Japanese ironstone

I've developed an eye for Japanese ironstone, a type of earthenware made of clay with iron in it. Japanese ironstone always seems to have a certain look to it: clean and crisp lines with artsy shades.

In Value Village the other day I found a whack of it. A set of four retro cups, with "Primastone genuine ironstone oven detergent craze proof bronze Japan" on the bottom, were only $1.99.

This lone square dish by Mikasa, was $2.99. I plan on using it as a spoon rest.

I agonized a bit more over these contemporary purple plates called Sasaki by Vignelli Designs, Japan.

I loved the purple but had to go away and think on the price, $2.99 for the large plates (4 in the set) and $1.99 each for the 3 bowls and one lone side plate.

But I've been living with avocado green dishes, which believe me make most meals look grotesque. So I went back and bought the lot and got 30 percent off EACH individual plate - please let me digress as this is a post-script to my Sally Ann vs. Value Village post where I mentioned you can get 30 percent off your purchase if you fill up a stamp card. I made the assumption I'd get 30 percent off all the dishes added up us a subtotal. But no, I got 30 percent off each individual plate, which means I didn't get the deal I thought I'd get. If you have the stamp card and want to take advantage of the 30 percent off, you'll get a better bang for your buck if you save it for a higher ticket item!

Still, I love them, and look how great food looks on them! I'll still keep the green ones as I paid a fair amount of cash for them a few years ago. I can even try mixing the green with the purple for the rare dinner party where I have 12 people ...

TIPS: If you like the look of of this type of tableware, troll the thrift shops and always take a peep at the bottom of the item as it should have a "Japan" mark on it.

Crazing - what look like a network of little cracks - indicates the item is probably retro. To my knowledge crazing isn't dangerous and in fact I love the look of it.