Plastic Memories - A Melmac Story

I remember having a plastic divided plate as a child. I think it had Peter Rabbit pictures on it. I ate off that plate until I was much too old to use such a plate but the pictures never faded even after all the washing.

But that wasn't the only plastic plate I remember eating off of in the 60's and 70's; back then we had what I condsidered to be some of the ugliest pea green dishes. Turns out those ugly dishes were actually Melmac dishes. Highly collectible today.

Vintage Melmac Saucers $6.99

Melmac or melamine as it is often referred to because of the melamine resin or melamine formaldehyde used to produce the plastic dishes that were popular in the 1950's and 1960's; were found in just about every household in the US. 

Melmac was sold as affordable dinnerware. 

Texasware- another plastic resin company is popular for it confetti mixing bowls. 

Now 40 something years later, I have a few collectible Melmac pieces in my own kitchen. One of which is a pea green divided serving bowl to remind me of my childhood.