Features Archives - Page 4 of 17 - Southern Vintage Table

Vintage Feature – A Message Found in a Vintage Vase (and a Few More Treasures)

A few new vintage treasures found their way into the studio this week and each of them have their own unique story! Starting with a timeless classic, these two vintage silver-plated cake stands are now part of our inventory. They arrived as a gift to SVT and we can’t wait to see the first cake or fancy dessert on them! (Thank you, Lucy!)

Brass candelabras are golden elegance and we are always looking to add to our collection, With the French blue candles, this funky ornate candelabra looks glorious. This find was in one of our favorite thrifting haunts – so sorry, we can’t share this secret!

Vintage Brass Candelabra with Blue Candles

Do you know how much we adore vintage scales? We have 4 vintage kitchen scales and 1 postage and what was missing is what we found – a vintage baby scale in the softest shade of yellow. Look at those sweet baby faces – adorable! (Thank you, Mary Beth, for letting this one come to us.)

Now for our last vintage find. When we found this in a Wilmington thrift store, we thought it was nice – and heavy – so we picked it up to add to our growing collection of vintage brass vases. Back at the studio, we were cleaning it before putting it on the shelf, and, voila, we found this secret note inside!

This nice, heavy, vintage brass vase was given by a husband to his wife for their 50th golden anniversary 75 years ago! Oh my goodness! Laura, if you should read this, please contact us – we’d love for you to have this family treasure. In the meantime, we will be sharing this story to everyone who places a bouquet in this vase.

As always, thanks for visiting today. In honor of Presidents’ Day, here’s a funny quote from the wonderful Jimmy Carter.

“My esteem in this country has gone up substantially. It is very nice now that when people wave at me, they use all of their fingers.”

PS – Yes, that’s my reflection in the vase. 🙂

Vintage Features – Just a Few Favorites from 2019

2019 has been a great year for SVT! These images are among our favorites and feature weddings, showers, corporate gatherings, dinner parties, and styled shoots. Sincerest thanks to our clients and their talented photographers for these beautiful vintage visions!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC — Ana Teresa Photography

Casie Weathers Photography — Ana Teresa Photography

Looking forward to 2020 and sending happy new year wishes to all!

Vintage Feature – Bold & Bonny Bouquets on Vintage China

Florals on china are so lovely and vintage patterns seem even more beautiful. Today’s blog features five bold floral vintage china patterns, four of which were made in England and one from the United States.

Let’s begin with this beauty, Stratford by Royal Doulton. Produced for twenty years, from 1941-1962, this pattern features almost every color – yellow, pink, purple, green, and gray. We love the scalloped floral rim! Meredith and Jessie delighted their guests with them.

Vintage Reception Tables — Photographed by Morgan Caddell Photography

Photographed by Morgan Caddell Photography

Next up is Staffordshire Bouquet by Johnson Brothers, also made in England. So many clients come to our studio and comment on how much they love this pattern. Featuring brown, red, yellow, green, and blue, this swirl-rimmed pattern was only made seven years, from 1973-1979.

We’d like to introduce you to our third bold floral, English Bouquet by Johnson Brothers. As our most recent addition to our inventory, we immediately knew it was a Johnson Brothers design. It’s brighter color palette includes pink, blue, yellow and green. One internet source says this pattern is from the 1920s!

The fourth of our featured vintage patterns is Bouquet by Myotts Staffordshire, England. With its darker hues of brown, amber, green, and maroon as well as the swirled, scalloped edge, this pattern one of our favorites! The details are stunning! Although we couldn’t find the production dates for this pattern, we know that since it’s mark doesn’t have the Myotts-Meakin stamp, it can’t be after 1989 and we believe it’s much older.

Lastly, here’s our lone USA-made vintage bold floral design to feature. This one is called May Flower and it’s made by the Californian company, Vernon Kilns. Featuring florals of yellow, blue, purple, and white along with the basketweave rim, this pattern is so darn pretty! Amazingly, May Flower was only made from 1942-1953 and they look gorgeous on Meredith and Jessie’s reception tables.

Vintage Reception Table — *Photographed by Morgan Caddell Photography*

So there they are! Five gorgeous bold vintage floral patterns made by five different potteries in England and America. Can you name them now? Hint – most of them have “bouquet’ in their name!

Source – Replacements, Ltd

Vintage Feature – Edwin M. Knowles China, a USA Company

Doesn’t this charming plate epitomize vintage? We first thought it was a cake plate because of the handles on each side, but we were wrong! It’s a classic art deco shape called Yorktown, created in 1938 by one of America’s most successful china company, The Edwin M. Knowles China Company.

The mark on the back shows the maker (The Edwin M. Knowles China Co.) and the shape name (Yorktown) but not the pattern, which is Tia Juana. According to the mark on the back , this pattern shape was first introduced November, 1937 (11-37). (Thanks, Harlan, for interpreting this for us!) Perhaps more interesting, though, it includes “Union Made in U.S.A.” to broadcast that the china was made by workers who were fairly paid and treated by their employer.

Looking through the extensive collection of pattern photos on Replacements, Inc., we soon realized we had several Knowles patterns that illustrate the breadth of patterns and shapes this once-thriving pottery company offered to its customers.

Edwin M. Knowles China Company began in 1900 in Chester, West Virginia. Over six decades, the company produced dinnerware considered to be of the highest quality, and their popularity and production increased over the next 60 years. The factory closed its doors in the early 1960s due to the influx of cheaper foreign imports – a common story for many US potteries.

Read more about Knowles at the Robbins Nest, Laurel Hollow Park, and Vintage Eve’s.

Vintage Feature – Keys Events Styles a Beautiful Blue and White Shoot

This year we have participated in at least eight styled shoots – perhaps a record for us – and we have benefited from the wonderful photographs shared with us by a host of talented photographers. Today’s shoot was courtesy of Monique of Keys Events and Tierney Riggs Photography.

The blue and white theme paired with our vintage amethyst goblets and natural wood pieces is one of our favorites! We also love CE Rental’s blue and white tablecloth, which proves that too much of a good thing can be grand!

Thanks, Monique, for showcasing our vintage goods in your lovely shoot. We look forward to showing these to our clients! Be sure to check out Keys Events!

Vintage Feature – Three Reasons Why You Should Serve Your Specialty Drink in Something Special!

A popular party trend is to offer guests a speciality drink, oftentimes a drink loved by the host, guest of honor, or bride and groom. Whether it’s a non-acoholic refreshing beverage or a spirited one, these can reflect the personality of the host or guests and even the color palette of the occasion!

What can make this drink even more special? Serving it up in a beautiful vintage goblet, of course! Not totally convinced? Then let us convince you with these three reasons why you should.

First, consider the frozen speciality drink. Offering that frozen margarita or sangria in a petite clear goblet means that your guests will enjoy the delightful frozenness before it melts. Another upside is more guests can be served at once. The only hitch is that some will be back in line for more so keep that blender humming! 🙂

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental — Pipers Photography

Secondly, to add to the festiveness of the party, the drink color will shine! With our classic clear vintage champagne glasses and petite goblets, that gorgeous blue, pink, or yellow will mesmerize your guests as they enjoy your delicious beverage. We promise that they will ooh-and-ahhh over their sweetness!

Pipers Photography
Ana Teresa Photography
Casie Weathers Photography

Thirdly, if you plan to serve up a large crowd, go classic with our beautiful vintage punch bowls. In addition to 3 clear and 2 milk glass bowls, we also have a wonderful collection of vintage punch cups that will coordinate nicely, but if these don’t suit your affair, consider those petite goblets instead!

Spirited or not, your speciality drink deserves a special goblet or glass. In addition to the lovely clear petite goblets, we have petite goblets in a variety of colors. (There’s no photo of these colored ones, but we’ll add it to this post soon.)

As you see, we have lots to offer and are ready to help you serve up your speciality drinks at your next occasion!

Vintage Feature – Two Weeks In, Two Weeks to Go

This week we’ve been emptying shelves, disassembling shelves, moving shelves, re-assembling shelves, and finally, filling shelves. (Thank you, Priscilla!) We love these shelves because they are heavy-duty and easily to re-configure, but they also are very heavy and sometimes difficult to assemble. But, with the help of Aud and Sean, they are in and ready for their vintage inventory!

Looking forward to filling these shelves and sharing our progress next week!

Vintage Feature – The Launching of “Today’s Pretty Thing”

First, a move update! Stacking, packing, curating, and even breaking 🙁 describe the week as we began our move to the new location. Progress has been made with the generous help of Rowena, Priscilla, Jami, Louise, Jeff, and Aud, but there’s much much more to be done. Enthusiasm is still high even with sore muscles and a few new aches.

But, this week’s blog will be kicking off a new social media feature, “Today’s Pretty Thing.” When friends and former co-workers Judy and Sherry came to visit our shop before we started to dismantle, Judy admired a pretty piece of china and had a terrific idea for us! She suggested that we regularly feature pretty vintage pieces on our social media. Needless to say, we thought this was a brilliant idea! We’ll be posting these on Instagram and Facebook during the week and we’ve got a lot of pretty things to share!

So here’s our first “Today’s Pretty Thing.” It’s a chocolate pot, a tall and slender vessel with a spout close to the top, used to serve hot chocolate. The gold trim, hand painted crown of florals in pinks and blues, and styled handle make this a gorgeous and useful serving piece.

The mark on the bottom says Nippon, the Japanese word for Japan, which dates it from 1881 to 1921. If you’d like to learn more about the history of hot chocolate and chocolate pots, read this Jane Austin’s blog, “Hot Chocolate, 18th-19th Century Style.”

Be on the lookout for “Today’s Pretty Thing” on our Instagram and Facebook accounts.

Hope you have a great week! You know what we’ll be doing!

Vintage Feature – The Move Is On!

We have one month to do it and we are totally excited – we are moving! The big reveal will be next month but, in the meantime, we are relocating all of this . . .

. . . to this space! Instead of one open room, the new studio will have three rooms to design and fill.

Thank goodness we have kind friends and family who will be helping us because there’s a lot of vintage coolness to pack up! One thing is certain – It’s going to be amazing when we are finished!

Vintage Feature – 5 Reasons To Host a Tea Party!

Whether it’s the pretty vintage china, yummy tea and treats, or having fun with friends and family, the classic tea party is always a winner! If you are wondering why hosting a tea party is a such fabulous idea, here are 5 reasons that will convince you that your guests will love it!

~ Reason 1: Tea parties are relaxing and festive affairs. ~

Sipping tea with friends and family may be one of the most relaxing ways to celebrate a special occasion. Whether it is a bridal or baby shower, birthday celebration, mother-daughter affair, holiday gathering, or an afternoon visiting with friends, a tea party creates calming moments of elegance we all enjoy.

~ Reason 2: Teacups are exquisite, Delicate, and should be enjoyed! ~

We have many, many different patterns, colors, and styles of teacups. On display, these vintage teacups create a beautiful array which instantly launches the party atmosphere. Southern Vintage Table has more than 200 vintage teacups and we love every one of them.

~ Reason 3 – Tea serving pieces are beautiful and unique.~

Speciality tea serving pieces are fun to share with your guests. Vintage tea pots are as lovely as teacups, coming in a plethora of colors, shapes, and styles. Then there’s the classic tiered stand – it might be two tiers or three or even a tidbit tray or metal stand with individual plates – nonetheless, they display your treats in such a delightful way. There are vintage lemon dishes, curd and jam dishes, sugar and creamers, cake stands, and platters. All create a splendid sight on guest or buffet tables.

~ Reason 4: Tea party treats are yummy. ~

A typical menu for a tea party includes a wonderful mix of finger food, such as delicious bites of tea sandwiches, petit fours, fresh fruit, and, our favorite, scones with lemon curd and jam. Other menu options include soups, nuts, the classic southern cheese straws, and small cupcakes. A choice of a cold beverage is always appropriate to offer your guests such as water, champagne, or even a tea cocktail.

~ Reason 5: We can help. ~

Plan the menu, gather the flowers, and we can help with the rest. From vintage teacups to vintage lace overlays, we have the essentials and they are now listed on our updated “Tea Party Elements & Packages” page. We also are featuring two specially priced packages for you to consider as well as an ala carte listing.

So, pick a date, make your guest list, decide on your menu, and give us a call. It’s time to relax, sip tea, and enjoy the moment with friends!

For fun, check out this recent article from the UK’s Daily Mail for advice on official tea party etiquette. Personally, we love petite cupcakes with tea so we’re officially ignoring that one!