A pretty pair of vintage glassware spotted at the thrift store. I believe the sweet pink flowers with unusual black leaves and stems was hand-painted onto clear glass creamer and handled sugar bowl at Fran Taylor’s Gay Fad Studios (located first in Detroit, Michigan, later in Lancaster, Ohio). Neither glass piece was marked, so I don’t know where the glass ‘blanks’ were from.
Had I deeper pockets, I would have bought them and really started a Gay Fad collection. (I have three pieces now; I do love the floral pieces and fruit designs — but there’s a lot to choose from!) Or maybe a pink and black glassware collection. (I have a few random single glasses with pink and black designs.) But you need to be more in the black to really start new collections, even at thrift store prices. *sigh*
I was looking up Gay Fad and saw your post. I have many items from Gay Fad . My mother was an officer of Gay Fad Studios and a personl friend of Fran Taylor. I didn’t know Gay Fad glassware was getting to be a collectors item. I am getting to the age now where I need to scale down and haven’t known what to do with my mother’s collection. Any suggestions ?
Thank You
Hi Sandy,
The first thing I’d do is photograph and document your pieces — and any paperwork etc., that your mother may have saved. Not only are there collectors who may be interested in your pieces, but the information on patterns etc. is relatively valuable. The photos will help you, whether you want to sell the entire collection, a group or lot, or individual pieces.
Hello Deanna and Sandy,
I was searching the web for anything related to Gay Fad Studios when I found this great website and this webpage. Gay Fad Studios was my (late) aunt’s company and my sister is very interested in collecting information about it. Sandy, if you are interested in sharing, is there some (safe) way in which you and she can correspond, either on this website or, if that is not appropriate, by some other means?
BTW, if you are interested, there is a short biography about Fran Taylor posted here:
National Women’s History Museum
Chronicles of American Women
http://www.nwhm.org/Chronicles/Taylor.html
Hello Deanna and Sandy,
I was searching the web for anything related to Gay Fad Studios when I found this great website and this webpage. Gay Fad Studios was my (late) aunt’s company and my sister is very interested in collecting information about it. Sandy, if you are interested in sharing, is there some (safe) way in which you and she can correspond, either on this website or, if that is not appropriate, by some other means? BTW, if you are interested, there is a short biography about Fran Taylor posted here:
National Women’s History Museum, Chronicles of American Women
http://www.nwhm.org/Chronicles/Taylor.html