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Category: Features
Vintage Feature – My Week Ahead
One lesson I am learning as the small business owner of Southern Vintage Table is to set goals for my week ahead and create a schedule. This practice keeps me focused, busy and positive! Here’s what I am working on for this week- and probably into next week, too.
1. Write a blog and keep it real. (Working on this goal right now.) Publish Monday. Get an idea board for future blog topics.
2. Produce and order a photo book with Carrie from Fernrock Farm in collaboration with Merry Hill Farm. Deliver to Lynne at Merry Hill on Friday for Saturday’s appointments.
3. Finalize special pricing packages for Merry Hill clients. Print copies and get vintage china vignette ready for Friday delivery.
4. Visit nursery with Carrie to pick up indoor sedums to plant in china teacups for Merry Hill vignette and future clients. Drill holes in teacups and plant sedums.
5. Visit the NC State Fair Fine Dining exhibit. (Yes, they have a competition for table decorating but there is a lottery for entrants. Unfortunately, I didn’t not get selected but I’m going to do a little research and be ready for next year! I’m working on an idea that uses one of the vintage trumpets I won at the auction as a center piece.)
6. Plan with Carrie our next marketing strategy (wedding planners and caterers?) and set appointments.
7. Take photos of recent china pattern purchases for inventory book and for upcoming blog. (I picked up a beautiful pattern from the 1930s that I can’t wait to share!)
8. Measure and take photos of lace toppers for inventory book and upcoming blog.
9. Paint and distress recently purchased frames. Buy blackboard, have it cut and mounted in each. Take photos and inventory.
10. Clean recently purchased silverware. Take inventory. (I may try a new technique for cleaning off tarnish that uses baking soda, aluminum foil and boiling water.)
11. Iron and sort vintage napkins.
12. Stop by a couple of thrift stores on my way to visit my mom. (Love this part of my job!)
LOTS to do, but after years of teaching, planning and grading papers, I LOVE that my work schedule includes trips to the state fair, a nursery and a few thrift stores! Work is fun and fun is work!
Vintage Feature – The Feel of Vintage Glassware
Armed with nearly a hundred receptors in each, your fingertips perceive your personal environment – soft or hard, cold or warm, pain or pleasure. While pain receptors help us know when we are hurt, receptors also help us feel pleasure – like when you pick up a textured vintage goblet or glass.
One distinguishing feature of many vintage patterns of glassware is texture – it can be cut or pressed glass, bumpy, or cubed. Vintage colors span the rainbow, with greens, yellows, blues, pinks, reds, and clear. There are many, many patterns and here are some of our favorites of amber, green, and blue glassware at Southern Vintage Table.
I call this crinkle glass and have seen it described as lava glass, bark, or bumpy, but two official pattern names are Milano, manufactured by Anchor Hocking, and Driftwood by Seneca. Both patterns come in varied colors and Southern Vintage Table has many in green, gold, blue, and clear. I love the way this glass feels in my hand and how the light shines through it.
Both the color and texture are noticed in these beautiful blue vintage glasses. The first pattern is Tartan by Anchor Hocking and the other goblet is Facets by Libbey/Rock Sharpe glassware. The pattern names of the two circular tumblers are unknown. Wouldn’t these all be lovely with vintage blue and white plates?
One of my favorite patterns is Whitehall Colony glassware. It’s heft and cubed texture make it just perfect to sip any cold beverage. The colors are also varied – harvest gold, amber, avocado green, light blue, emerald green, and clear.
This happy vintage pattern is called Country Garden made by Libbey/Rock Sharpe. Discontinued in the mid 1970s, this embossed flower pattern embodies the saying “flower power.”
One style of glassware that fits perfectly in your hands has a “thumbprint” indentation. Colony’s Crown pattern is one and we have this lovely glassware in green, gold, and blue. We also have goblets in green and bowls in amber.
Imperial Glass has several patterns that use the thumbprint feel. Two are Provinicial and Williamsburg. Their green and amber colors are rich and the feel of the glass is impressive.
The final set of featured goblets are our most recent additions. I found them at a thrift store and both the owner and I had never seen these! They are very substantial and unusual with the coolest feet and pedestal. The citron green goblet was manufactured by Franciscan Crystal in the 1970s and the pattern is called Madeira. I cannot find the dark green goblet with the bark-like texture but I haven’t given up just yet! It’s full of details and I’m certain I’ll eventually find out more. Any help out there identifying is welcomed!
The sparkle on the table is the glassware and vintage glassware patterns give you much more – texture, heft, deep colors, and history! These patterns and more are available at Southern Vintage Table for your guests’ pleasure and enjoyment!
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Vintage Feature – Layering with Square Vintage Plates
Square vintage plates are now high on my list of favorites here at Southern Vintage Table. Whether it’s a dinner, salad or dessert plate, glass or porcelain, the unexpected shape is a sweet surprise! They look terrific layered and also make fabulous serving dishes.
One classic vintage square plate pattern is Madrid by Federal Glass, manufactured during the early 1930s in Columbus, Ohio. This is the only Madrid dinner plate I have found on my adventures and will be a lovely serving plate for sweet treats or hors d’oeuvres.
Classic blue and white – a look we all love. This white swirl salad plate by Johnson Brothers between the two vintage blue dishes makes this place setting distinctive.
This setting features a square plate with a Godey print. The image comes from a publication called Godey’s Lady’s Book which was popular in the mid to late1800s. Here’s a link to the site, Accessible Archives, with articles from this vintage publication – very interesting material!
This final layered settings are for that high drama look. These vintage china patterns featuring gold and flowers and beautiful by themselves but layered together, wow!
Square is in – at least for vintage china place settings. They can be center stage or the backdrop pattern but two things are for certain – they will add pizzazz to your table and Southern Vintage Table is ready to help!
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Vintage Feature – Raise the Party Bar with Southern Vintage Table
Having a party and want something that’s gonna raise the bar just a bit? Pun intended, of course… Consider renting vintage bar supplies from Southern Vintage Table.
We have vintage ice buckets and decanters; vintage relish dishes, snack bowls, platters and small snack plates; an eclectic mix of vintage stainless steel flatware; and vintage glassware. We also have an assortment of tubs to chill your beer or other drinks for your guests.
So, throw a party in vintage style with a little help from Southern Vintage Table! Check out our Pinterest board for more photos and ideas!
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Vintage Feature – A Symbol of Love and Prosperity is… Wheat
While collecting vintage china patterns for Southern Vintage Table, I have found many vintage patterns with wheat shafts. Why wheat, I wondered? It’s brown and umm … brown. I knew there must be a story behind it. Well, of course, there is.
Wheat symbolizes many good things in life. To name just a few – prosperity, love, home and hearth, harvest, spring, birth and hope. In the bible wheat is the symbol for righteous people. No wonder it was popular on china, to be seen everyday at the family dining table!
One of the most prevalent patterns in the mid 1950s was Golden Wheat by Homer Laughlin, featured in the middle of the photo above. It was a marketing gimmick of Duz detergent – they wanted to have an edge over Tide, so they started including china dishes in their boxes of detergent! Don’t you wish someone would do that again?
The third image above is a beautiful golden scalloped edged pattern on a luscious cream background. I came upon it at a local thrift store – there was an entire set! One of the volunteers, Polly, and I sat down on the floor and examined each piece, reveling in its design and beauty. The pattern is from Grindley, manufactured in England and dates during the 1940s-50s. Of course, I bought it!
One more trio of wheat images is below from the 40s-60s. The first two are on fine porcelain china and the third has a beautiful teal coloring.
So, lovely wheat is in – at least on vintage china patterns – and we have them available for you at Southern Vintage Table!
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Vintage Feature – Three Vintage China Patterns and their West Virginia Connection
As I have researched the vintage china patterns I have collected for Southern Vintage Table, I have also learned about the companies that designed them. Here are three wonderful vintage china patterns with variations of lovely pink flowers. The three patterns were produced near West Chester, West Virginia by three different pottery companies, none of which are in business today.
Rosebud Bouquet by Harker Pottery Company
I remember the first piece of Harker Pottery I found years ago when I was collecting plates to break for my mosaic projects. The pattern was teal green and had this rope design around the rim. I fell in love with it, and even though it had obvious defects, I could never bring myself to break it. Since then, I have collected more Harker pieces and still marvel at their story. Touted as the oldest pottery company in the United States, Harker Pottery started in a log cabin in 1840 in East Liverpool, Ohio. In the 1930s, it moved to Chester, West Virginia and remained in business until the early 1970s. This pattern, part of a series called Royal Gadroon, was popular during the 1940s-1950s.
Green Arbor by Continental Kilns
This lovely hand painted pattern was one of the first pieces I found for my vintage china rental business, Southern Vintage Table. I love not only the raised design but also the pink and green color combination. Continental Kilns was based in West Virginia and operated during the 1940s through the late 1950s.
Appalachian Heirloom by Taylor, Smith & Taylor
I remember the day I found a set of this china pattern at the thrift store. They were dusty, dirty and priced to sell. When I brought them home and washed them, the stunning beauty of the pattern emerged. The company, Taylor, Smith & Taylor, existed from 1899 until the early 1980s in Chester, West Virginia. I couldn’t find the date of this pattern but I believe it’s from the 1950s.
Three beautiful vintage china patterns, all produced in West Virginia by three different pottery companies, are part of our dinner table past. Pieces from each of these vintage patterns are available for your next gathering from Southern Vintage Table!
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Vintage Feature – Remember the ’60s Jingle, “Mix and match, it’s fun to do…” ?
Okay, I’m revealing my age a bit, something that doesn’t bother me at all, but this 60s jingle has stuck with me for over 50 years! I was really into Barbie when I was young and I loved to change her outfits. “Mix and match, it’s fun to do, what Barbie wears is up to you…” spoke to me as a young girl of the 1960s.
Well, this jingle now goes perfectly with the table philosophy of Southern Vintage Table – love to mix and match patterns in every color, in any pattern from every decade. It’s like bringing together generations of families who sat at their dinner table throughout the century. Mix and match is still fun to do!
Visit us on our website, Southern Vintage Table, and check out our inventory on our Pinterest Boards!
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Vintage Feature – Wisdom from Ronald Reagan
All great change in America begins at the dinner table.
– Ronald Reagan (www.brainyquote.com)
Southern Vintage Table is ready to help you plan for your upcoming events this fall. Have a wedding, anniversary, birthday party, baby shower or a dinner party coming up? Let us help you set the table and get the conversation started!
Check out our inventory of vintage china and accessories on Pinterest!
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Vintage Feature: The Blue Vintage China Table
What do The Andy Griffith Show, The Munsters and old Westerns have in common? Well, yes, they are all midcentury classic television but there’s something even cooler – they share a common dining table setting, the Blue Willow vintage china pattern. These famous shows set their table with this blue and white pattern because it is crisp, vintage and full of history. First designed in the 18th century, Blue Willow has been on generations of family dining tables and continues to be popular today. Read more about this fascinating pattern on Wikipedia.
There’s something special about blue vintage china that many folks appreciate. Blue Willow features dark indigo against white that’s so striking. Blends of light blue vintage china are soothing and inviting. Vintage turquoise has a romantic flair while blues with greens, pinks and yellows present a cheery table.
Whether it’s the classic blue and white vintage china table setting, a myriad of blue vintage china stoneware patterns or a mingling of soft elegant blue vintage china patterns, your guests will love it. Check out more blue vintage china patterns available at Southern Vintage Table on our Pinterest Board! 
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