Not Fenton: The Once-Popular Milk Glass Dishware We'd Be Thrilled To Find At The Thrift Store

Vintage kitchenware has seen a surge in popularity in recent years. From valuable vintage Pyrex pieces to look out for at thrift shops and estate sales to intricate crystal serving sets on resale sites like eBay and Etsy, it seems like everything is becoming collectible. For the most part, this is a positive shift. Shopping secondhand is one of the easiest ways to reduce your carbon footprint and stop items from ending up in landfills. Still, there are downsides.

As people become more interested in vintage dishes, the demand for them increases. Pieces by the most desirable brands get snapped up seemingly within seconds, leaving latecomers picking through the leftovers or shelling out big bucks on heavily marked-up resales. You can, however, avoid this trap if you're willing to dig deep into the research. There's a brand called Dynaware that created cookware with the same mid century-modern charm as Pyrex but without the hefty price tag.

Funnily enough, Dynaware was founded as a direct competitor to Pyrex. The manufacturers leaned so hard into imitation that products from either brand are often confused with one another. Dynaware dishes are more affordable than Pyrex, but that doesn't mean they're of poor quality. They're made of durable milk glass and decorated with pretty patterns that rival those of Pyrex. If you care more about style and quality than about seeing a popular brand name on the base, Dynaware cookware may be your hidden gem.

Victrocrisa, the company that produced Dynaware, was founded in Mexico in the 1930s or 1940s. A little later, in the mid-20th century, the company decided to take advantage of the popularity of Pyrex and Corningware and released the similar-looking Dynaware line of cookware. At the time, it was sometimes also labeled with the brand name Pyr-O-Rey. While it was moderately successful, far fewer pieces were produced compared with competitors like Pyrex. There were only a handful of patterns, with the brown daisy print the most popular by far.

Dynaware is likely to be found in the kitchenware section of a thrift store. The cookware was made of oven-safe milk glass, which is an identifying feature. If you prefer early pieces, check the base of your find for a mark that reads 'Dynaware Pyr-O-Rey Mexico.' This line came in a variety of different shapes, including casserole dishes, casserole bowls, pie dishes, and custard cups. If you're on the hunt for colored glassware, you should check the thrift store shelves for the rarer jewel-toned glass pieces from Dynaware, too.

Collectors aren't as ravenous for Dynaware cookware as they are for dishes by, say, Pyrex, so this isn't a particularly valuable kitchenware brand to hunt for at the thrift store. This may be bad news for resellers — for now, at least — but it's music to the ears of shoppers looking for vintage pieces at affordable prices. You can expect to pay $10 to $25 for single Dynaware pieces on eBay and anywhere from about $6 for individual dishes to around $110 for a full set on Etsy. Even if you haven't gotten lucky while thrifting, buying a Dynaware casserole dish to display in your kitchen won't break the bank.