Calling All Collectors: McCoy Cookie Jars

The story goes like this:  In the summer of 2023, as I was salvaging everything I possibly could from my late grandparents' house, pulling up flooring and pulling down windows in what was once the coziest kitchen in the world, I suddenly had a memory of a cookie jar that sat on top of the refrigerator my entire childhood.  I remember it vividly because I spent so many years trying to figure out what it was.  It was brown with a black knob on top and red letters across the front.  I remember when I was about six or seven, I learned to read and finally read the word, "Cookies."  Ok, now we're getting somewhere, I thought.  Actually it was so long ago, I can't be sure that's what I thought, but it probably went something like that.  I went to ask my grandma if that's what the jar said and she said yes.  I then asked if there were any cookies in it and she said no.  If I'm not mistaken, my brother and I came to my grandparents' house once when they weren't home and with a little team work, we scaled the side of the fridge and opened that jar just to be sure there were no cookies in it.  There were not.  Just bibs and bobs that didn't have their own place but couldn't be discarded.  Alright, so its purpose was cookies, one mystery was solved, but what was the shape?  I really couldn't tell.  Standing there two summers ago, in the ruins of that happy kitchen, looking at where the fridge used to sit with the cookie jar on top, it suddenly dawned on me.  Oh, my goodness, it was a coffee mill!  I think I actually said it out loud.  At the end of that long, hot day of work, I went home and searched for "coffee mill cookie jar," and the door to this world opened.  The jar immediately popped up (believe it or not, coffee mill cookie jars aren't very common), so I purchased one that was very reasonably priced and in good condition.  The lettered portions tend to flake off over time on these pieces, so finding one in good condition can be tricky.    The jar shown below is now sitting atop my cabinets in my own cozy little kitchen.

At the time of doing this search, I was designing my kitchen.  I asked about the history of this jar and my dad said the jar had always been on the fridge his whole life, so he reached out to his older sister for the backstory.  She said it was a Christmas gift from the factory where my grandmother worked.  One mystery solved!  Since I was down the McCoy pottery/Cookie Jar rabbit hole, I found a number of interesting, whimsical pieces that I thought would look well in my kitchen, and had to seriously fight to keep myself from adding yet another collection to my small home.  In the end, self control did win out, and I only purchased one other McCoy cookie jar, because I just could not resist this cute little kitten in a basket and as previously mentioned, the paint on the letters is gone.

Now that I've peaked your interest with my own cookie jar origin story, let's pause for a little history lesson in ceramics.  In 1848 William Nelson McCoy built a small pottery company in Zanesville, Ohio where they turned out simple, function pieces.  Well before the invention of plastics and eventually Tupperware, ceramic jugs and crocks were still in common household use.  William's potter company was eventually sold to Midland Pottery and later absorbed by Roseville Pottery of which I have inherited several pieces such as this funky 1940s Art Deco style vase.  *Perhaps I'll do a separate post on Roseville, since I just looked up the value of one of the vases and found that it is a collected series and is sought after at auctions.  This type of pottery reminds me of the McCoy version which I inherited and have pictured below.

William's son, J.W. McCoy moved to Roseville, Ohio and opened several like minded pottery companies and profited greatly from turning out a quality product.  However, in 1904, J.W. noticed tastes were changing, people were wanting both form and function in their home goods.  While continuing to open other pottery companies, the McCoy Pottery Company was founded by J.W. McCoy and Nelson (grandson to William) in Roseville, Ohio in 1910.  *more complete history will be linked below*  The company began production of cookie jars in 1933 when Nelson saw that demand for not just pretty but fanciful pieces had only continued to grow, and continued until 1990 when struggling production finally gave up the ghost.  It had changed hands at least twice by then and could never recapture its former heyday glory of the 1950s-1960s when it produced some of its most whimsical designs such as my coffee mill jar.  Seems like that was the heyday for much of the whimsical ceramics I see on the collector's market today.

McCoy distinguished itself from brands like Roseville and others by being very affordable as well as stylish and interesting.  This vase pictured above turned up while i was writing this post and looks very much like the Roseville style (pictured above that), but likely at a fraction of the cost.  I feel certain that this is why my grandmother had so much of this brand of pottery in particular.  My paternal grandparents were always very poor, but my grandmother worked hard and kept a lovely home.  McCoy was made for families like mine.

When my grandmother passed away quite suddenly, her oldest daughter came into the home (my grandfather was still alive and well, by the way and livid at her behavior, but he didn't stop her either) and cleaned out anything of value.  She took anything and everything.  Furniture, photos, glass door knobs, ceramics and all.  It was not because she was sentimentally attached to these things, no, she put everything into a yard sale to try to make a quick buck.  The only things I managed to get were an Avon cameo brooch which I had asked for years before and been given permission to have, and a black and white photo of my grandma as a young woman in a very short dress, showing her midriff, striking a very sexy pose while her head was thrown back in laughter.  All this to say that memories were all I had to go by because not only was my grandmother suddenly gone, but her home was just as suddenly gone too.  I realized during my search that my grandmother had another cookie jar that was pushed further to the back and while it is therefore very fuzzy in my memory, I believe it was this fireplace jar.  

Photo is from this pinterest board

In addition to cookie jars, McCoy continued to make other types of ceramics such as flower pots and vases.  Of which my mother had two surviving pieces of my grandmother's collection, so I reached out.  Sadly, the real McCoy, a green basket weave flower pot, had broken, but a yellow piece remained and my mom said I could have it.  Turns out, there is not stamp on the bottom, so it is likely not a McCoy, which doesn't really matter to me as much as the fact that my grandmother owned and loved it.  Then, during the cleanout of my great-aunt's home after her passing last summer I found a matching vase that is a McCoy, so these two pieces are now proudly displayed near each other in my sunny little loft.

I am a researcher at heart, and as much as I wish that my grandmother had lived long enough to tell me the story behind the things she purchased, I feel closer to her just digging in to the history of these beloved pieces from my childhood.  If you're interested in collecting or learning more, I'm including some links below or you can search the thrift books for titles such as Sanford's Guide to McCoy Pottery or 1993's The Collector's Encyclopedia of Cookie Jars.  Happy hunting!

Further reading and my sources:

https://weekendatthecottage.com/lifestyle/mccoy-pottery/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCoy_(pottery)

All Good Things

Patience is a virtue and all good things come to those who wait, or so the sayings go.  In all my many decades of fashion love, I have learned that more often than not, patience will yield very good things and substantial savings.  There's always the small risk of missing out if you don't buy immediately and pay full retail, but I overwhelmingly I have found that the things I want will either last until the sale or turn up for resale down the road like this pretty little telephone print dress by Porridge/Anthropologie.  I first saw this dress probably 10-ish years ago and have watched and waited for just the right thrifted price/condition combo until I finally found one.

Of course there have been dresses that I felt I would forever regret if I missed out and so opted to pay full price only to more often than not see droves of them on thrift sites for years to come and at a fraction of what I shelled out.  And there have been times I waited for the sale that never came and the thrift bargain that never manifested, which is why I still do not own the Eva Franco Matryoshka dress.  

There are exceptions to every rule, but generally speaking, if you just watch (the fun part), and wait (the not so fun part), the good things will eventually cross your path.

Outfit Info: Anthropologie telephones dress by Porridge, cardi from YeMak, flats are old.

Sofa Renovation: Part Two

 Back for part two of my sofa/chair transformation.  For this project I purchased 10 yards of olive green upholstery velvet (and then an additional 5 yards just to be on the safe side), olive green braided trim, and upholstery staple gun, staples, olive green upholstery thread, heavy duty needles, wood stain, sanding blocks, and paint stripper.  For the cost of these items I could have bought a new couch.  That needs to be said.  However I doubt it would have lasted as long or been as comfortable as this and I really wanted to save these beautiful antiques, so I invested in them instead of buying new.

All the work I did at home went smoothly.  There was a learning curve of course but I expected it and just tried to be patient with myself.  I enlisted the help of a very sweet lady who used to teach classes in upholstery.  She gave me advice before I started the project on what to expect and pitfalls to avoid.

When it came time to do the cushions, I really preferred the look of a single on the couch to three individual pieces, so I peeled back the stuffing and wired those three metal frames together.  I then replaced the original stuffing and covered it all in a single wrap of batting to create a smooth piece.  Then I loaded everything into the car and drove to my friend's to start work.

The majority of the first day was problem solving, which needle, whose machine, how to cut.  At the end of 9 hours, we had the couch pieces cut and the chair cushion done.  This was when my friend noticed that the 10 and 5 yard pieces were from different dye lots.  That's right, the work we had done was from the 5 yd piece and I'd completely covered the frames at home from the 10 yd piece, so nothing matched.  I went home distraught.  I could see the difference in the dark now, why hadn't I noticed it before?!  

The next morning I laid out all the pattern pieces on what was left of the 10 yd lot and thankfully there was enough to do all the cushions.  While I hated to lose the day of work, my friend agreed to start over and we completed the cushions on our next work day.  Finally, after two months of work, we had a place to sit down a relax again!  And it turned out just as I had imagined and hope.

Celia & Disturbia

2026 is off to a rocky start.  Barely out of a huge family holiday drama and we had a big trip and a couple of medical emergencies back to back to back.  I'm kind of tired already, but such is life and we just keep going.  We drove in all the winter chill to an out of state graduation that was in a small town in the middle of no where...and I loved it!  This tiny old town had so much history, tiny little eateries, funky small bookstores, and even an antique store where I found both this lovely vintage necklace and beaded bag for a song.  I have recently tried a new-to-me brand called Disturbia and though I only purchased two pieces in total, I am very pleased with the results.    

I ended my No Buy challenge after 8 weeks, by making this purchase from Disturbia and one other dress from Unique-Vintage and just in time for this trip because I knew I might want to look at thrift or antique stores and decided to allow myself that flexibility. Also, I like to plan for success, which is why I knew I didn't want to be ratcheted down on my spending during a family trip.  It worked like a charm.  I enjoyed my time with my family, the pressure was off me financially, and  I only spent $20 at the antique shop with no regrets about the lovely pieces I found there.

As far as this Celia Moth dress from Disturbia, it's unlike anything else in my wardrobe, and since it's also been a while since I've done a Youtube review of a brand, you can check out the lengthy, long winded details  on the video below.

 Outfit Info: Celia Moth Dress from Disturbia, Use my link to get $10 off your first order of $60 or more.  (just a referral link, not an affiliate) Necklace and purse are vintage, shoes are old from SheIn

Sofa Renovation: Part One

Years ago I found a matching antique sofa and chair set for which I paid $100.  The antique store owner told me the set had good bones but needed some TLC, so she just couldn't in good conscience ask for more than that.  It just so happened that I had $100 and plenty of TLC to spare, so I brought them home.  At that time we were in need of a new couch, ours had immediately given up the ghost even though we purchased it brand new only a few years before and paid top dollar hoping we were buying our forever couch.  No, like so much consumer goods today, it was expensive junk.

As I struggled to get the absurdly heavy cushions into my truck, the dealer told me that she thought they were stuffed with horsehair, which is why they were so heavy.  I was intrigued.

The upholstery was likely done in the 70s and was a black/red/gold paisley.  It was in perfect condition and something I thought I could work with as far as decorating.  However, the couch was trimmed in alligator faux leather which was crumbling and peeling. Years prior I read about painting fabric in a issue of Mary Jane's Farm.  I'd saved it and decided to revisit the idea since I had never done any major reupholstering before.  I started with the chair, painting the wood with chalk paint and using all-in-one for the fabric.  It was fairly easy to do and the effect was that my chair now looked and felt like vinyl.  It was great...for a while.

Although I attempted to scrape all the alligator vinyl off, once the paint soaked in, it began crumbling.  I frequently vacuumed up my chair crumbles and watched as it continued to disintegrate.  Crumbs aside this couch and chair were the most comfortable and durable I've ever owned, so I put up with the quirks.  You can see what that project looked like by clicking here.

Now, in our third summer of renovations, the house is finally starting to take shape.  We've ripped out carpet, torn down paneling and added on some rooms.  I had a clear vision of what I wanted from our living room and these pieces in either form, no longer fit.  I decided to take the plunge and reupholster them.  The chair needed the paint stripped and to be re-stained mission oak color, and I enlisted the help of a talented seamstress to help me cover the cushions.  Once I pulled all that old upholstery off, I discovered the original burgundy velvet underneath, and that the reason for the heavyweight cushions was not horsehair stuffing, but rather that each cushion had its own metal springs and frame!  The stuffing was actually cotton and straw.  Check out the completed work in my next Home Renovations post!

Business Whimsical

My daughter had a job interview coming up and the dress code was business/professional.  Having never worked a job like this before, she did not own anything in the way of business clothing.  I offered to let her borrow a few things from my closet for the interview.   The night before, I found her desperately rummaging through my clothes.  "Can I help you find something," I asked.  "Do you have any plain button down shirts,"  she replied.  "I have florals, stripes, and strawberries..., but no, no plain shirts."  She grabbed what she hoped was a plain white poplin button down, but let out an "Ugh!" when she saw that it had scalloped sleeves and collar embroidery.  "Why are all your clothes so whimsical?!"  ...I'm...sorry?  As much as I wanted to help, my clothes are anything but boring.  And while I do work in a professional setting, my style is decidedly business whimsical.

There is a range of business attire from Business Professional, which is the most formal and often involves suits and ties, to Business Casual, which is slacks, skirts, or well fitting dark wash jeans often paired with button down shirts and blazers, but allows more creativity in the form of bright colors, statement prints and jewelry.  Then there's my interpretation of it all. I prefer to wear multiple colors and prints, often with whimsical themes, outfits that say, Yeah, I'm working, but I'm having so much fun I hardly notice.  To that end, I thought I'd post photos of one of my favorite recent outfit compositions.  Nothing new in the mix, all old stuff that I put together and love for all its whimsy and office appropriateness.

Outfit Info:  Skirt is thrifted ModCloth, Top is old from Princess Highway, Bag is Ecosusi, Shoes are B.A.I.T. footwear, Cardigan is old from ModCloth. 

Crafting Project: New Life for Old Selkies

In 2022 I bought a Selkie Abbott Puff dress and altered it to fit in a way that is more flattering for me (click here to see that post).  Encouraged by the success of that project, I decided to tackle a few more problematic design features on my favorite Selkies including my Mucha Cottage Puff Dress (and click here for that one). 

  

At the end of each of those projects, I had a lot of left over (mostly organza) fabric.  Since the prints were so pretty, I decided to keep them in the hopes that one day I could use them on a different project.  As soon as I completed my first lampshade, (click here for that one) I knew exactly what I wanted to use all that extra lovely fabric for and the recent snow days presented me with plenty of time to sit down and really dig into the work.

I was gifted a pair of crystal globe lamps that had crumbling shades.  I removed the old shade outdoors so that the wind could carry away all the tiny crumbs. Then I wrapped the shades and selected four pretty ladies from the organza fabric of my Alphonse Mucha puff conversion and cut two of each.  

I spent so much time working on these shades, I developed callouses on my fingers.  And to be perfectly frank, because I am new to this game, the compositions aren't flowing naturally yet.  I spent a lot of time trying different fabrics and colors to see what looked best.  In the end I used an antique pink scarf topped with a floral applique for the center pieces to tie it all together and I am pleased with how this Mucha shade turned out.  

I'm going to put this little project under my home renovations tab although I don't intend to keep these shades for myself. I have recently inherited an abundance of antique lamps and fully intend to make new shades for them before gifting. I already have a taker for this set and look forward to blessing others from my abundance.

Strawberries & Stripes

I decided to do a No Buy to kick off 2026.  I actually started in December of 2025 and made it about 3 months without shopping or purchasing.  The only way for me to be really successful at this was to get off social media entirely and heavily restrict internet usage.  It went well until the stress piled up and I decided to scroll it away.  I ended up seeing stuff, wanting stuff, and then, yes, buying stuff.  

Specifically I bought this dress from Unique Vintage because it combines my love of dresses, vintage styles, and strawberries.  I waited a few weeks after purchasing this dress before taking photos, hoping that the flowers would start blooming and everything would be just as lovely and colorful as this dress, but nature does not always cooperate.  Never mind, I actually like these pretty orange grasses and dried flowers as a backdrop.

I am very pleasantly surprised by the quality of this dress.  Unique Vintage doesn't always have the quality to match the price tag on their dresses, but this one definitely was worth every penny. Only the top is lined, but the fabric is nice and thick and I added a petticoat for a fuller skirt.  My Strawberry Shortcake loving, little girl dreams all are coming true with this beauty.

Tryon for this dress is in the first 5 minutes of this video.

Outfit Info:  Strawberry and Stripe Swing Dress From Unique Vintage, Bag from Ecosusi, Strawberry Earrings from Etsy, Necklace is Vintage