I shared a recent post on 5 tips on how to display and use your antique dishes.  And it got me thinking that I have never shared the story behind our pink Mason’s Vista dishes.   If you just stumbled upon my site, I have a series that I regularly share here.  Our antique pieces have been with us for so many years.  They each have a great story and one day I realized you guys don’t know them.  That is when the series, The Story Behind our Pieces began.

The story behind our antique Mason’s Vista dish collection is a good one.  And it goes back roughly 25 years ago.

The Story Behind Our Pink Mason’s Vista Collection

I’ve talked before about Deb and I working at the dental office in the late 90s.  It’s actually where we first met.  We were a tight knit group of girls who worked there who all had lots of the same interests.  Our office manager has the same love for antiques and just simply being at home like I do.  She is a collector of all things… also like me.  ????

She has a collection of pink, brown, and blue Mason’s Vista dishes unlike I have ever seen.  I’m unsure if there is a green and if she collects it but it wouldn’t shock me.  She has pieces that I’ve never seen.  It’s where I first learned about them.  I always thought, if I find a set of those, I am for sure buying them.  I think they are beautiful.

The Find of the Century

Every single year, I went to this large edition garage sale in the town north of us.  I never missed it.  We always went on Friday and shopped until we dropped.  It was the end of the day and my friend and I were getting very tired and decided to stop at on last one.  I walked in and under the table was an entire set of 8 of pink Mason’s Vista dishes for $150.  I was so excited when I saw them.  They guy told me that he and his wife got them as a wedding gift YEARS ago and they never used them.  So, they decided to sell them that year. 

I thought about it and decided I didn’t want to spend the $150… even though I knew it was an excellent deal.  We left.  

I couldn’t stop thinking about those dishes…

When I got home, I called the office manager and told her about them and about the price since she was the expert.  She basically said I better get my ass back up there and buy them if I ever wanted a set.  ????   Because that was an excellent price.  Of course, everyone had closed their garage sales by that time.

I always got discombobulated in that edition because it was huge and I could never find my way around.  I couldn’t sleep because I kept thinking about those dang dishes. Saturday morning, I decided to run back up there and try to find that sale again.  There was also a possibility that they sold.  I got lost a few times.. but eventually found the garage with my dishes.  I told him that I loved them but didn’t want to spend that much money.  He told me he would take $125 for them.  So, of course, I bought them.

Where they wound up….

When I was married to my ex, I had this antique cabinet filled with odds and ends.  Once I got my pink Mason’s Vista dishes, I removed my mismatched stuff in that cabinet and displayed my new set. I LOVED them so much.   Through out the years, I kept them in that same cabinet in about every house we lived in.

When we lived in the tiny house, I had to pick and choose what dishes I would take and what I would store.  I decided to use my dishes as my every day dishes.  They were displayed in my antique cabinet that I used both as a pantry and a dish cabinet.  People used to ask me all of the time if I was afraid I would break them.  And, to be honest, I never thought about it.  My motto is to use what you love.  Why have things if you are going to put them in storage.  Either display them where you can see them or use them.  

When we moved to the rental, we decided to put them into storage because we simply didn’t have room.  I knew that they would be proudly displayed again once we had out new house.  But, recently, I decided I needed to see them again.  Deb grabbed them from storage and I am LOVING seeing them and using them again!

I have added several pieces throughout the years when I find them for good prices at garage sales, flea markets, eBay, or Mercari.  I always get a large charge when I see a new piece.  

And that’s the story behind our Mason’s Vista dishes.