Rae Dunn is a true potter in the Bay Area. She started making cups by hand in the mid-1990s. Today, she has licensed her design to companies such as Magenta, which now mass-produce her ceramics.

Most of the time, Melissa Wood drank her "Military Mom" ​​Rae Dunn ceramic cup. It rotates in large numbers at its home in Woodhope Hills, Orange County, as well as "Today is not Satan" and "Hot Mess Express".

"It's me every day," she said with a smile. She is associated with the phrases on these cups, especially "Military Mom"-her son is in the Coast Guard. It was a gift from a lady on the regional Facebook page dedicated to buying, selling and trading Rae Dunn pottery.

Collecting Rae Dunn ceramics is a competitive hobby locally and nationally. Cheap ceramics are mainly cream colored with affirmative or cheeky expressions printed on them, usually in iconic slender fonts such as "wife", "the girl who got it" or "#妈妈生活". There are also colorful and more discerning holiday-themed products.

Collectors have a soft spot for plates, cups, jars, and even birdhouses with tall and thin lettering. These are mainly sold at HomeGoods, TJMaxx and Marshalls. As we all know, people will flock, from Kingston to Middletown to Poughkeepsie, hoarding items for resale or exchange for buying, selling, trading (BST) online message boards, just like Wood is a member of it. : Rae Dunn Hudson Valley BST, no nonsense*t.

Rachel Eagle, the administrator of this private Facebook group, estimates that in the past year, they have accepted more than 100 new members; their current members only have more than 500 "Dunnies."

rae dunn woman is crazy #raedunn #homegoods #tjx

Eagle was first introduced to Dunn by her sister-in-law in 2014, and before that, California potter Rae Dunn (yes, she is a real person-has a large number of Instagram fans) "shine a lot". At that time, the price of a cup was about US$2.99, and the price of a jar was US$8.99.

"I thought it was silly! I really didn't like it," Eagle recalled.

By 2017, Eagle had changed his mind and became Dunnie, attracted by a set of three Christmas jars. These jars are the iconic cream color but with seasonal red lettering: "Merry", "Cheer" and " Joy". It was difficult to find them in local stores, and she eventually bought them on Mercari.com, which she called "online yard sales."

Rae Dunn shines on Mercari-always sold at a price higher than the retail price. "The price for these three people was about $60. At the time, it was not terrible," she said. In stores, their retail price may be that high, but in Mercari, Christmas tins are priced at US$280 (less than US$415).

Wood said she has a fairly ordinary collection, which she defines as "more than 100 but less than 200."

While some Dunnies try to make money through sales, others see gaming as a fun hobby rather than a business. Eagle's price will not be higher than the retail price, and Wood will not: "I don't upsell. If I find anything, I will collect it for myself and my friends. I don't just buy everything. That's not me," Wood said.

If Eagle is exchanging, she will try to trade fairly based on market value. For the recent Dunnies, this can be tricky. "They think that the value of everything is higher than the market value. This is so frustrating," Eagle said. Nevertheless, the market value is not always obvious. The value of items often rises and falls-and there is no obvious reason.

Halloween works have always been very popular. "In Mercari, I saw a retired work-a'ghostly' jar, I believe it last appeared in 2019-people tried to sell it for more than $240, and its price It’s $10," Eagle said.

The only item Wood bought on Mercari was the "haunted" aviary. "I paid, say, 50 dollars? I knew they were 20 dollars, but people sold them for 80 dollars or more. I got a good deal," she recalled.

Wood is currently on the measuring cup market. When she runs errands, she checks the Middletown HomeGoods store several times a week, sometimes more during holidays.

"When I start collecting, I will always see them. I will pass by them." Now she can't find new ones. The retail price was only $16.99, but she saw someone resell it online for $250.

Stores like TJ Maxx do not notify customers of the delivery time of Rae Dunn ceramics in advance. Instead, Dunnies tried to track the item on the message board-if an item was found on the West Coast, they would think it would move east soon.

The value and scarcity of Dunn's items is why Dunnies fight for anything they can get. Eagle works in Middletown, so she mainly looks for new works there. Once, while waiting for HomeGoods to open with a group of Dunnies in the cold outdoors, a random person took a picture of her.

"It's kind of crazy," she admitted, but they wanted to rush in to get things first. You never know what will be available—or when it will be available. Dunnies try to track the item on the online message board-if the item has arrived in California or Arizona, they will think it will move east soon.

The store is in the game. "Generally speaking, HomeGoods stores receive an average of several deliveries a week, and each delivery contains thousands of new products, including many popular ceramic tableware brands. Our rapidly changing categories have created a'treasure hunt' that customers love "Shopping experience, which is why our brand shopping is so exciting," a company spokesperson said.

Rae Dunn collectors-they call themselves Dunnies-often organize their findings into displays. These are the findings collected by Rachel Eagle, Rae Dunn Hudson Valley BST Facebook board administrator.

The atmosphere of treasure hunting was set off on the Hudson Valley Facebook page. When items arrive at certain stores, members will share (Santa’s mug hits Chester HomeGoods!). Not all members, including Wood, who has been collecting for three years and tends to be self-reliant, like to spread information in this way.

"I will never announce my findings," she said.

As a Facebook group administrator, Eagle understands the drama that Dunn collections can create-people accuse others of flocking to stores and "shelf cleaning."

"If someone takes more than one thing, people will try to stir the pot," she said. Nevertheless, this is still common practice-buy one to keep, one trade, one to collect friends-etc.

Once a local collector sent her child to get a jar and accused another Denny of pushing her child. "You have to be fast. You have to catch. This lady sent her child into a possible dangerous system. People speeded up their pace towards the objects," Eagle said. "Obviously knowing that there are lunatics out there, why do you want to put your child in such a situation?"

Although no one has ever pushed Wood, "I heard stories about it and nasty abuse in Middletown. Sometimes you walk to the door and you will know when someone will pick up Ray Dunn."

It's like the sixth sense. Certain periods of the year are more cruel than others. Halloween is notoriously bad, and Easter stocks are usually more abundant, so collecting these seasonal items will be calmer.

Aside from drama, on any given day, the Hudson Valley Facebook group is full of questions ("Does anyone have a'Libra' cup?")-eager collectors are looking for their "unicorn" Or "Willi Wonka tickets" item. Members also use the forum to upload photos of their own Rae Dunn goodies, which are arranged on the display-just for fun. Display photos are marked as NFS (not for sale).

Collectors say that with the exception of mugs and some jars, most Dunn’s collections are only for display until they are regularly cleaned and sold to make room for more purchases.

Wood's collection is quite small—"more than 100, but less than 200." Iger admits that she has more—a loft full of 15 pottery tote bags.

"I have more than 150 cups. What does a person want so many cups for?" she said with a smile. "When you start selling and sorting, you think,'Oh my God, I spend so much money in a year?' If you multiply 150 by $6, it's a lot of money."

— Coywolf or Coyote? Let's cancel the whole thing

—Aliens in the Hudson Valley?

— Inside the Poughkeepsie Witchcraft Quarter

Alexandra Zissu is a New Yorker born and raised. She spent her childhood weekends and summers in the Hudson Valley. She was completely transplanted to New Paltz in 2013 with her family. The farm where they provide food-this is the best move ever. Every day I woke up to see the scenery of Gunks supporting her. She is obsessed with family dinners, likes to try to grow vegetables with her two daughters, talk to trees while walking in the woods, raise kittens, and write six books all about the environment and health.