Pfaltzgraff china fans are passionate. They love their dinnerware patterns. Dish lovers of all kinds understand when Pfaltzgraff owners change out their kitchen cabinets, bringing in their spring, summer, fall or winter china patterns when the season change, like the rest of us ordinary folks change our clothes closets.
Dishies understand, too, about owning several sets of china.
Some Pfaltzgraff lovers have decorated their kitchens with their special patterns, right down to the rugs, the breadbox and the light switch plates.
People who enjoy Pfaltzgraff appreciate the classic patterns and sturdy manufacture of the stoneware. This china was American made for many years, and there are collectors seeking out the ware from around 1990 and earlier, similar to those who seek out the older Fiesta by Homer Laughlin.
In popular patterns like Yorktown, Tea Rose, Heritage and Winterberry, Pfaltzgraff has made hundreds of different accessory pieces over the years to go with the dinnerware, including flatware, storage canisters, cookware, plastic ware and other accessories.
Yes, even rugs, wallpaper borders and switch plates.
However, if you own some of the less popular, discontinued stoneware patterns like Valley View or Mountain Shadow, or the fine china in patterns like Yuletide or Secrets that were made briefly in the late 1980s or early 1990s, then you have your work cut out for you to complete or add to your table settings.
How can you find more of your cherished china?
- Internet-based retail outlets are a great place to look (like us!). A Google search on Pfaltzgraff and the pattern name should bring you listings on eBay, Bonanzle and many other web-based retail outlets.
- Some websites have Want It Now or registries, where you can sign up for email notification when more of your discontinued dinnerware pattern arrives.
- Websites can also help you connect with locally available stock. Classifieds ads on newspaper websites or on CraigsList allow people to advertise items they have for sale. Sellers may not want to ship china, and someone in your area may have exactly what you’re looking for.
- People who want to downsize and give away china they’re not longer using may post on FreeCycle, a network of free online membership groups that you can subscribe to, based on where you live. These groups are available in many metropolitan areas, and can also be found by a Google search using terms FreeCycle and your city name.
- Traditional, local sources like thrift stores, rummage and garage sales, are also a good source, if you have time and a pair of sturdy walking shoes. The biggest danger here may be the other tempting wares you’ll find along the way.
No matter which Pfaltzgraff patterns you enjoy, there’s nothing so satisfying as finding those last two dinner plates, fruit bowls, or the stove top salt and pepper shakers you’ve been needing to complete your set.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Jolene // Sep 5, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Nice article! And a very lovely site you have here.
There is also Pfatzgraff’s ‘By Request’ option on their website. They offer limited amounts of items from discontinued patterns on these pages. What is offered is determined by customer interest - ie ‘popular demand.’ You can go to their ‘contact us’ page at their website and let them know which patterns/items you are looking for - and if there is enough interest it, maybe it will be added to their offerings.
You don’t happen to know if they give names to the various shapes they use? I’ve got pieces in different patterns that use the same ‘blanks’. I’ve been trying to find if they give these shapes names so I could search for items by the shapes that I like. I can’t seem to find any info regarding this.
2 Kimbesa // Sep 5, 2009 at 11:55 pm
Thanks!
Yes, I’m familiar with the “By Request” service and it’s great that Pfaltzgraff will consider making more of these popular patterns.
I haven’t found the shapes generally to have names, as is true in some older, vintage dinnerware lines. I’m sure there must be, at least names or numbers internally for the manufacturer.
But there are families of patterns, such as you will see in patterns like Ocean Breeze, Mountain Shadow and Canyon Ridge, for example. There are other pattern names in this family. The shapes are the same, just the glaze colors make them different. In this particular group, I believe Ocean Breeze is the only pattern still being made.
In the past, have spoken to customer service people in York, Pa. and some of them are very knowledgeable about the patterns. But I don’t know if that office is still in operation.
3 Monice // Dec 2, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Do you know of anywhere I can sell a huge lot of Summer Breeze? I don’t want to sell it piece mill, but the whole thing. I have tons of it.
4 Kimbesa // Dec 3, 2009 at 1:14 am
For large sets of china, you can explore your local CraigsList.org. That way you won’t have to ship.
However, you would probably get more if you were to split up the set and sell it online.
Please take the usual security precautions when dealing with strangers, after all it is the Internet.
Good luck! Summer Breeze is a charming pattern.
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