The Retro Kitchen: Are You A Pink Plastics Collector Or A Cute Red Pyrex Person?

The Retro Kitchen: What Category Do Your Fall Into As A Collector?

I thought it was about time to discuss "The Retro Kitchen".  If you are passionate about vintage kitchens you know that what is "retro" to one person is not "retro" to another. Some of my collector friends who adore the 1950s, not only use kitchen collectibles as decorative  accessories, but they actually use the  stuff in their kitchen.

Kitchen Houseware Collectors Fall Into Two Main Categories

I  divide "Retro kitchen" people into two main categories ...."Retro pink aqua yellow" and "Retro yellow red white green" collectors.  Both types are "Retro" but they decorate their kitchens very differently and they seem to approach the whole retro life style very differently as well.

PINK PLASTIC PEOPLE Versus RED YELLOW GREEN COLLECTORS

The plastic people like AQUA-PINK-YELLOW . They love aluminum, stainless steel, glassware and  PLASTICS.

Poodles, bomerangs, starbursts and abstract textiles tickle their fancy.  While I do not have any hard research, it appears to me that the PINK/AQUA boomerang-ish collectors are more likely to also have Retro style bathrooms and cool barware. In fact I would take this one step further and say that for many of these passionate pink people are very artsy, quirky, creative types living in Metropolitan areas for the most part.

RED YELLOW GREEN WHITE RETRO KITCHEN COLLECTORS


In the red-yellow-white-green group,  CUTE is the operative theme. Embroidered pot holders, vintage aprons, roosters, florals, Pyrex and  ceramic bowls are their comfort zone. This is not to say that you will not

find some collectors who buy a little bit of everything, but my expereince is that the majority of collectors  are either in the PINK PLASTICS  group or the RED CUTE group.

Red Plastics A Sub-Category Of Retro Kitchen Collectors

I should mention that some RED YELLOW GREEN WHITE collectors do indeed buy plastics, but their taste in plastics is still CUTE, generally having floral decals or being paired with cute shelving paper or vintage textiles.



Does Age Or Gender Play A Role In What You Collect In YOur Retro Kitchen? 


So I ask my readers....what group are you in? Does age play a role in what colors you collect? What about men and women? I have a lot of kitchen collectibles customers who are are men who love the pink/aqua/yellow collectibles. I'd love to hear more about what got you started in your collections and if the retro life style expands beyond your kitchen?

P.S. Mid-Century collectors are  in a different category.

As most of you already know.....Mid-Century is the hot era right now. However, the PINK PLASTIC collectors are not the same as the Mid Century collectors who are after   higher end designer ceramics and kitchenwares.

Egg cup photo courtesy of http://pinkpiccadillypastries.blogspot.com/

 Red Formica table from http://www.facebook.com/pages/Georgia-Mountain-Market/

Beverage glasses from http://kibster.wordpress.com/page/13/

Dish rack from http://www.salvagechicantiques.com/home.html

C. Dianne Zweig is the author of Hot Kitchen & Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s and Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes. She is also the Editor of I Antique Online an actively growing internet based resource community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles and art. You can find Dianne’s fabulous retro and vintage kitchen, home and cottage collectibles at The Collinsville Antiques Company of New Hartford, CT, a 22,000 feet antique emporium with an in-house retro café. To read more articles by C. Dianne Zweig click on this link: C. Dianne Zweig’s Blog Kitsch ‘n Stuff Email me at dianne@cdiannezweig.com Visit my website, CDianneZweig.com Dianne is a member of: The American Society of Journalists and Authors The Society of Professional Journalists