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!
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!
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Today’s post is an update from 5 years ago! When writing about the charm of vintage tins, we believed our clients would love and appreciate their beauty as we did. Voila – many did and below you’ll see photos of how sweet they look filled with flowers, cookies, or just by themselves!
So, here’s our updated version from February, 2014 with a few new photos sprinkled in as well as SVT’s new logo at the close!
We have fallen in love with another vintage item – tea, candy and biscuit tins. Tins, as they are called because of the tin-covered steel sheets they are made from, vary in colors, patterns, shapes, lids and sizes. The ones we have collected for Southern Vintage Table are simply charming!
A flat tin is perfect as a stand for just about anything! With a set of bar glasses, a stack of plates, a vintage greeting card or a plate of cupcakes, these tins add color and history to the table. Of course, you also can put things inside, like your forks, spoons and knives or cookies!
The vibrant colors of these tins are amazing! Notice the different types of lids on this set of vintage tins.
This classic blue and white vintage tin is pretty both inside and out. When we picked this up from the thrift store shelf, an employee said to be sure to open it up. The inside of the lid is also decorated – a small built-in tray!
We discovered that many of these are probably from the 40s-50s and up to the 70s. Filled with candies, cookies and teas, they became popular items in gift shops and department stores. The majority of our collection has a “Made in England” mark but there are some from Holland, Germany, and America. A few have no mark at all. One thing is certain about these lovelies; they have decorative and even functional uses on the vintage table!
These lovely vintage tins once held delicious things for us to enjoy. Now, decades later, they continue to enchant us with their sweetness and charm. Add a little vintage delight with our vintage tins from Southern Vintage Table!
Here are a few resources about vintage tins.
What to Look for When Collecting Vintage Tins
Celebrated Biscuit Tins
Biscuit Tin – Wikipedia
We are always on the hunt for new vintage patterns to add to our collections and we’d like to introduce you to some of our newcomers! Most of them we found at local thrift stores but we also had a few gifted to us. How sweet is that? These new patterns hail from England, Austria, France, Bavaria, and the US.
The patterns above are rich with colors and we love each one of them. From the top left, the makers are Salem China from USA, Royal Bayreuth from Bavaria, Mason’s from England, and Trischenreuth, also from Bavaria.
Now, who doesn’t love vintage patterns with delicate florals? These four beauties are from several different countries. Starting at the top left, we have Knowles China from the US, Union Ceramique from France, Haviland from France, and Karlsbad from Austria.
These colorful four patterns look so nice together! The two on the right are from England, Johnson Brothers and Royal Dalton. The two on the left are from potteries in the US, Vernon Kilns and Knowles China, both of which are no longer in business.
This last set of four are a bit atypical of china patterns with their hues of brown. We love how they look together – add a brown and amber goblet to the table, and you have a terrific look! All of these ironstone patterns are from England – the top two are Mason’s, the bottom left is Johnson Brothers, and the bottom right is Staffordshire.
Mixing and matching china patterns presents a beautiful, interesting table for your guests whether it’s a wedding reception, bridal shower, a holiday meal, or a dinner party. Give us a call or send an email through our Contact page. We’d love to hear from you!
We found Peggy first – this quaint dessert dish with a single pink flower. We thought it was special because of its simplicity but didn’t know it was a Blue Ridge Southern Potteries’ pattern until much later. In fact, we had never heard of Blue Ridge pottery!
Now we understand why folks love to collect these quaint patterns. The history behind this unique style of dishware is a great American story about a once thriving pottery in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Tennessee. Although our current inventory of Blue Ridge is limited, our appreciation at Southern Vintage Table for this American-made china is growing!
The story begins in the early 1900s when a railroad company sold a large parcel of land along their railroad line in Erwin, Tennessee to a group of investors. There were rich deposits of kaolinite and feldspar nearby, perfect ingredients for a pottery business. According to Wikipedia, in 1916 Clinchfield Potteries opened their doors for business, manufacturing the typical china style of the times which were described as “gold-trimmed, decal-decorated dishes”.
In the 1920s the business was sold and became known as Southern Potteries. To set his style of china apart from his competitors, the new owner introduced a hand painted, underglaze technique. The bold, new patterns, painted by the local women, were stamped with the new label, Blue Ridge, sometime during the 1930s.
Young ladies, some as young as fifteen, came down from the mountains to be trained as painters at the pottery. Men were taught how to mold the shapes and do the firing. Some of the young ladies were so talented that they were allowed to paint what are called Artists Signed Plates. These are rare, but wonderful to own. Others were content being part of a team who sat in hard chairs around a table and painted for many hours each day. One might paint a flower on the bisque plate while another would add a stem and leaves. A third might paint an edge around the plate and so on until the plate was finished and put in the stack to be fired and glazed. (blueridgechina.com)
Bright colors and big designs are hallmarks of Blue Ridge patterns. Here are four dinner plate patterns in our inventory at Southern Venture Table.
This pattern is called Stanhome Ivy. It was a pattern made in 1947 for Stanley Home Products and given as a gift to the hostess when she held a party featuring their wares. Avon cosmetics and Quaker Oats also gave Blue Ridge china to salespeople and consumers to boost sales of their own products.
The big bold flower patterns are our favorite designs, especially the yellow ones. These vintage dessert plates are simply charming!
Due to a shortage of imports during WWII, business boomed for Southern Potteries. After the war ended, however, cheaper china imports returned to the American market and plastic dinnerware hit the stores. The competition was tough on Southern Potteries and their business dramatically fell. After designing over 4000 different patterns, Southern Potteries finally closed its doors in 1957 and, according to Blue Ridge-SPI, “the magic was gone.” I love that quote.
These vintage American-made hand painted patterns are available at Southern Vintage Table in limited amounts but we are actively looking to add to our collection! As we admire these hand painted beauties, we have a vision of women, brushes in hand, artfully painting and sharing a little of themselves with every stroke of their brush. Invite Southern Vintage Table to share some vintage magic with your guests at your next event!
Here are more resources about the now-collectable Blue Ridge china!
Blue Ridge Pottery China Dinnerware Pottery Southern Potteries
Blue Ridge – SPI
Blue Ridge (dishware) – Wikipedia
The Erwin National Pottery Club
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Cleaning silver can be messy and time-consuming but the results are always so satisfying! We have been putting this task off for a while but this weekend turned out to be the perfect time. In fact, it turned out to be a Zen moment.
With the counter covered in plastic, new gloves donned, and Yaya apron protection, the polishing began. Piece by piece in the silent studio, the dark tarnish was wiped away. While being “in the moment” over the period of several hours, we cleaned vintage flatware, trays, and teapots. Remarkably, the dreaded task had become a cathartic experience.
In the pile of mostly butter knives, there was a pair of forks, but, as it turns out, not an ordinary pair. As the tarnish came off, two etchings were revealed. One was etched with Mr and the one with Mrs. We recall finding these in a thrift store bin, but didn’t realize we had the pair. What a nice surprise! Notice how the Mr fork is smaller than Mrs. There must be a wonderful backstory!
After finishing the flatware, the cleaning and polish continued. Kymberly came by this week to choose decor for an upcoming church tea party. She needed 12 silver teapots/pitchers and 12 silver trays for her centerpieces.
Here’s the after-polish-applied look…
…and here are the shining results!
Ahhh, the feeling of wiping off the old and revealing the shiny underneath is certainly fulfilling; our task turned out to be more than cleaning silver. And, it’s important to remember that It takes time for the tarnish to reappear, and when it does, it can be wiped cleaned again.
Have a wonderful week!
Dang – We wanted this week’s post to feature before and after photos of The Parlour at Manns Chapel’s open house but it just couldn’t happen! Our weekend is joyfully packed with this gala event, a mother-daughter tea party, and a Sunday bridal tea shower we are hosting with the dearest of friends.
This post is being written Saturday morning before heading over to Fernrock Farm to fill brass vases with Carrie’s gorgeous flowers. Then Priscilla and I are going to The Parlour at Manns Chapel for our evening open house. Sunday morning our destination is the Kings Daughters Inn in Durham to set up and host our bridal tea party. Busy, busy, busy and we love it!
Here are a few photos of our Friday afternoon setup sans beautiful flowers by Fernrock Farm which will add that last bit of gorgeousness. Our setup showcased our 5 vintage collections – white stoneware, elegant florals, blue and white, bold retro, and wildflower stoneware – along with samples of our vintage table decor. More photos of the evening will be forthcoming!
Can’t wait to hang with Priscilla and these vendors tonight!
A Signature Welcome, Abigail Porter Bridal Yoga, Amanda Blair By Design, American Party Rentals, The Bardot Beauty Bus, Bri Bakes, Carolina Livery, Cat Call Collective, CE Rentals, Chad Biggs Event Planning, Chatham Cider Works, Chatham Rabbits, Chef Paris Fine Southern Catering, Choco Sweetness, Cottage Luxe Boutique Event Rentals, The Gathering Company, H+L Catering, Happy Tines Calligraphy + Design, Heir Raleigh, Ida Lou Bride – Fine Bags & Trimmings, Juniper and Rye Floral, Kast Events & Co, Krystal Kast Photography, Laurel Calligraphy, Lil Photobus, Mason Dixon Designs, Mood Fleuriste, Party Tables, Pinola Camper Bar, Rebecca Ames Photography, Salt & Smoke, Simply Cakes, Southern Sugar Bakery, Southern Vintage Table, Tenco Coffee Truck, Top Off Events, Trillium Workshop, Two Roosters Ice Cream, Wink Hair & Makeup
Hey all! August is here and we’ve got lots to share from our July hiatus. As mentioned in our last post, we had three goals to accomplish. First, we tackled all the paper work stuff including updating our business spreadsheets. Phew! The more difficult task, curating our collection, has begun but there’s still more to do. It’s hard to give up a vintage treasure!
Of course, finding and adding new items to our vintage collections is always fun! We now have a vintage milk glass punch bowl, some new vintage teapots and teacups, and more patterns of vintage plates. New napkins have been fashioned from thrift store fabrics and we’ve also found a few to add to our printed napkin collection.
Inside the studio, our quest for organization continues. Two additional dressers have linens in their drawers, two new lights hang overhead, and several shelves reorganized. Our favorite addition to the studio is this terrific 1950s kitchen cart that now provides much needed surface space in our work area.
It’s good to set focused goals and, even if we fell a little short, much has been accomplished this month. As a result, we’re even more ready for the busy fall wedding season ahead and have a few open 2018 dates and are scheduling clients for 2019. Send us an email from our contact page or give us a call. We’d love to help!
