Monday, January 29, 2007

Sasaki Colorstone, or How a Problem Begins

When S and I got married, we did a lot of traditional wedding stuff: white dress, huppah, first dance, Hawaii honeymoon. We also did some untraditional wedding stuff: chocolate cheesecake wedding cake, a bevy of girl ushers. And we didn't do some traditional wedding stuff: throwing the bouquet (I gave it to N, K's daughter, who was six at the time), garter (god forbid), NY Times announcement (I think I've blogged about that before), and registering for dishes.

We did register for kitchen equipment, and those pots, pans, and knives remain crucial to our daily life. But I remember thinking that registering for dishes seemed like a total pain. What if you got six of something, or one, or all the plates and none of the bowls? Then you'd just have to buy the rest of it yourself anyway. And besides, we didn't really care if we had fancy plates or expensive glass that would only break, but we did want good pots and pans. The clincher was falling in love with a relatively inexpensive set of dishes at a hip home store on 4th Street in Berkeley. I wish wish wish I could remember the name, but I can't. This was right at the beginning of 4th Street, and right at the beginning of hip home stores, and I visited the dishes several times, and then we decided it was ridiculous to register for them, since they were so inexpensive, but we would buy them for ourselves, and still get to be grown-ups with matching dishes for the first time ever.

Fast forward almost fifteen years (almost fifteen years!) and we still have those dishes, and I still love them. Well, we still have most of the dishes: eight dinner plates, eight salad plates, eight cups and saucers that I believe we have not used more than half a dozen times, if that, and four--no, make that three, as of yesterday--soup bowls. The soup bowls are a problem. I don't know if it's the shape or our misuse or what, but they break. We were down to one or two several years ago, and somehow I ended up at Marshall Fields with my dad and he ordered us a replacement set. But now we are back down and, alas, my beloved dishes have been discontinued.

What are these dishes of which I speak? Why, funny you should ask, they are Sasaki Colorstone Sapphire (and when I bought mine they had a cup and saucer instead of mug, and they were much much cheaper). But you know what? They are all over eBay! Or rather, Sasaki Colorstone is all over eBay, in all colors, as I discovered yesterday morning when, annoyed at the latest bowl to break (which it seemed hopeless to fix, as the two pieces had already been glued together twice, and in such a state it had persisted for quite a while, but now it seemed clearly determined no longer to be part of our kitchen), I started googling.

Well, you can imagine where this went. I--who have only bought one thing ever on eBay: a brown glass doorknob that no one else wanted, but we thought we needed for our old house's old door, though it turned out we didn't--bid on a package of two blue bowls and one hunter green bowl. There were eight hours left. I was outbid. I bid again. My bid held. I refreshed the page again and again as the last minutes ticked down. I won: two blue bowls and one hunter green bowl!

But wait, a hunter green bowl? What am I going to do with that? Aha! I could start buying bowls of all different colors. Plum, for instance. And maybe some more plates, because while we do have some handmedown white dinner plates, they are not Sasaki Colorstone, and wouldn't it be nice to have enough related plates for a dozen people, which happens often enough in this house, and wouldn't it be pretty to have an array of colors? I stopped myself for now, but I can tell there will soon be more Sasaki Colorstone in this house: at least three more soup bowls, and who knows what else. eBay and me: we could be friends.

(And if you're wondering about the no shopping in January resolution? Oh well...)

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Found your blog while searching for "Sasaki Colorstone" and I can completely empathize. We also got these when we were married 8 years ago. We have 3 colors, with 4 sets Sapphire, 4 sets Verdegris, 4 sets Plum, since we couldn't decide on just one color! They look great mixed up--blue cup on green saucer, etc. The bowls ARE the most vulnerable, just broke another sapphire one (my favorite color) the other day. This is such a gorgeous classic modern pattern--why was it discontinued? I know a few other architects (I am one) who also chose this pattern for their stoneware. HELP! I guess I'll be searching eBay too. The terracotta color looks like it could combine nicely with the sapphire and plum. . . .

Anonymous said...

I also found your page searching for "Sasaki Colorstone," as I'm searching for a set to match my humble apartment's color scheme. I'm curious: how much was the set when you originally bought it?

Becca said...

My recollection is $20 a place setting! But I could be making that up.

Anonymous said...

Becca et al,

I'm not sure if you'll ever read this but if you didn't come across my Sasaki Colorstone site in your earlier searches please check out:

http://homepage.mac.com/dlbennett/PhotoAlbum22.html

Currently I have a total of 15 complete settings in different colors and ~18-20 cup/saucers & mugs in my collection...including the two new colors Sasaki in 2002; Coffee & Wasabi. They also started producing mugs for some of the older colors. I don't believe they were ever as cheap as $20 per setting...my earliest ones were ~$30-40 depending on the sale :-) I'm glad there are others out there who appreciate the aesthetic nature of the series. Architects eh? Makes sense. It's the only recognizable pattern I've ever seen on Star Trek of all places. Evidently they stood the test of time! Ebay has been my best source for good deals and Replacements.com for the hard to find. Regards, Dave Bennett

Anonymous said...

wow. i feel even luckier now that i found your post. i was browsing around value village today and some nice plates caught my eye. i'd never heard of sasaki but i grabbed them. i snooped around a bit more and found some saucers and side plates as well as teacups. all in all, i found 3 dinner plates, 7 side plates, 6 saucers and 6 teacups in matte white. all for $20 !!!!!

Anonymous said...

I read your blog. I am a collector of Sasaki Solstice. I use it every day.

I say I'm a collector, because finding and paying for this pattern is collector's work, not housewares work.

This pattern is now owned by Lifetime/Pfatzgraf. I wrote to them suggesting they start reissuing Sasaki dinnerware, but they just don't get it.

I have to replace chipped dishes, which is about as Kosher as I get. I do this by following eBay and Overstock. Every couple of years, I hit a motherlode and stock up. I just bought 4 place settings for about $17 each, including shipping. Epar! (spelled backwards)

Anonymous said...

Back in the 80s there was a Pottery Barn on 23rd and 10th in NYC. I 2 boxes of matte light blue for around $25 a piece (4 place settings). I too wish they hadn't discontinued the pattern, and can't figure out why they did. Beautiful, simple, functional. Sigh. An older friend once commented that Colorblock was my generation's Russell Wright.

Heather said...

We just got back from going to yard sales and we found a set of the Sasaki Colorstone Sapphire dishes in a yard sale. We convinced my folks to buy them because they were beautiful, simple, and timeless. Plus they go well with other dishes they have. It is a service for 12 (dinner plates, salad plates, bowls, cups and saucers) ALL for $20!!! There are a few with some chips, but overall they look fantastic! What we don't understand is why not all of them have the Sasaki markings on the bottom. Strange! We're very happy to have found them.

JMB said...

Wow, I think I bought my Sasaki Saphire at the exact same store in Berkeley (since moved to San Diego and now am in Minneapolis)about 20 years ago. Now that I have kids, the dishes are breaking at a much higher rate, so I thought I'd go online to get replacements. Yikes, they're really expensive now. Who knew a lawyer could have such good taste. Thanks for the suggestion of mixing colors. I do love these dishes.

Anonymous said...

My husband and I bought Dazzling colorstone matt black when we got married back in 1991. Bloomindales in NYC had a complete service for 4 in one box so we got 2 boxes for service for eight.
Yes, over the years all of my soup bowls have chips.
I have replaced. Most recently I had the pleasure of dealing with Replacements Ltd. out of North Carolina. My mug and salad plate came in perfect condition. However, they could not give me any info about what product to use to spruce up my old pieces. When I puchased originally, there was a specific cleanser that Sasaki recommended. Anyone know what it is or how to get in touch with Sasaki customer service?

Anonymous said...

Yes, Soft Scrub! About to try it on my 20-year old set of Sasaki Colorstone matte white, which I love but has gray utensil marks all over.

Anonymous said...

My wife and I were not aware of Sasaki dinnerware. Today we were walking on Broadway near 109th in NYC and there was a table with assorted stuff like books, etc. A set of gray plates caught my eye. My wife and I have an assortment of different plates (no complete sets) and I alerted my wife. We went over and they were mat gray stoneware. We turned them over and they said Sasaki colorstone, mat gray, Vignelli, 1985, Japan. We had not heard of them, but there were four, 5 piece place settings with no chips, scratches. We thought, since they were from Japan, they were probably decent quality, so we asked how much for the set and were told 'FIFTEEN DOLLARS!! My wife actually asked him if he would take ten and he said no, so we took them for 15. Now I see to put together this set online would cost between two and three hundred dollars. We are still in shock and after washing them they look great.

Anonymous said...

Hi. Just found your blog. I, too, am down on bowls only. My set is about 23 years old. Bought with wedding money. 12 place settings for everything except bowls. Only 8. All broken during kids dishwashing time. Now I feel lucky. eBay has 1 bowl. For $69.95! Same bowl is on replacements. Seriously, 1 soup bowl on the Internet in matte white. Guess I'll be scouring resale shops. Or mixing it up.

Anonymous said...

Hi, i purchased my set in birch about 17 years ago after our house burned down. well i decided to save them for 'good' so that they wouldn't get broken as other people did give us other sets for daily use. now i want to used them and get them out of my cupboard and am wondering if steak knives will scratch them? what has been your experience? thanks a lot.

mlaiuppa said...

I've got a complete set for 8 of the matte black and I have cups and saucers, not mugs.

I also have a platter, tea pot, sugar and creamer and a butter dish. I think I bought everything they made.

I'm single and the only casualty was when my best friend dropped a cup. I managed to replace it.

But this is no longer my daily set. It is packed safely in the attic now.

I'm using a vintage set of Tiara Spruce as it matches my new house better and the glass and Sasaki don't go well together.

At some point I'll get tired of the Tiara and retire it to the attic and then bring the Sasaki down. I really love the simplicity of that set.

Sasaki is very easy to break if you drop it on a tile floor.

Some of the colors may also be more fragile than others as I imagine the temperatures for glazing differed from color to color and may have weakened the underlying material.

But replacements can be had on eBay, Etsy and Replacements LTD. For a price.

BTW if you're using just superglue to glue those dishes, don't. It's water soluble if you soak it long enough.

Use epoxy. It isn't as pretty but it won't come apart once you glue it. Not even in the dishwasher.

Unknown said...

Got sasaki tucano 1985 grey about 30 pcs posted for sale rich186@aol.com

Unknown said...

Got sasaki tucano 1985 grey about 30 pcs posted for sale rich186@aol.com

Unknown said...

Setting the table this mornng for a party tonight in my apartment in Paris. I got married near Seattle, WA in 1989.As a wedding present to ourselves my husband and I bought the matte pink Sasaki Colorstone set of 12 plates, cups and saucers, bowls, salad plates and dinner plates-even the sugar bowl. I have managed not to break any in all these years. 2 years ago I shipped the set to Paris. Our French friends love them. I get kind of sick of the color and they are soooo heavy. But I love them. Wondering how you get all the scratches and discoloration oiut of the plates? There must be something safe to use that would make them look like new again. When I visit the US now, I'll be on the look out for different colors of the dishes.

ludlow said...

Hi, I have a set of matte black bought in Bloomingdale late 80's, missing some pieces so if anyone is selling them please let me know.

Anonymous said...

Fell in love at first sight with Mat Gray 1986 and bought two sets on sale at Kasala Seattle. Now augmenting for special occasion use. Have resorted to mixing in Mat Yellow for hard to find bowls. Now I just need 6 more salad plates. See “Sleepless in Seattle” to see the Mat Gray set on Tom Hanks’ table!

Unknown said...

Hello All, I purchased 2 sets of 4 in 1985, my first set of dishes. Over the years I have happy to say I have not lost a single piece, most likely because when I married, we decided these would become out "fine china" set as we liked the look over anything more traditional.(we're a couple of architects with a slight bohemian sense
0.

However, as the number of people around the table grew, we decided to add to our set. This is when I found out they were no longer available and we would need to find them used, (like so many others who have posted, I cannot figure why they would stop making such an elegant design.).
I found the mother-load on Replacements.com. upped my place settings and added a few in case of breakage. I have noticed they still list them, but rarely have more than the occasional piece.
M

Eve said...

I bought a set of 16 at Macy’s NYC in the 80’s. Sapphire. I regret not replacing bowls sooner, they are so pricy now. I recall the set was not expensive. Also on sale. Luckily my mom counseled me to buy 16, but only 4 bowls remain. I’d love more.

Unknown said...

Wow, found this post looking for replacements for my Birch set. My aunt started giving me place settings back in the early 90's and they have been my every day ever since. I LOVE them but I've lost a few (kids!) and have replaced them over the years through ebay-- but they're getting harder and harder to find and much more expensive. :( I know Colorstone was discontinued but is Sasaki even still in business? Can't find anything online except a design firm but don't think that's right.

Unknown said...

I still use my original set of Sasaki Colorstone Matte Black. However, some of the older plates seem to be shedding the glaze...black comes off if I wipe it with a paper towel! Have any of you experienced the same? any advice?

Unknown said...

JUST A QUICK QUESTION PLEASE, ARE SASAKI SAFE FOR MICROWAYS AND DISHWASHERS? SOMEBODY JUST GIVE ME 24 PIECES IN MATTE PINK. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.

Becca said...

Yes! We put ours in microwave and dishwasher all the time.