Walking through a thrift store, antique mall, or estate sale, it’s easy to overlook glass that doesn’t shout its value. No label. No signature. No brand sticker telling you what it is.
But the truth is, some of the best glass pieces whisper instead of shouting.
If you want to thrift like the pros do, the skill you need most isn’t luck.
It’s education paired with touch. And Trust me when I say, NONE of us know it all. We all miss things!
Start With the Tells: Imperfection Is Your Friend
One of the things experienced thrifters look for in glass is imperfection.
Tiny bubbles suspended in the glass, subtle swirl marks, or thin glass “strings” frozen inside the piece are often signs of older or hand-crafted production. These aren’t flaws. They’re physical evidence of how the glass was made, usually before modern mass production perfected uniformity.
Turn the piece over and check the bottom.
A pontil mark, the rough or scarred circle where the glass was broken away from the rod, can be a strong indicator that the piece was hand-blown. Not every vintage piece has one, but when you see it, slow down and take a closer look.
These details are small, but they tell big stories.
Train Your Hands, Not Just Your Eyes
One of the most underrated thrifting skills is learning how glass feels.
Here’s an easy exercise:
Go to a big-box store and pick up a modern glass vase. Feel the weight. Notice how evenly it’s made. Then compare that sensation to older glass, handmade glass, or high-end art glass.
Vintage and hand-crafted pieces often feel heavier, more grounded, and more intentional. The balance is different. The thickness varies. Once you train your hands, you’ll start noticing quality immediately, even before your brain catches up.
You really can feel craftsmanship.
Study Before You Shop
If you want to shop like the pros, don’t walk in blind.
Pick one glass maker at a time and spend a little time learning before you go thrifting.
For example, Fenton Glass Company is one of the easiest makers to study. Their archives, collector sites, and resale listings on eBay and Etsy give you a strong foundation. You’ll quickly learn their colors, patterns, and signature styles. Once you’ve handled a few Fenton pieces, they become much easier to recognize in the wild. Personally, I can spot most Fenton from 8 miles away, and I also know when someone calls something Fenton, that isn't, simply because the top is ruffled (Fenton didn't own the crimped style)
Then there are makers like Dagenhart Glass, which are a little trickier and a lot more fun.
Dagenhart produced many small vessels like salt cellars, toothpick holders, shakers, and figurines. They were especially well known for owls. Some newer Dagenhart pieces are marked with a “D” inside a heart, but many older examples are completely unmarked.
Color is a huge clue here. Dagenhart was known for its vibrant glass and is said to have produced over 145 different colors. When you start studying their work, you’ll notice consistent shapes, playful designs, and bold color choices that stand out once you know what to look for.
This is where unmarked glass becomes exciting instead of intimidating.
Don’t Ignore Unmarked Pieces
One of the biggest mistakes new thrifters make is walking past glass that isn’t marked.
Some of the most beautiful, collectible, and valuable pieces were never signed. Shape, weight, color, thickness, clarity of the glass, and construction often tell you far more than a stamp ever could. There were hundreds of glass makers back in the day, not all were well known. Plus Studio glass was, and is, around.
The more glass you study and handle, the faster your confidence grows.
Thrifting like a pro isn’t about finding perfection.
It’s about recognizing history, craftsmanship, and quality when it’s quietly sitting on a shelf, waiting for someone who knows how to look.
Now, Let's go thrifting! For some glass, maybe pottery, and other fun things.
Who wants to join me? Come on!