Tuesday, October 6, 2009

DESIGN: Crazy Daisy Corelle Dishes

I gave birth to Lucy in 2004, before anyone knew anything about certain plasticware possibly contaminating us with BPA. Of course, she used Avent's BPA filled bottles at the time, and no one knew better. The big BPA scare came about when I was pregnant with Alice, and my hormonal, mothering instincts were in overdrive. I got rid of all plastics in the house with the wrong numbers on them, including refillable water bottles Eric and I had been using since our undergrad days at the University of Idaho. I was especially concerned with all the plasticware Lucy had been using and that Alice was soon to inherit, so I rid the house of it and made a commitment to these glass bottles, which we L-O-V-E and highly recommend. This also meant ridding our home of all the darling plastic dishes that were so handy for toddlers who like to chuck things on the floor. I began doing some research online on what other paranoid parents were doing in this BPA situation. A lot of parents recommended Corelle dinnerware, as it was affordable and is known for its generations of durability. Plus, you could find it in thrift stores for next to nothing and therefore you wouldn't feel devastated if your kid did break a piece. Or five. I was familiar with Corelle dishes through both my love of Pyrex and my childhood. Of course, my parents and my grandparents all had Corelle dishes for everyday use, and it wasn't until I hit the thrift store that the nostalgia took over and I HAD TO HAVE THESE for my girls:

My Grandma Shoda had this pattern, called Crazy Daisy or sometimes also known as Spring Blossom Green (there seems to be a bit of a controversy amongst Corelle collectors as to its appropriate pattern name). They came out in 1973, just three years after the Corelle company started. I've seen nearly complete sets of these dishes from between $50-$100 in antique stores and on collectors sites. I've also seen them, luckily, in my local thrift shops and at garage sales.

So I began the hunt, and have tracked down quite a few pieces for next to nothing. While I'm not quite near a full set, I have found many of these cup and saucer sets, which are perfect for the girls' tiny portions and we use the cups as bowls. I have to say that Corelle is NOT indestructible, as we have found out over the past few months, but at less than 25cents a piece, I can take it. Also, the color green on the dishes is my favorite and the daisy pattern just makes me happy. I also think the company is great, and if you're not as into vintage items like I am, check out their website, because they've got funky new patterns galore (like this one) to love and I'm sure someday your grandchildren will be collecting them from the the Savers and Goodwills of the future.

28 comments:

  1. OMG! We had this exact pattern when we were growing up. My mom still has them and just pulled them out after many years of storage to use instead of paper plates at get togethers.

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  2. We also had this pattern growing up ... though a lot of them did break eventually just from being used so often. By the time I was in high school, I think my mom bought new dishes. But nothing reminds me more of my mom's kitchen, and I'm thrilled you found some of your own!

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  3. Lisa, how funny! It is a perfect use for them, instead of creating more waste with paper plates. We, too, have plastic outdoor ware for summer parties. I love this pattern, too, Nicole and know my girls will remember them all their lives. And, to both of you, I love catching up on your lives via your blogs!

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  4. How funny! We had that pattern of Corelle in my house growing up. I also notice a pyrex bowl that we also had. You know the green mirror in your living room? Was it originally a dark chocolate brown? B/c it also looks like a mirror we had in our home. What a great idea. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. My daughter who is 21 LOVES the crazy daisy dishes. We too have been collecting them at Goodwills, Salvation Armys, garage sales, antique stores etc. We've also been collecting the Pyrex baking dishes, mixing bowls, salt and pepper shakers, etc. It's SO fun. I just got 50 pieces of it today at a consignment shop for 45.00. I was so excited. We had alot of the pieces already but needed some that were in there. I guess I'll sell the extra's on e-bay or something.

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  6. I have almost a whole set minus a coffee cup and maybe a bowl. I would like to sell the whole set for a reasonable price, I have the dinner ware set, mugs mixing bowls meat platter, serving bowls, oil and vinegar, butter dish (salt and pepper?) Are you interested.
    bdetillion@msn.com

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  7. This was actually Corelle's first dinnerware pattern in 1970, The proper name is Spring Blossom, the nick name is Crazy Daisy. There is an excellent description of all of Corelle's patterns, and the Pyrex, Glass Bake, Gemco, Fireking, and others who created compatables to go with the Spring Blossom art design... Check out Corellcorner.com I learned about plastic as a child, my Mother simply said that anything that made your food taste so bad, could not be good, then we begun to look that up in the early 80's and found out she was right.... We have never used plastics for anything, and be careful eating out... I can often taste the unsafe effects of plastic on food in resteraunts.

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  8. About to sell several pieces...let me know what you are missing if willing to purchase. Stephaniefehn@gmail.com

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  9. I am currently looking for these as I have the dinner plates, my salad plates and bowls were broken when I was growing up. It would be a dream come true to have a complete set of 12.

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