Where Long Island Pyrex collectors find vintage, rare pieces worth big bucks

When Alyssa Durante turned 30 last March, a gift from her boyfriend bowled her over. The treasured present — a pink Pyrex casserole dish decorated with daisies — is just like one seen in the TV series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” 

For Durante, an avid Pyrex collector since 2016, checking this vintage piece off her most-wanted list was a dream come true. “Best 30th birthday gift,” she says. 

At her home in Shoreham, Durante, a community residence support specialist, uses bowls to hold keys, onions and M&Ms. Nesting bowl sets are showcased on hutches and in display cabinets. “I’m always looking for the next piece,” she says. 

She’s in good company, according to experts around Long Island. Introduced in 1915 by Corning Glass Works, Pyrex bowls and dishes are synonymous with kicky colors and patterns. Pyrex passion — particularly for pieces from the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s — is molten hot. 

RARE PYREX FINDS

It’s a lifestyle trend stoked by nostalgia, social media and the thrill of the hunt and discovery as collectors prowl vintage stores and estate sales, plus online sources including Bay, Etsy, Facebook Marketplace and beyond. 

“I see young collectors in their 20s and 30s and others all the way up to their 60s buying Pyrex,” says Thea Morales, 46, who owns the multi-vendor antiques store Rosie’s Vintage, in Huntington. “We have people that come to our store just to add to their collection of Pyrex.” 

Stand-up comedian Midge Maisel’s Pink Daisy Pyrex set in the period show “definitely spiked interest,” says Morales. “People loved seeing what dishes she had in her kitchen.” 

Six decades later, thanks to scarcity and the laws of supply and demand, Pyrex pieces and sets can fetch anywhere from $20 to $500 and even higher. 

Ask Louis Prizzi, 35, an “occasional” Pyrex collector and toy aficionado who lives in Holbrook. Before the pandemic, he picked up a small blue Pyrex bowl featuring a farming couple — the pattern is called Butterprint — at a now-defunct flea market.

“It fell into my lap for $8. It was super cute,” he says. “I took a picture of it and posted it on a Facebook group page.” Members of the site, Mid Century Modern Kitsch, he adds, “started flipping out.” 

Prizzi had stumbled upon a limited edition “holy grail” piece. He resold the rare bowl on eBay weeks later for $2,100. “I paid some bills with that,” he says, adding that it stoked his excitement about the glassware.

A big part of the Pyrex appeal is “whimsy. The pieces are fun and quirky,” says Prizzi, who sells items at the Deep End of the Sandbox vintage shop in Ronkonkoma. “That’s why it’s hot, hot, hot. The minute it pops up at a garage sale, estate sale or a thrift store, it’s gone.” 

PYREX APPEAL

For millennials, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram are prime sources for fueling the fad, says Morales. “You can see other people’s collections and how Pyrex dishes can be used to decorate.”

At Antique Attics in Lake Grove, co-owner Sabbath Troisi, 41, has seen a similar uptick in demand for Pyrex. Glassware in cheery colors — pink, turquoise, orange — and cute patterns — flowers, farmers, dots and stripes are what’s hot. Glassware bowls, refrigerator storage containers (“fridgies”) and other dishes run from $15 to $375.

“Interest has definitely heated up,” says Troisi, who credits the brand’s mix of function and beauty. “They went from the stove to the table and looked like pieces of art.” Three years into building her personal Pyrex collection, his wife, Gina Loiacono, 41, just got two new cabinets to hold her displays. “I’m obsessed,” she says.

Alyssa Trott, 38, a photography assistant who lives in Port Jefferson Station, has collected and sold Pyrex for almost a decade. She noticed a surge in interest in 2020. As people cocooned at home during COVID-19 they looked for creative ways to feather their nests. Solution: vintage nesting bowls.

“I have a streamlined collection,” says Trott, who has cut back on sales since having a baby in December. “I don’t have closets filled with Pyrex like some people. I definitely focus on pink Pyrex, but I love it all.” Like other collectors, she keeps two categories of dishes — ones to use, ones to show off. 

Her favorite piece is a late 1950s pink scroll casserole dish with its original cradle. Among her most valuable pieces is a forest green zodiac casserole dish worth around $180. (The 1961 price: $7.95.) Her workhorse piece, she says, is an early ’80s Colonial Mist floral patterned bowl. “We use it for popcorn.”

Trott’s top tip for beginning collectors is to visit thrift stores. “There’s always Pyrex, even if it's not necessarily a rare piece.” Durante’s top tip? “Start with what you think is pretty. That’s what I did,” she says. “I did more research as I went along.” 

As Durante’s 31st birthday in March approaches, could there be another Pyrex thriller? “Oh, I hope so,” she says. “I’ve been dropping hints.”