In two and a half years of selling vintage treasures on Etsy, the online marketplace, I’ve found loving homes for a lot of cool stuff. Mostly I sell things that I like a lot but that don’t fit my very relaxed lifestyle or that I simply don’t have room for.
Every once in a while, though, I regret parting with one of my beauties.
One such regret is this fabulous Danish Modern paella pan.
These pans were made by Dansk in the 1950s and ‘60s; the line is called Kobenstyle. The exterior color was a rich, deep yellow enamel–the color of French’s mustard. The interior was glossy, bright white with a thin black hint of metal showing around the edge.
I found the pan at a garage sale and I could see it was special. Even though my usual taste does not run to Danish Modern, the pan was priced very reasonably and in perfect condition, so I bought it with the intention of selling it.
After I took photos of it and listed it on Etsy, I put it out on my coffee table, just as a place to keep it until it sold.
And I got used to seeing it there. It was sunny, and sleek, and made me think of a perfect fried egg.
In the couple of months I owned the pan, sometimes I’d fill it with fruit but mostly I thought it looked great empty.
But it was rarely empty.
Why?
Because it was the perfect size and shape for a cat.
And when a cat wasn’t sitting in it, it made the most amazing cat toy. The concave interior shape of the pan made it just right for containing a ping pong ball.
A cat could (and did) bat the ping pong ball around the slick interior and it would sail around that perfect groove, making the most fascinating zhoop-zhoop sound. Once in awhile the ball would go flying out, and bounce around the room, providing more fun.
But then, just when we got really attached to it, someone bought the pan. I heard the special “cha-ching” that the Etsy app makes on my phone and checked to see what had sold.
Oh, no! My pretty bowl. My cat’s favorite toy and spot to nap.
There was nothing to do but package it up and mail it off to its new lucky owner.
I found a ceramic bowl I had sitting around, to put on the table. It’s sort of the same shape but has never caught on, with the cat or with me. It’s pedestrian and has none of the verve of the Kobenstyle bowl and it doesn’t make a ping pong ball sing either.
So, now I have one more thing to look for when I go garage saling. Maybe someday, I’ll find another yellow Dansk paella pan, to replace the one that got away. The cat hopes so!
I love the pan, love the cat and LOVE this post and the heart and soul story behind it. I have to admit, the part where I discovered that the cat featured in the history of the pan was a real laugh-out-loud moment! Thank you-Karen.
I had a laugh-out-loud moment when I saw that girl in the pan and then, a couple hours later, saw another cat in it! It was QUITE the favorite spot–the catbird seat, if you will!
Lovely post, that yellow is a perfect colour, and I can imagine it brings a whole lot of sunshine on the table!
Everything about it was snazzy!
I’ve sold some things that I hated to part with…but never anything my cat was fond of! You could have marketed a new item…the handy dandy multi-purpose paella pan / centerpiece / cat bed / cat toy!
Ha! Truth be told, I could market many things in my home as cat bed and cat toys. They sit in anything they can squeeze into!
Nice story!
Thanks for visiting, Brett!
Hilarious cat story. Perhaps the person who bought it will re-sell it on Etsy one day!
Oh, I could buy another one on Etsy but, when I know how little I paid for the first one, I can’t bring myself to spend real money. It’s the garage sale mentality!
Ah! And sewing one’s own curtain mentality! Which is a fine mentality.
🙂
What an interesting story about a lovely Paella pan. It looks very pretty. I would have loved to buy it for sure. Thanks for sharing!
You’d probably would actually use it to cook in! That never even occurred to me. 😉
Your photo of your beautiful cat in the pan was super! It made me laugh. My cat will climb into any bag or box it can find.
Oh, mine, too! I have a suitcase on my bed right now and they are taking turns in it!
lovely pan (+ cat). i have a copco paella pan i scored at an estate sale last year. i find myself using it more + more. next to my inherited cast iron, which i love, the copco pan is amazing for so many things. hope you find another score + keep it for yourself – you’ll be glad you did!
If I find another I will definitely keep it, for my enjoyment and the cats’!
I would miss that pan for sure !!!!!! hope the cat forgives you in time 🙂
Oh, the cat has moved on–she’s not too picky where she sits!
There was no way that you could have predicted that. You would fall in love with it….maybe there is something even better out there for you…
Maybe! I’ll hold onto that thought!
your cat has excellent taste……
She would like you very much, for being so perceptive about her! 🙂
I love the color of the pan, it would be busy in my kitchen, if I had one 🙂
I mean I would use the pan often, I have a kitchen 🙂 🙂
It took me a minute, when I read the first comment, but I figured out what you meant! 😉
And when you do find one, do NOT list it on Etsy! Cats are such good entertainment!
Yes, you’re right–both about the cats AND about about keeping the next nice pan I find!
Good luck with the hunt!
I know the feeling. Occasionally I’ll see something at a flea market and not buy it. If I keep remembering it for weeks afterwards, I’ll know that I should have purchased it–and keep my fingers crossed that it is still for sale when I go back.
I remember going to great flea markets in central PA! That’s were I caught the “bug”.
oh, i don’t think I would have been able to give that paella pan up!!!!
You’d have been smarter than I, then! My cat would like you better, too!
I LOVE that piece — so sunny and cherrful. When I was younger I hated anything yellow but the older I get the more I appreciate mustard colors. My cats would probably fight over who got to sleep in it though. =)
There was some jockeying for cat position in the bowl here, too! I didn’t think I liked that color but it won be over, as it sat on my table, looking charming.
Oh no Kerry – you sold your kitty’s special napping place!!! 😉 I can see why you regret it a little. The pan has a great colour and is in perfect condition. I’d enjoy cooking a (vegetarian) paella in it! You mention an Etsy App that lets you know if you sold anything via your phone? Any idea where I can find it? I think I might need it too 🙂
Yes, my kitties may never forgive me. 😉
The Etsy app is the main app developed by them. I use it on an iPhone but I think it works on an Android, too, or an iPad. You go to the app store for your smart phone and just download it. It’s quite handy–you can check stats, shop for stuff and even do listings right from your phone. And it makes this amazing “cha-ching” sound, like an old-time cash register, when you get a sale!
Thanks Kerry! I’m going to check it out right now…looking forward to that “cha-ching” sound 😀
That pan is beautiful. I’d have bought it, too, if I’d known about it. (Sorry, cat.)
Ha! I guess you told her! That cat is not used to being told off (but it would do her a LOT of good to have it happen more often!)
Hi Kerry 🙂
I was browsing through the latest Crate and Barrel catalog (my brother kindly sent it to me from USA) and guess what? They have a few Kobenstyle pieces – among others a lasagna dish in the same yellow enamel. So pretty! I thought of you…:)
have a wonderful weekend, Duni
Thanks, Duni! It’s nice to know they’re still making these designs–they were such classics!
Sympathies !!!
I am trying to find a diffuser and a clam-free/shrimp-free paella recipe for the maiden voyage of my royal blue (?) version of that same pan.
I got several pans, including 3 cute warmers, for a song, at a walk-in downsizing sale via a friend.
If I see a yellow paella, I will try to get it to you if you haven’t already reconnected with one!
All The Best!
Hi, Peter–don’t you love getting something wonderful as a bargain?! It’s the thing that keeps me going back to garage sales, in spite of mountains of junk–what if there’s a treasure hidden in there? The blue version of the pan must be gorgeous–I love the deep saturated colors. Good luck finding the right recipe!
Do you want one? I have one I don’t want anymore 😅