Collector opens vintage shop, youth buys Soviet crystal

In late December 2025, a vintage tableware shop opened in central Irkutsk. It doesn«t feature expensive collectible rarities like sets from the Imperial Porcelain Factory or the German brand Meissen. Instead, it offers crystal salad bowls in which mothers served Olivier salad or herring under a fur coat on New Year»s tables, or porcelain cups from which you likely drank tea at your grandmother«s place.

The shop was opened by Irkutsk collector and blogger Alexander Agafonov. A few years ago, he started buying Soviet tableware for himself. But over time, the collection grew so large that there was no space to store it, so he began selling the extra and duplicate cups, saucers, and teapots. Alexander told his story and about the trend for Soviet vintage to a journalist from IrCity.

— Generally, my collecting began when I once visited the Museum at the Dump (now the Alexander Rastorguyev Military History Museum. — Ed. note). I suddenly liked old things and the fact that they were all in one place, side by side. I was especially amazed by such a simple, it would seem, thing — a collection of ceramic mugs, — Alexander shares.

They hung in a row on shelves in a hangar fitted out as a museum of retro items and captivated the man.

— Individually, they might not have been anything special. But when I saw them together — and they were all different shapes, with different decorations and patterns — I found it interesting. There was a certain warmth emanating from all of it. I saw my own beauty in it, — the interlocutor adds.

Alexander decided he wanted to have a similar collection at home and began collecting beer mugs from the Soviet era. It turned out that quite a lot of them were produced at that time, at various factories across the country. Some were dedicated to specific dates, others bore the coats of arms of Soviet cities, and still others had merely curious decoration.

— I ordered these mugs online, bought them on Avito and in antique shops. I literally hunted for some specimens. I think I bought up all the more or less interesting mugs and then moved on to porcelain, — the Irkutsk resident continues his story.

At first, Alexander was not at all interested in porcelain tableware as such. But then he began to delve into the subject and found that not all porcelain is the same and that among the products of different factories and craftsmen there are interesting pieces. After that, the collector began searching for items that interested him.

— Hand-painted porcelain is especially good because there will never be two identical cups. They are as similar as possible, but not identical, even if the same master applied the design. There will always be a slightly different tilt of a leaf or line thickness. That is how hand painting can always be distinguished from decals or airbrushing, — Alexander explains.

Since people often sell entire sets of tableware online without particularly sorting through their contents, over time Alexander accumulated a lot of miscellaneous items. Sometimes from one address, the Irkutsk resident would bring three huge boxes of things and tableware.

— I kept the items interesting for the collection, and the rest of the tableware just accumulated until it reached a critical mass. Even though I live in a private house, at one point there was nowhere to store it. Even the shed was full, — the interlocutor admits.

Then Alexander began going on weekends to the same flea market on Rabochego Shtaba (Workers« Headquarters) Street, where he had bought his first ceramic mugs, and started selling the tableware he didn»t need himself. On the very first day, the man sold almost half of everything he had, and by the end of the day, proceeds reached about 20,000 rubles (around $200 at current rates).

— I didn«t expect such a stir and lively interest at all. Although back then, four years ago, we had very reasonable prices because we hardly knew anything yet. We put everything out cheaply, — Alexander admits.

Every weekend, the Irkutsk resident brought goods there, sold what he didn«t need, and used the proceeds to replenish both his collection and his shop»s assortment. A little later, he rented a covered pavilion at the same flea market to avoid freezing outside. He traded there for the last year and a half until he found a building for rent in central Irkutsk.

— We opened here in the last ten days of December. And, you know, the excitement is absolutely incredible, — the collector marvels.

The interior of the vintage shop resembles (fragmentarily so far) the setting of a retro apartment. The similarity is intentional, but not yet perfected, as Alexander does not yet have the necessary set of furniture. For example, porcelain and crystal are displayed on modern shelving rather than in Soviet «stenki» (wall units) as the shop owner would like. However, the shop already has an antique chest of drawers, a bulbous Zil refrigerator, typical Soviet armchairs, and even a Rigonda radiogram.

— In the future, I want to turn this shop into a mini-version of a Soviet apartment. At the entrance, put a dressing table with vintage jewelry and perfume, a rack with vintage clothes. Further on, a kitchen area with a refrigerator, stove, kitchen table, and tableware. A living room with these armchairs, a small table, a bookshelf, a Soviet «stenka» (wall unit) with crystal and various knick-knacks. I want people to be able to open any drawer or the refrigerator and find Soviet household items inside, — Alexander shares his plans.

According to his idea, the shop should become a place where people feel as if they have stepped into the past and find themselves in a typical Soviet apartment.

Alexander Agafonov notes that the vintage shop is most popular among young people, although older generations are not rare guests. But while older customers more often ask for tableware to complete sets, i.e., they want to add to the dinnerware they already have at home, young people enthusiastically buy both individual saucers or cups and entire sets.

— Soviet tableware is currently experiencing a new wave of popularity. I associate this with the fact that young people born in the late 1990s and early 2000s grew up with modern tableware. Around that time, people began replacing their Soviet sets with something more modern; Luminarc, for example, was popular. These children saw retro tableware, if they were lucky, at their grandparents« homes, so they want to experience it all again, — the Irkutsk resident muses.

Therefore, young people happily buy products from the Khaitinsky Porcelain Factory. There is a lot of it in the vintage shop. Alexander says that Khaitinsky clay is one of the purest, free of harmful impurities, salts, and metals. That is why it is considered safe and eco-friendly. The fact that the Khaitinsky factory no longer exists adds a special touch, so the supply of such tableware is essentially limited.

Also on the shelves is tableware made at the Tulun Glass Factory. These are various salad bowls, fruit bowls, vases, and glasses. They are interesting because the glass is colored. Even now, such items look decent and modern.

Also in the shop, you can find a small amount of Czechoslovakian crystal. The price is higher because such finds are rarer and owners often sell them for much more.

— Besides tableware itself, we also have related vintage items because many people are interested in them too. Men come and ask about audio equipment. Some are interested in books and various knick-knacks: stamps, badges, postcards. We even have products for installation, like a pack of cereal, peppercorns, white meat sauce. There is soldiers« soap, dry shampoo, cotton wool, and many interesting things, — Alexander says.

The value of all the items in the shop, in the Irkutsk resident«s opinion, is not that the things have any special quality or are very rare. No, much of the assortment was produced in large batches, as they were consumer goods. The real value lies elsewhere.

Alexander says that vintage integrates perfectly into a modern interior. At his home, only appliances are modern. Almost all the furniture and tableware are restored and refurbished retro items.

— There is a certain warmth and soul in all of this, — Alexander believes.