What a waste of beautiful Iittala plates.

This is gorgeous, I love it. What a great way to add a little color to the kitchen.

not a waste! they are lovely painted and unpainted. it's glass, unless it's fired i don't see why it would not be reversible. i think it's great, you could change up the colors as often as you like!

I much prefer the painted glass dishes to the clear. Great job Benita!

Love this, i'm going to the thriftstore today. can't wait to try this out

The only thing I can say in her defense is that she did not know these were genuine iittala plates and thought they were knockoffs when she painted them. She paid two dollars apiece for them - some people have all the luck.

Amazing! How do other people know exactly what to buy at the thrift store, but when I go I have no idea. >:[

They must have better thrift stores. I always go thinking I'll be sure to find something I can turn around, but when I get there it's all seriously useless, dusty junk. Or it's already sold.

I'm HORRIFIED.

I've seen fabric used, but I don't know what type of glue was used. I have some and I don't put them in the dishwasher. I have fabulous luck at the Goodwill. I bought 2 set of dishes to use for fall and one set has been beautifully hand painted. I also have Christmas cups that people thought were family heirlooms until I revealed that I had bought them at the dollar store.

Jesus, can't paint wood furniture or, now, glass plates. I guess everyone should stop painting everything ever.

Jess13, Jesus was a carpenter, not a painter ;D

Most paints are toxic. These are cute, but I'm not sure you should eat off them.

The only reason I stopped at this post was the Ultima Thule plates. They were designed by the legendary Tapio Wirkkala in 1968 for Iittala. Really, mid-century icons here! These plates are no longer available through the Iitala catalog.
I admit that they're pretty great in those colors and if the owner is happy, then why not? They're her dishes.

Oh, and here they are on Replacements.com, listed for $89 each.

http://www.replacements.com/webquote/IITULT.htm#1376877

No way! Leave the Iittala plates as they are.

Love an upcycle and creative crafting, but I have to agree with others about the pure beauty of the originals, which really are (to me) classics. Nice that the crafter found a bargain and will enjoy the fruit of her vision, but I'd have snagged those in a heartbeat and used and displayed them proudly as is. My reaction: :( The crafter's likely reaction: :), and they're her plates.

People who get mad about altering old items always get mad at the alterer. What about the person who dumped mid century iconic plates at the thrift store? It is not incumbent on the thrift store buyer to research every purchase they make. Once items are on the secondary market anything that happens to them is up for grabs. Sure, sometimes a connoisseur will find them and be pleased to add them to his/her collection or will resell them with their true value in mind.

But I think all bets are off once they are donated.

Stop the press! Woman decorates plain plates in her taste, showcasing originality and enthusiasm for crafting but snob readers are shocked because said plates have a famous design label. The horror. Go Benita! Whatever makes you happy is good!

WOOOOOOOOOOW! I inherited some amazing dishware from my 92 year old grandma and this is exactly what I am going to do next. I will use painters tape to mark off random lines, paint it, then remove the paint lines. BOOM!

Nice! Like them a lot. As far as thrift stores, I live in L.A., and most of them just have big heaps of terrible junk. However (!!!) if you go to Palm Springs, definitely go to the thrift stores there! My friend dragged me to them (I couldn't imagine why she wanted to shop for old used crap) and I was astounded at the amazing quality of everything! It was like walking into super fancy department stores, but everything was cheap. Pennies on the dollar for lovely, perfect items. Lots of fun! Anyway, back on topic, great job Benita!

@donkenzie..........it's the same here, I never find anything worth much but then I don't really know what to look for either. Most of the thrift stores around here go online and check everything out and sell the expensive stuff on CL

I like the colors,but not really sure how they would be safe to eat off of?As far as their being some fabulous mid century design,not really.

It seems like the point here is to find clear plates - any clear plates at a thrift store, paint the backs with a color that you like, and end up with something nicer than you had before.
Most of the comments are hung up on the cool plates used in the example, or difficulty in finding things at thrift stores.
I think this is a great concept. While you're all talking about this tragedy in the world of dinnerware and/or convincing yourselves that you will never find anything as cool - I'm going to the thrift store.

OMG the plate folks are mad! Honestly I like the idea.

I just bought a texture plate at the dollar store. I already have some gold and silver paint. I'm thinking taking a painted plate, homemade cookies and some cello would make a nice holiday hostess gift.

How to increase your thrift store luck: go often.

Question: Do all posters actually read the article?
At least two have commented here about the safety of eating from these plates when it clearly states in the article that the paint never touches the food and it's obvious from the photo that it's the back of the plates that are painted.

Love the colours by the way.

Yeah, two comments:

1) If you're going to the thrift store once, getting annoyed that they just have junk, then abandoning the idea... thank you. You are limiting the competition for those of us who go regularly and pick up all the Dansk Kobenstyle pans etc. that you won't ever see because you don't go. Keep doing what you are doing!

2) While I might be sad that I could have made bank turning some plates I didn't like that much, I still wouldn't feel bad about painting some plates I thought were kind of ugly and making them into plates that I love. If you are HORRIFIED that she would paint some $2 thrift store plates because that are some ZOMG DESIGNER shit, have fun with that, don't expect anyone to care about your silly outrage. She likes them better, they are her plates: there is no problem here. Also, paint on glass very very often ends up chipping off eventually, and there is usually a thinner on the market for most paint varieties. So if she does change her mind, there is a decent chance the paint job is only really semi-permanent.

But I like them better painted, too, so I'm glad she has no regrets.

From the AllModern website: "Whenever an object is produced in the Iittala factory, it has to feel, last and work like Iittala. The tactility and high quality of the materials can be felt with your bare hands. Objects like that, will work anytime, anywhere with anything. Objects like that will never be thrown away."

The painted plates are fresh and pretty, and they are hers, but I sill wish they were cheap glass plates and not quality glass.

I can imagine the Antiques Roadshow appraisal several decades from now: "These are plates in a classic design from a well-known factory in Finland. However, it appears that they were painted at some time. As you know, condition affects value..."

That being said, I think I'll go paint the Tiffany Ice Rock crystal salad plates I got at a yardsale for 1$5.

I love the colours you used! Great job!

(And the cake looks yummy too!)

I totally agree with Jeslett.

For all the people bemoaning the tragedy of altering these "iconic mid-century masterpieces" - give me a break, you'd rather they languish in dusty obscurity at a thrift store? At least she's using them and they're bringing her joy. It's not the Mona Lisa, it's something that was mass produced for public consumption.

The paint is on the back.

Replacements.com has them for $89.95 each. Yikes, I never heard of them. Since it's just Martha Stewart paint maybe it can be removed and she can sell them.

I thought there were rules on this website about the types of comments suitable to leave. I guess I missed the part that said "rudeness and insults accepted, even encouraged."

Hmm...

I'd love to know how you can tell from the photo that these are originals and not copies! Nice idea - the plates look great!