufactured by the Fostoria Glass Company. They sell for almost $14 a piece at Replacements and the cheapest I could find them on Etsy or Ebay was $4 a glass. So I got a great deal!
It makes me think back to my wedding registry and the very lovely crystal that I keep in a china cabinet. It was so expensive AND the pattern is already retired so I’m afraid to use it. So if you are just starting out or looking to upgrade your china or crystal collection, being thrifty can definitely have its rewards! You can find great pieces, sometimes a whole collection, for what you might spend on one glass, or plate new. Added benefit is that you are much less likely to cry when a guest accidentally breaks one of your $1 vintage finds than if they broke a $60 piece that was a wedding gift!
If you’ve found any fun treasures lately, tell us about them below or post a pic on Instagram and tag us @vintagekittyblog
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