Happy St. Patrick’s Day! It’s the perfect day to feature Green as a styling color for tablescapes and decor. This primary color of nature brings a sense of calmness, healthfulness, and optimism, and shows up quite often in our vintage inventory. Enjoy the green of vintage in our photo galleries showcasing a variety of items, from vintage goblets, to vintage plates, and decor.
Petite vintage serving dishes – lemon nappies, platters, bowls – can be the perfect dish for the tea table, filled with lemon slices, cheese straws, and chocolates. Although meant for a small delicious treat, they also can be used to hold jewelry, small soaps, or trinkets. Such versatility!
We first came across these small handled dishes at a thrift store. The owner explained that they were lemon dishes and were part of a client’s collection who had decided to downsize. Instantly falling in love with them, we left with several and still continue to find them here and there. Our collection is now over 20 and we won’t be able to resist adding more.
Below are petite vintage dishes that include small platters, bowls, dishes, and spoon rests which are perfect for the treats served at the tea party table. We also can see them enticing your guests with small bites set along the dinner table for your guests to enjoy along with the main meal.
We couldn’t find much about these adorable dishes except they probably emerged during the late 1800s and lasted until the mid 1900s. They were made in a variety of countries, such as Germany, England, Japan, and the United States. Such beautiful, petite works of art!
We’ve just marked 10 years as a company! Such a milestone of great pleasure meeting so many different folks at one of their happiest moments. We are grateful and humbled by you!
Though we have a FAQ page to answer many questions you may have, we are extending this information to include more things you’d like to know.
First, when the event is over, we’ll be sending you a request for a review from Wedding Wire and the Knot. These two prestigious companies house all of our reviews for prospective clients to read. At the end of the year, they award companies that have a certain number of high ranking reviews. When we make this request, we are thrilled to hear how the event went and what aspects you enjoyed regarding our rentals. We consider it an honor when you do this for us.
Second, we also ask for photographs to share on our blog post and social media. We love sharing this happy moment with our followers and they often refer to your photos when they are making decisions about their own event. Most photographers allow us permission to browse the online gallery. We select photos that showcase our wares and also like to have a few of clients. When this request comes, please consider and if there are any photos you’d like us to not share, let us know. We will ask for names of the collaborating vendors including the photographer, so all of us can enjoy a shout-out.
Third, a word about the cleanup. If rinsing is available, we’d love to receive them in this condition. If not, then we want all the plates to be wiped down with little or no food debris. Please consult with your caterer regarding which they can do. One other little request that goes along with this – all the dishes are wrapped in plastic after the sanitation rinse. It is important to leave the bags on the plates so food debris doesn’t get tracked into the vehicle or studio. We tie the bags, you untie, leaving the bag on the sides. Once the rack is full of wiped down plates, pull up the bag and retie.
Fourth, please do not use our napkins to clean up spills, especially red wine. Many stains remain that we cannot remove and then the napkin is relegated to a dish cloth. Sad…
Fifth, to fill an order we first select and then pack items in specialized crates to avoid breakage. Crate by crate, they are placed in the sanitizing, energy/water efficient dishwasher. After drying, they are wrapped in food-grade plastic bags. Items are then either loaded up and delivered, or the client picks up and returns. If picked up, we’ll have everything on a cart, you’ll drive around the back of our building, and park near the back door covered by an awning. We will roll the carts to the door. Clients have commented that this is made easy for them. After noon is our best times for both deliveries and pickups; however, we can work out times if needed.
Sixth, if you choose to pick up and return (which we appreciate so much!), we can extend our rental window as needed, up to 5 days rather than 3. A typical order will be more than what a small car or SUV can hold so a van or large SUV will be needed. If you are unable to secure the larger vehicle and you still want to pickup/return, look into renting one.
Lastly, and our most important, number 7th thing-to-know is that we want you to be happy with every choice. We don’t charge by the crate but by the piece. We welcome all studio visits and love helping you with your vision!
Note to Mobile Users – To move forward, slide to the left.
We are always amazed at the creativity of our clients! After working on this slide show for several days, we are excited to share with you some of the designs from 2023. We hope you enjoy their artistic tablescapes!
PS – Thank you, clients and photographers, for allowing us to share your work!
Two ah-ha moments occurred as we were planning this week’s blog post. The first happened while browsing our photo library and came across our very first wedding. It was October 2013, our first year in business. It’s hard to describe how exciting it was to book our first real event! While reminiscing about this day, the idea to feature one October event for every subsequent year popped into our heads. Our search began…
The second moment was finally figuring out how to add a slide show. If you’ll remember, we attempted to do that earlier this year but just couldn’t figure it out. So frustrating! Well, we are happy to debut our first slide show! Rolling back 11 years, each slide portrays one event that year in October. Being our first, it’s not as polished as we’d like but we are happy to have it up and running!
Photo credits – 2013-SVT, 2014-SVT, 2015-SVT, 2016-Live View Studios, 2017-Parent, 2018-JP Pratt, 2019-Samuel Holt, 2020-Becca Ames, 2021-Brian Anthony, 2022-Kasey Powell, 2023-SVT, Header-Joanna Sue
Eleven vintage hand painted teacups have been on many adventures and now they have settled in at Southern Vintage Table. Gifted by the doctor who delivered my children and the mother of our client, these teacups carry much meaning for us.
Each teacup and saucer also has a small plate that carries the same floral theme. We’ll reveal each layer for you to marvel!
Last month Southern Vintage Table provided tea accessories for the second annual Cynthia’s Primrose Tea at Mitford Museum in Hudson, NC. Once Jan Karon’s elementary school, The Mitford Museum hosts this fundraiser to further its “mission to advance the common good through literacy, creativity, and community.”
After selecting the teapots and teacups, we were inspired to take a few photos of these vintage beauties before they were packed up. Aren’t they lovely?
Virginia Woolfe
“Who would not spout the family teapot in order to talk with Keats for an hour about poetry, or with Jane Austen about the art of fiction?
Birds are amazing creatures – they can fly, lay eggs, and have beautiful feathers. The way they strut on their two feet is quite delightful! So, it makes sense they would adorn many vintage china patterns. Today we are sharing some of the ones we have in our collection but there are many, many more.
Our first set is a group paying homage to the pheasant. There are many species of pheasants and most of the males have gorgeous, vibrant feathers. We learned they are also quite delicious.
These three vintage patterns are known as Asiatic Pheasants. This popular pattern was created in England during the mid 1800s and has been copied by many different pottery companies.
Pheasants are also on these next patterns. Their bright feathers are prominently featured. The first is a vintage design by Johnson Brothers, the second is Chelsea Bird by Myott, the third is Spring Garden by Royal Gallery, and the last pattern is from France, called Vieux Provence by Varagas.
It appears that birds that are delicious to eat appear more often on plate patterns! Quail by Furnival comes in a variety of two tones – we have blue small plates and brown dinner plates in our collection.
And, of course, we see lots of roosters and chickens on dinner plates. These whimsical patterns are mid century, with the first and last are Taylor Smith & Taylor and the middle one is Scio.
These next patterns have birds that we cannot identify, but they do add beauty and detail to each pattern. They are Devonshire by Johnson, Willliamsburg Potpourri by Wedgwood, Vintage Woodsong by Fine China, and Spodes Tower by Spodes.
Lastly, the most recognized pattern, Blue Willow, has the famous pair of turtle doves. The story goes that two forbidden lovers were saved by the gods and turned into these loving doves. Did you know that there’s a Pink Willow and a multitude of versions of this original pattern, designed by Thomas Turner in the late 1700s?
Hope you have enjoyed today’s birds on plates blog. We are pretty sure there are more in our collection and, if so, a sequel will follow!
These two vintage patterns, Old Curiosity Shop and Currier and Ives, may be the most recognizable patterns in America. They were produced by Royal China, based out of Sebring, Ohio. Once a powerhouse in the china business, this American company produced over 1700 patterns from 1934-1980s.
From our own collection, we have these two patterns, but we also have patterns that feature florals, gold rims, and ornate designs. On the other end of the spectrum, we have bold, funky patterns that the company produced in the 1950s-1980s. Like many successful companies, Royal China adapted their look based on the times.
While researching this company, we also uncovered that in 1934 Beatrice Miller applied for the bank loan to start this company with her two male partners. She was turned away because sponsoring a woman-owned business was preposterous. Soon after, one of her partners visited the same bank and their loan was approved.
Beatrice was a pioneer in the pottery business and for all women entrepreneurs. Under her leadership and her two male partners, Royal China thrived for the next 50 years. One other side note, their mission was to make affordable china for the general public that were sold in grocery markets, five-and-dime stores, and other small businesses. They were also promotional giveaways for many companies.
Fast forward from the depression era to the 1950s. Royal China launched a new look for their customers. As a sign of the times, the patterns became more whimsical, bold, and colorful. With names like Blue Heaven, Tell Me Yes, Flower Dance, and Leaf Spirit, these patterns spoke to the hip public who wanted more than pretty flowers with gold inlays. Don’t you love the ad with the title, “Meet the Swingers from Royal?”
Although we have patterns from many companies that followed this trend, Royal China leads the pack for us. We are presenting these by their color family – yellows, browns, oranges, blues, blue-greens, and greens. All of these, as you will note, kept to a simple color palette with their bold pattern. Now, let us introduce you to some of our favorite retro patterns!
Hello Yellows!
Casablanca, Jubilee, Damsel, RYL398, Queen’s Rose, Vendome
Buenos Dias BROWNS!
Monterey, Overture, Casa Del Sol, Barcelona, RYL4, Nutmeg, Can Can
Oh la la – ORANGE is next!
Mozambique and Sahara
Bonjour Blues!
Patio, Aurora,Baghdad, Blue Heaven
G’day Greens and Blues!
RYL360, Camelot, RYL86, RYL3, Flower Dance, RYL16
Greetings to the Greens!
RYL 137, RYL325, RYL403
Imagine setting your tables with these super cool, groovy patterns. Along with more retro patterns from other potters in our collection, they will be a natural conversation starter for any event!
Passion, energy, positivity, strength – adding even just a little red to a tablescape promotes all of these sentiments. And, did you know that both your appetite and table conversation can be enhanced with this dynamic color? Knowing this, we went on the hunt to find red among our vintage decor collection. Perhaps these examples will spark a few ideas on how you can invigorate your tablescape and event!
What red decor ideas are you ready to try?
