One thing first-time-bridal-fair-goers ought to be made aware of is the fact that, although by divulging their contact info they may indeed win some fabulous prize (an Alfred Sung wedding dress and a honeymoon in Jamaica were up for grabs at the one I intended, for instance), they are absolutely guaranteed to be besieged by emails and phone calls from vendors who are much more interested in making money than in giving it away. Such is the case with Celebrity China and Crystal. This is their spiel:
Keep in mind this conversation occurred after they had left approximately 7 messages on my phone over a matter of weeks. I imagine the only way to avoid this is to either agree to show up, or else demand right away to be taken off of their list.
So, dutiful person that I am, one evening I reluctantly trudged to their showroom in Lenexa. Two important points: a) Andy didn't want to go, although he did sort of half-heartedly offer to come eventually, so I didn't make him, and b) I was about 5 minutes late. Neither of these seemed like a big deal to me until I walked into the waiting room, where there was not a soul in sight to tell me where to go, and when I did eventually realize I needed to walk right through the next door into the showroom, I was greeted by approximately eight couples. Needless to say, I stuck out like a sore thumb. Ten minutes later my mood improved slightly when another couple walked in even later than myself. But they were still a two-person unit and I was still alone, so it wasn't much of an improvement.
The biggest surprise of the night was that I was actually interested in what the lady was trying to sell. Don't let the name fool you - these people know what's up in the modern wedding market, and it ain't china and crystal. Of course she did talk about how they never discontinue a china pattern, and they've got an amazing replacement policy, and you can even get the "everyday china" that can go in the microwave and the dishwasher...but even young Johnson Countians aren't throwing lavish dinner parties and passing their heirlooms down to the grandchildren these days.
What Celebrity China and Crystal is really trying to get you to buy is VitaCraft cookware (which is actually a Shawnee, KS company. At any rate, they have a little outlet store that I drove by about 100 times without ever knowing what it was.) And VitaCraft cookware is cool. Although it can be used on a regular gas or electric store, it's actually made to be used with an induction cook top, which means it uses magnets to create heat. I haven't done any fact checking, but the salesperson said it was big in Japan, where electricity is expensive. I'm willing to take her word on it.
The pots and pans work kind of like pressure cookers, and they seemed easy to clean. You can even stack them three high and cook in all three at once - no joke! You don't have have to add oil or even water to your food to cook it properly, either. The saleslady fried us a chicken breast (perfectly cooked in 10 minutes), and some carrots and potatoes (cooked together, with no flavor transfer). They had nice knives, too. I was honestly tempted to buy.
Until, of course, they get to the kicker. And that would be the price. I'm sorry, but I just can't fancy myself with a $2000 set of cookware. (Keep in mind this is the 5 piece set.) Sure, they throw in some china place settings, a couple forks, and a few other "freebies", but somehow I was just unable to commit to a two year plan that would take all the money out of my paycheck that I am currently saving by not parking in the garage at work. And I want to park in the garage! I don't like wading through the snow-covered sidewalks and four-foot-deep mud pits that Hallmark refuses to take care of. But it isn't worth $60 a month to me, and neither is the pan I will probably burn to a crisp while attempting to cook an omelet. (Not to mention Andy doesn't even like eggs. Or cooking. He'd probably be happy if all we ever ate were Lean Cuisine frozen dinners.)
On the bright side, although they gave me slightly dirty looks when I asked for my free gift and hightailed it out of there, I ended up with two crystal glasses that we will be using at the wedding, deluxe hotel accommodations that we most likely won't use at all, and a new fascination with induction cooking. Probably not the worst way to spend an evening!
CCC - "Hi Abbie!" (Note the exclamation point. It indicates a whole lot of fake enthusiasm) "I'm just calling to let you and Andy know that we have some free gifts for you!"
Abbie - "Oh really? What exactly are these gifts?"
CCC - "We're giving you a fabulous pair of real crystal 24 lead toasting glasses, and deluxe hotel accommodations!"
Abbie - "Mmmhmm. So what do I have to do to get these things?"
CCC - "Just come on down and listen to our cookware presentation! You'll even get to try some of the food from the demonstration!"
Abbie - "Are you sure I don't have to buy anything? And how long is this presentation, really?"
CCC - "Nope, you don't have to buy a thing, just listen! The presentation is usually less than an hour!"
Abbie - "OK, I guess I can do that." (Also note that Abbie is fairly easy to persuade.)
Keep in mind this conversation occurred after they had left approximately 7 messages on my phone over a matter of weeks. I imagine the only way to avoid this is to either agree to show up, or else demand right away to be taken off of their list.
So, dutiful person that I am, one evening I reluctantly trudged to their showroom in Lenexa. Two important points: a) Andy didn't want to go, although he did sort of half-heartedly offer to come eventually, so I didn't make him, and b) I was about 5 minutes late. Neither of these seemed like a big deal to me until I walked into the waiting room, where there was not a soul in sight to tell me where to go, and when I did eventually realize I needed to walk right through the next door into the showroom, I was greeted by approximately eight couples. Needless to say, I stuck out like a sore thumb. Ten minutes later my mood improved slightly when another couple walked in even later than myself. But they were still a two-person unit and I was still alone, so it wasn't much of an improvement.
The biggest surprise of the night was that I was actually interested in what the lady was trying to sell. Don't let the name fool you - these people know what's up in the modern wedding market, and it ain't china and crystal. Of course she did talk about how they never discontinue a china pattern, and they've got an amazing replacement policy, and you can even get the "everyday china" that can go in the microwave and the dishwasher...but even young Johnson Countians aren't throwing lavish dinner parties and passing their heirlooms down to the grandchildren these days.
What Celebrity China and Crystal is really trying to get you to buy is VitaCraft cookware (which is actually a Shawnee, KS company. At any rate, they have a little outlet store that I drove by about 100 times without ever knowing what it was.) And VitaCraft cookware is cool. Although it can be used on a regular gas or electric store, it's actually made to be used with an induction cook top, which means it uses magnets to create heat. I haven't done any fact checking, but the salesperson said it was big in Japan, where electricity is expensive. I'm willing to take her word on it.
The pots and pans work kind of like pressure cookers, and they seemed easy to clean. You can even stack them three high and cook in all three at once - no joke! You don't have have to add oil or even water to your food to cook it properly, either. The saleslady fried us a chicken breast (perfectly cooked in 10 minutes), and some carrots and potatoes (cooked together, with no flavor transfer). They had nice knives, too. I was honestly tempted to buy.
Until, of course, they get to the kicker. And that would be the price. I'm sorry, but I just can't fancy myself with a $2000 set of cookware. (Keep in mind this is the 5 piece set.) Sure, they throw in some china place settings, a couple forks, and a few other "freebies", but somehow I was just unable to commit to a two year plan that would take all the money out of my paycheck that I am currently saving by not parking in the garage at work. And I want to park in the garage! I don't like wading through the snow-covered sidewalks and four-foot-deep mud pits that Hallmark refuses to take care of. But it isn't worth $60 a month to me, and neither is the pan I will probably burn to a crisp while attempting to cook an omelet. (Not to mention Andy doesn't even like eggs. Or cooking. He'd probably be happy if all we ever ate were Lean Cuisine frozen dinners.)
On the bright side, although they gave me slightly dirty looks when I asked for my free gift and hightailed it out of there, I ended up with two crystal glasses that we will be using at the wedding, deluxe hotel accommodations that we most likely won't use at all, and a new fascination with induction cooking. Probably not the worst way to spend an evening!
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