Glass jars are fun and functional! Much more satisfying in the hand than Tupperware, glass jars make for easy household storage of just about anything. Stored in shelves or out on display, glass jars can be both practical and beautiful.

For instance, baby food jars make charming storage for all kinds of small items. When used to store a particular class of object, these little jars can look like an apothecary display. For example, imagine a shelf on your dressing table. In one jar, you could keep your colorful hair ties, in another all your bobby pins, and in the third, all those colorful little mini clips. As you can see, glass jars can be both cute and functional.

Home office and craft centers are another great spot to use beautiful glass jars. They make great storage for thread, buttons, and safety pins. In the kitchen, they provide easy storage for store-bought herbs, and when arranged on a sunny window sill, they can catch the light in an attractive way.

Of course, many people collect glass jars because of their inherent beauty as much as their popular function. Antique perfume bottles were an art form at the turn of the 19th century. Antique apothecary jars for herbs and tinctures are highly collectible. Antique candy jars are among the most beautiful glassworks you may find anywhere.

And then there's the sheer simple and humble beauty of the old Kerr fruit jars. Many of us had mothers and grandmothers who made jams and preserves, homemade pasta sauces and more. Collecting these beautiful and enduringly practical jars may even inspire you to try your own hand at a peck of pickled peppers someday.