The Hard-To-Come-By '80s Barware To Look For On Your Next Thrifting Trip

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They never really went away, but vintage kitchen and home items are really having a moment. Folks are looking ways to inject more personality into their kitchens and dining areas. Collecting eclectic vintage pieces accomplishes this, as they further curate the look and feel of your home. It's also fun to hunt for different items, and you can score them for a bargain or stumble upon real treasure, But there's one particular brand you want to look for in that treasure category if you're outfitting your home bar: Memphis Group.

The home bar is one of the best areas to outfit with thrifted finds. Look in any antique or thrift store and there are tons of unique finds from different decades. These statement pieces instantly boost your entertaining game. You can start collecting vintage barware at any budget, but you should brush up on particular brands to keep an eye out for. That said, if you appreciate 1980s-style aesthetics, start hunting for barware from the Memphis Group, a postmodern Italian design collaborative established in 1980 by renowned designer Ettore Sottsass.

Taking its name from a Bob Dylan song, the brand set out to contrast the minimalism of the '70s with playful geometry, bright colors, nods to past movements like Pop Art — and they applied this to everything from furniture to barware. Though the group dissolved in 1987, for better or worse, minimalism returned in the '90s. The short window of production, plus the eye-catching appeal and artistry of Memphis Group items, makes them highly valuable. Think ceramic trays ranging from $660 to $2,200 and bizarre porcelain martini-like glasses from $435 to $925.

The goal here is not to pay thousands of dollars for these stunning finds. They look like they should be on a pedestal in a modern art museum (and some of them are!), but the magic is stumbling upon them in the wild for a deal. While you can have some luck combing resale sites, your best bet for finding Memphis Group pieces at thriftier prices is to hit estate sales, flea markets, and secondhand stores. These vintage barware designs belong in your collection — but, of course, there's always the option of reselling them, too.

To hunt for these secondhand barware treasures, start by fully understanding the aesthetics. You're looking for candy colors and sculptural geometry. Approaches range from primary-hued shape patterns on frosted glass tumblers to giant metal apple ice buckets. Memphis Group designs have been described as "Bauhaus meets Fisher Price." It's worth getting to know some signature styles of different collaborative members, like the famous founder Ettore Sottsass, who often worked with metal and colored glass; Matteo Thun, creator of other-worldly ceramics; and Maria Sanchez, known for assembling vibrantly colored shapes and patterned ceramics.

It can be tough to identify Memphis Group pieces, and "Memphis-inspired" barware pieces abound. Sometimes authentic items are marked by the individual artist, but more often your best bet is to look for a "Made in Italy" stamp on the bottom of pieces made from high-quality materials. Memphis Group items were not mass-produced, so a good indicator of authenticity is simply uniqueness and visibly exceptional craftsmanship.