Medulla Oblongata: Madam Secretary

While watching Madam Secretary the other night, I recognized two sets of glasses on display in her kitchen. As an aside, I love the color blocking in this kitchen and throughout the house of blues and greens.

So, a couple screen grabs to show what caught my attention, then the reveal:

In 1st season and this early 2nd, the blue/green color play is evident--and I really dig the cool blues, grays (?) and greens of the McCord family dishes.

There are some short clear glasses with a silver rim--and frankly they could be one of several different designs--but if I really started to search for them, I'd look from the 50s-early 70s, since that seems to be what populates much of the kitchen. You can spend a lot or a little on glasses just like these, so pick your poison.

In the center are some stemmed goblets. These have a frosted band decorated with a stylized wheat pattern. These are non other than the Libbey "gray wheat" or sometimes "silver wheat" glasses. This pattern was used on several different styles of glasses (Libbey is prolific). Here's a picture of the pattern:

I was just suuuper drunk when I took this picture. Sorry--I actually just found this pic online and thought it was great. Here's a far better one that features the pattern nicely, as well as a small juice glass in this range too:

You can find these all over Etsy and Ebay--Or, in my case, from my grandma. But online, there are good deals to skin-flaying expensive ones, so shop with discretion. There are many patterns similar to this--I'm a bit more partial to the leaf version--and there's a really lovely simple clear goblet with silver rim by Libbey that's very modern and sleek.

Finally, my FAVORITE because I love crazy Jasperware and its many imitations--the tall sage-green glasses, with white trees are the "Hellenic" pattern by Jeannette Glass Co. The McCord's are in the "wedgwood" green, but the same pattern also comes in a wedgwood blue (think Robin's Egg--it's amazing) and in this blue it's called: "Grecian." There are a few variations on this pattern that are all kind of fantastic. If you like that sort of thing. And I do. The one I'm especially fond of is called "Corinthian" and though not featured in the McCord kitchen, it's got a great pattern & comes in an odd greenish-navy color that's kind of amazing.

comparison of green Hellenic (as seen on Madam Secretary) and blue Grecian

These Hellenic glasses are available in several sizes (the ones in the show are the tall 16oz versions, sometimes called iced-tea glasses)--and have a few funky metal bar sets with a variety of caddy designs that are a hoot. One important thing: the 22 carat gold rim wears off easily with rough treatment. You'll find many such glasses for sale missing most or all of their gold rim--so keep an eye out for the bling--and for the love of God, hand wash these gently and protect that pretty rim. These are also all over Etsy and Ebay, very easy to pick up whatever color and pattern you're drawn to.

There are other blurry glasses that look awfully era-similar. I just haven't gone back through season 1 to see if I can find better grabs. Seems the McCord's either have a thing for 60s drinkware or inherited some of grandma's more groovy glasses.

The McCord's have a lot of "vintage" items in their kitchen. I hesitate to say this, because I grew up with a lot of the stuff they have on set, in my parents' real-life kitchen.

That bright yellow carafe, for instance. When we lived in Denmark, we had one in red. It was made by Erik Magnussen. You may find these online or in various shops in 'vintage' condition and provenance--but they are still produced today, via Stelton, the original 1960's Danish design house. Of course, now they're available in many trendy colors:

I have a soft spot in my heart for the shiny, candy apple reds and bright glossy whites and banana yellows from my childhood.

Perhaps a re-watch of season 1 will shed light on what precisely these yellow stacking bowls (?) are that you can barely make out in the glass cupboard?

They could certainly be ceramic bowls similar to the blue ones (to the right). But based upon all the vintage 50s & 60s goodies littered throughout the kitchen, I really hope that they're either Rosti Denmark stacking bowls (yellow's a near perfect match to the Stelton thermal carafe) or maybe even Massimo Vignelli's "Heller" dishes. Which we also had growing up. Ingrid Ltd Chicago was a knock-off of the Hellerware; there's a chance it could be that too. But I sure do like to hope it's the Rosti--for the Danish connection.

Damn. Sheila Bock is responsible for the set dressing for Madam Secretary. She is doing a stellar job. I'm excited to re-watch season 1 home scenes--cupboard contents have moved a lot--and some things may be easier to spot in earlier seasons.

Until then, I'm going to be keeping an eye out for any kitchen scene to see what other gems are lurking.

Though probably none of the above, here are the dishes mentioned (and my hold-out hope is for the Rosti!):