According to Beth Baer, Lenox’s VP of product development, the Lenox Village was created at the peak of consumer interest in collecting. During this time, the company noticed that their customers were thrilled to receive a new collector piece every other month. “Pastel colored Victorian houses fit the need Lenox was looking for to create a cozy kitchen aesthetic,” Beth explains. “The popularity of the spice jars led way to the introduction of a complete collection of coordinating kitchen accessories, dinnerware and even wallpaper borders, indicative of the time!”
So after all these years, the heritage brand is of course thrilled to see such a spike of interest in Lenox Village amongst a new fan base that is highly engaged on social media. Beth points out how the attraction could be attributed to the fact that there are several trends with aesthetics that focus on all things vintage like grandmillenial, cottagecore, and coastal grandma. “The scarcity of the collection and thrill of the hunt for items that mom or grandma held dear adds to the fun,” she adds. If any of the brands ever decided to bring the spice houses back, creating an updated version would be Anoosha’s dream collaboration—while Lenox isn’t currently working on resourcing, Beth notes that the “Lenox Village door is always open to the possibility.”
TikTok content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
After 1993, the Lenox Village line was discontinued due to the waning of consumers’ appetite for collectibles—with each individual piece priced at $14.95, the full collection was originally worth about $358. (This excludes the larger canisters for flour, sugar, rice, pasta, coffee, tea, cookies, nuts, and candy.) Between Etsy, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace, lots for the 24-piece set currently range from $300 to $1,400. (The spice rack is usually $100-$150 while replacement parts cost significantly less.) Of course, I won’t allow such an outrageous price tag to deter me from scrolling deep on the Internet to find the most affordable Lenox Village units on the market. Now that I’ve been influenced by the kitschiness of it all, I suddenly feel the urge to spice up my life by filling my kitchen shelves with as many of these tiny town houses as my heart desires.
At the moment, I’m strongly considering investing in the Tea Room tea pot and Tea Shoppe canister along with the matching set of Confectionary and Creamery Houses (sugar and creamer). I also have my eye on the salt and pepper shakers, but we’ll see if I can control myself… For now, I’ll blame it on the miniatures phenomenon, a micro trend that only continues to grow. While I can’t afford to buy a real townhouse right now, I can certainly lean into the fantasy of that charming lifestyle through this collection now that it’s living in my head rent-free.