I first fell in love with Jadeite one hot July while tagging along with antiquer extraordinaire (my mom) at the Brimfield Antique Show in Brimfield, Mass.  Stay tuned come May for lots of Brimfield posting, btdubs.  I am slowly but surely building my Jadeite collection, starting with a butter dish and teacup, and planning on filling my cupboards one day with Jadeite plates of different shades of milky green.

A little history about Jadeite – it was most popular in the 1940′s and 50′s and purchased as cheap, stain and heat resistant glassware at hardware and dime stores.  If you are interested in collecting Jadeite, here are a few things to note:

• McKee was the first company to produce Jadeite in the 1930′s.  Their only pattern of glasswear is a delicate and frilly pattern called Laurel.  You can identify their pieces by the letters McK in a small circle on the back of their plates.
• The Anchor Hocking Company produced Fire-King Restaurantware in the color “Jade-ite”.  This is one of the most popular and hard to find patterns.  Alice is also another floral pattern by Fire-King which is a personal fave of mine.

If you would like more information on Jadeite pricing and collection, David Ross sells an excellent guide which can be found on Amazon.  Happy collecting!

Anchor Hocking “Alice” teacup at Replacements

Fire King-filled cabinets via Martha Stewart

Jadeite and cherries via hrecipesblogspot – love this color combination!

More jadeite cabinets via Country Living

Jadeite Leaf Plates

Jadeite shell dishes via Eddie Ross

Jadeite and Strawberries via Eddie Ross

A few of my personal favorite “Jadeite-like” loves: Kitchenaid in Pistachio, mint chip ice cream, and Madonna Inn Goblets!