Fiesta: Bowl Games

Not the Tostitos brand of Fiesta Bowl game. That's not for another 98 days.  (Not that I'm counting, or anything.)

No, this is about my fascination with mixing bowls, namely Fiesta.  We might characterize it as a preoccupation, perhaps.  I don't think it's an obsession; not yet, anyway.  (Others might have a different opinion.)

The bowl that started it all.

It all started innocently enough.  On one of my many antique/junk store forays (back before eBay dragged everything right to the virtual doorstep of my metaphorical "cave"), I was looking for Fiesta pieces and came across a small turquoise mixing bowl.  I had no idea of its significance, I just knew I liked it.  It--like many pieces of Fiesta you might find gathering dust in the back of an antique store--was not in perfect condition - it had a a few chips and dings. But I thought it would look nice with the rest of my pieces and it was just a few bucks.

For several years, it remained my only bowl.

Until I came across another one.

With the second bowl came the realization they came in various sizes and colors.  (This was still in the pre-Google and eBay era, before everything you could possibly want to know - or buy - could be hunted down with a few keystrokes.)

It was an epiphany of sorts.

And it started me on an odyssey that has spanned more than a decade.   Piece by piece, bowl by bowl, I've slowly accumulated bowls along with an appreciation and familiarity with the shapes and sizes in the Fiesta and Kitchen Kraft line.

In case you're curious, the Kitchen Kraft line has a trio of bowls, and there are seven bowls in the Fiesta set.  The bowl prices range from $10-$25 for smaller or banged-up bowls with chipped rims or large cracks, to several hundred  for bowls in good to perfect condition.   A set of seven nesting bowls commands a price of $1000 on eBay these days.  (That's what they ask for them; I have no idea who buys them for that price.)  If you find bowls with lids, the price goes into the stratosphere - a single bowl with matching lid can go for $1000 or more.  Crazy, huh?

For the past few years, I have enjoyed displaying a full set of three Kitchen Kraft bowls, and all but the largest Fiesta bowl proudly in my kitchen.  That bowl (known as #7) is relatively rare and therefore relatively expensive.

Kitchen Kraft bowls on the left; Fiesta on the right.  Yes I have 8 of them; 2 are duplicates.

I limited myself to paying no more than $50 for any single bowl, which placed most of the large bowls firmly out of range. And so you can  imagine my surprise and delight when I saw this red #7 bowl for $50 a few days ago.

Lucky #7, I can't wait to see you in person!

I had to go up to $56 to win it, but it's on its way to me and will complete my set.

Of course, there ARE other Fiesta and Homer Laughlin bowls to collect...stay tuned!

Happy collecting,