Martha Stewart Has Collected This Beautiful, Increasingly Rare Vintage Glassware For Decades

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If you've been seeing pale green glassware everywhere on your social media feeds — from cake stands to cocktail glasses — the trending kitchen pieces are beautiful but certainly nothing new. In fact, they're vintage. Martha Stewart has been collecting (and selling) the increasingly rare Depression-era pieces — called jadeite — for decades. After her daughter Alexis harnessed a collection of them on a cross-country road trip in the 90s, the home and kitchen guru began rejuvenating the glassware and started a personal collection. She then founded her own line of jadeite glassware in the 1990s and began selling it through her Martha By Mail catalog. These days, she still sells her line of jadeite kitchenware through her website, on Amazon, and through home retailers like Wayfair, JCPenney, and Target. 

After Stewart brought jadeite items like bowls, Tupperware-like storage containers, and citrus reamers back onto the scene, the original glassware's value increased dramatically, transforming old-timey dinnerware sets and nonchalant thrift store finds into collectables that could go for $300 (or more) a pop. The cost of an average jadeite item has decreased in the last two decades. But fans and groups centered on key brands like Fire-King, Janette Glass, and McKee (one of the first purveyors of jadeite dinnerware sets in the 1930s) are still around, reflecting people's long-lasting love for the original eye-catching vintage glassware.  

When shopping for pieces to add to your kitchen, watch out for these signs that you should avoid certain vintage dishware items, like those with cracks or chips. But overall, if you, like Stewart, fall in love with the muted green glass plates and mugs, they might just add the perfect vintage character and charm to your mealtime rituals.

The original kitchen brands stopped producing jadeite back in the late 1970s. But it's still possible to get your hands on one of the original pieces, even though supplies are limited due to high demand. Of course, you can search for vintage jadeite salt and pepper shakers online via trade websites like Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. You can also test your luck in thrift shops or garage sales featuring recycled home items. 

It's much easier and more affordable, though, to acquire high-quality reproduced jadeite pieces through modern brands like Joanna Gaines and Martha Stewart. Beautiful jadeite glass cake stands are available through Stewart's exclusive Amazon line. TableCraft is another brand that sells reproduced jadeite items on Amazon and Walmart, including sundae dishes, straw jars, and butter dishes with vintage engravings and designs.