Recently Sarah called Southern Vintage Table to help set her table for her family’s traditional Passover feast. She also had an enchanting request – to include her grandmother’s china and her husband’s grandmother’s crystal in the eclectic place settings. I instantly loved her idea! Including Ann’s vintage china pattern and Thelma’s crystal from the 1930s was a wonderful tribute to their blended family at their Seder table.
After Sarah and I shared ideas, I borrowed pieces of Grandmother Anne’s beautiful china, Phyllis by Noritake. For this important family ritual, I wanted each guest to have one piece of Anne’s china so I designed the table settings in pairs. The first pair had Anne’s dinner plate, the second had the soup bowl and the salad plate was used in the third. Using this schema, I mixed and matched the place settings down the table.
To further accent with Sarah’s grandmother’s china, we tucked saucers under the sedum teacups provided by Southern Vintage Table and arranged them down the table. We also placed Grandmother Thelma’s delicate wine glasses at the adult place settings. With Sarah’s tulip centerpiece, the lovely Seder table was ready for her family and friends.
Sarah’s family dinner was filled with tradition, history, beauty and love. Invite Southern vintage Table to help you set your table for your next family occasion – we’d love to mix your family’s heirlooms with our vintage collection for a beautiful and personalized table!
It was a radiant April day at the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens in Fayetteville. The lovely grounds were covered in colorful spring blooms, the sun was shining, a gentle breeze was blowing and two people were ready to share the rest of their lives together. What a joyful day for a wedding!
Photo by Faith Teasley
I first met Ashley via email last October when she told me she found Southern Vintage Table‘s website and wanted to know more about our vintage china. We corresponded through the months about her wedding and shared different ideas about the table setting. I knew she and I were planning something very special.
During this time I had discovered the charm of vintage postcards from my friend, Priscilla. We used them at her Christmas party and I fell in love with the look. I found a way to make a stand from vintage forks and started a collection of vintage cards. When I asked Ashley if she’d like to feature some on her table she was delighted because she also collected vintage postcards. It was a serendipitous moment!
With mixed and matched vintage patterns, we set the table with a dinner plate, salad plate, silverware, goblets and a trio of sweet vintage postcards. Ashley’s choice of flowers, wedding favors and linens completed a stunning table display for her guests.
Flowers by Owens Florist
The myriad of place settings featured soft hues of green, blue and pink. Vintage goblets of green, blue, pink and clear accented the vintage china. The vintage silver flatware also included different vintage patterns. As I gazed at the beautiful, cheerful tables I envisioned the many dinner tables these pieces had once graced. I believe their individual history brings eloquence to such a joyful day.
We also provided vintage dessert plates and forks to serve this gorgeous wedding cake. Love the flowers and the Precious Moments couple on top!
Cake by Sweet Tooth Bakery
Thank you, Ashley and Jamie, for inviting Southern Vintage Table to be a part of your special day. Wishing you two endless happiness and sweet love!
Photo by Faith Teasley
PS – Here are the vintage salad plates I mentioned in last week’s blog – the pattern name is Cherry Blossoms by Diamond China. This week I happened upon a dinner plate in this same pattern!
My first find – delicate and elegant vintage teacups with beautiful “Forget-Me-Nots”
Rainy Sunday afternoons are made for browsing antique malls so last Sunday I headed over to Grandaddy’s Antiques in Burlington. If you haven’t been to Grandaddy’s, it’s a treasure trove of anything vintage from teacups to linens to comic books to furniture. Different vendors have spaces or booths in this revamped department store and that means you can find different prices on the same stuff. But, like most antique stores, there’s some bargaining room if you talk to the right person. This time I didn’t try to negotiate because I bought things that were already marked down but the last time I was there, I bought a set of china at a substantial savings.
You could spend all day there but I was on a mission – to buy a few special salad plates for Ashley’s wedding. I found some plates and – you guessed it – a couple of other things that are now part of our inventory at Southern Vintage Table.
The two gorgeous teacups pictured above were one of my first finds. Not exactly salad plates, but they definitely caught my eye! There’s no mark on the bottom and they didn’t have saucers but I found some on our shelf that look perfect. Aren’t they beautiful? Update! Mary Jane Pearson Baker of Springbranch Landscapes just told me these are “Forget-Me-Not” flowers. I should have picked up on that since I wrote a blog post on a china pattern featuring this lovely, blue flower. I’ll not forget this next time!
I also found this Fire King planter – I had never seen anything like this and, maybe more importantly, it was in the half-price booth. As I was trying to arrange the camellia blooms in the planter I realized I needed something to anchor the stems. Guess what I used? Wine corks! They float to the top of the water and hold the stems in place. Pretty neat trick, I’d say.
The camellias look lovely in this vintage vase, too. I love the creamy color, the shape and the quaint flower bouquet. Sweet!
Picking blackberries when I was growing up is one of my favorite memories. There were bushes alongside the roadway and, if we picked enough, mom would make her delicious blackberry cobbler for us. We were lucky to make it home with a bowl full because we loved picking and eating. Washing them before popping them into our mouths never even crossed our minds. This artistic plate made by Homer Laughlin brings back those sweet, carefree memories. The last treasure is an incredible retro casserole dish called Blue Diamonds by Iroquois. I didn’t get this at Grandaddy’s – it would have been priced too high. I found it at a nearby thrift store on the bottom shelf and immediately loved it. Produced from 1958-68, the blue color, squat shape and the handle on the lid are amazing. This pattern was part of a series called Informal and was created by industrial designer, Ben Siebel. Definitely dig this look!
What a terrific set of eclectic treasures if I must say so myself! From elegant to retro, Southern Vintage Table has the vintage style to fit your gathering!
So where are the salad plates I went to find? Well, I forgot to take a photo before packing them up for Ashley’s wedding. I’ll be sure to point them out In next week’s blog!
Vintage Romance pattern by Duchess features yellow and pink flowers.
If there is one color that embodies happiness it has to be yellow! It’s the color of daffodils, sunflowers and sunshine. Now that spring is officially here, it’s the perfect time to showcase our inventory of yellow at Southern Vintage Table!
Let’s start with vintage china patterns that feature yellow flowers. We’ve got Golden Button by Taylor Smith & Taylor, Starlight by Salem China, Summertime by Staffordshire and Forsythia by Knowles. Aren’t they all lovely?
I adore yellow roses and this vintage pattern is beautiful! I can’t find the pattern name but the mark on the back says American Ironstone.
Yellow also shows up in many bold, geometric vintage patterns. This collection comes from Royal China and Taylor Smith & Taylor.
Watch your guests smile when they see your table set with vintage yellow china patterns. Southern Vintage Table also has an amazing collection of vintage amber goblets and tumblers that are the beautiful compliment!
According to German legend, a delicate little blossom was almost forgotten when God was naming all the flowers. “Forget me not, O Lord,” cried the little flower. God decreed, “That shall be your name.” How charming!
Wikipedia describes another tale that explains the pretty shade of blue. As the Creator was assigning colors to the flowers, he heard a soft whisper, “Forget me not.” The only color left was a little bit of blue which was given to the small flower. As the story goes, the flower was delighted and so are we as we admire this lovely midcentury pattern created in its honor by Myott & Sons of England.
I first saw this pattern at Elma’s Copper Awning in Mebane. In a previous post, I mentioned that she and Scott bought this set of china for me at an auction as part of our bartering arrangement. I immediately fell in love with the creamy color, the swirl around the rim and the color of the delicate flowers. With these features, it’s perfect for mixing and matching with some of the other vintage patterns at Southern Vintage Table.
Let’s start with the dinner plate. Here are several different looks this charming pattern can create with other lovely vintage patterns!
Whether on the outside as the dinner plate, or inside as the salad, the “Forget-me-not” pattern is sweet!
Southern Vintage Table is also fortunate to have serving pieces in this lovely pattern. With such a beautiful color and pattern, Forget-Me-Not on your table will help make your gala affair unforgettable!
No doubt, we all love weddings, birthday bashes and anniversary parties. We get to spend time with friends and family, eat delicious food and celebrate an important life event with the people we love. But perhaps the sweetest and most special family celebration is a baby shower, when we honor a new mother-to-be and her new baby.
When friends and family learned Lindsey and Chad were expecting a baby everyone was thrilled. Then the news got even more exciting – they were having twins, a boy and a girl! How sweet is that? Her party-planning friends at RSVP-Events along with her sister, Marylee, were so delighted to plan a shower for one of their own and this celebration was going to be wonderful!
With the theme, “Sugar & Spice, Twice as Nice”, a peach/blue color scheme and food provided by Catering Works the party plan was in full swing. Tammy sewed buntings in a variety of peach and blue fabrics and strung them across the mantle and the gift table. With fabric covered hoops and beautiful flower arrangements, she created a dramatic mantle display for this special occasion.
To continue the theme, mini buntings decorated the spectacular cake and a vintage rusty child scooter on the front porch to greet guests. When I saw this scooter at Lockhart’s Trading Post, I knew it would be perfect at a baby shower. Rudy, the owner, said he saved it from becoming scrap metal. Thank you, Rudy! Isn’t it charming?
To set the table, Southern Vintage Table provided a beautiful mix of vintage clear glass plates, milk glass compotes, silver dessert forks and blue Mason jars. Lindsey’s favorite drink was chilled in a vintage pink enameled baby bath tub and, with the themed straws, the drinks were served! I have to share the story of this tub – it was a gift from a friend and was actually her baby tub. She thought it would be great to use to chill drinks and she was so right!
After feasting on deviled eggs, spring vegetable and roast beef rolls, vertical crudités, fruit kabobs and cinnamon straws, guests were invited to pose for a picture at the photo station that was stocked with vintage hats, hat boxes and a table mirror provided by Southern Vintage Table.
Put on a vintage hat, don a pair of silly glasses and the smiles keep coming! Tammy set this up with her iPad, printer and a couple of huge balloons for a backdrop. After the photos were printed, they were displayed on the vintage bamboo ladder for everyone to enjoy. At the end, guests left with a photo memento of the special occasion. What a terrific idea!
Vintage hats, crazy glasses and silly mustaches are ready for the photo booth!This is my favorite photo of the day – Lindsey, Honey and Marylee. Honey is Lindsey’s and Marylee’s darling grandmother.
Next came gift opening. After many oohs and ahhhs when the adorable baby clothes and gifts were unveiled, it was cake cutting time.
Isn’t this an amazing cake with the two baby peas on top? What was inside delighted us all – raspberry cream cake on the top tier and chocolate cake underneath. Yummy! We all had a hard time deciding which we liked best but what a delicious dilemma!
Congratulations, Lindsey and Chad! We are so happy for you and can’t wait to meet your new babies!
Invite Southern Vintage Table to help you with any of your family’s special life events. From vintage dishes to vintage decor, we have lovely hand-selected items to make your event unique and memorable!
The first time I stepped into her shop, I didn’t meet Elma but I did meet her daughter who was minding the store for her. It was on a Saturday afternoon and my friends and I were on one of our many adventures together. Our agenda this time was to start at Dick & Jane’s Martini & Tapas Bar for lunch and well, a martini, and then browse the eclectic shops on Clay Street in Mebane. When we walked into Elma’s shop, The Copper Awning, I realized that I couldn’t slow my friends down to give me time to look through her interesting collection, so I made a mental note to return the next week to see what vintage things I could get for Southern Vintage Table.
Elma was there on my next visit and I explained to her that I was looking for miscellaneous vintage china and tableware. She told me she had some terrific finds in her back room but she needed to get it organized before I could take a look. One peek at that back room and I knew she was right – I would come back later.
The following week I returned and when Elma saw me, she smiled. “Well, I haven’t had a chance to do much back there but I’ll make a path for you.” More than a few things were moved out of the way and then she left me to look. I started making a pile of a few things – a wooden box, milk glass goblets, vintage books – and as I am surveying the room filled with stacks, boxes and bags of “stuff” as Elma calls it, my plan came to me. I walked back into the front. “Elma, I said, “you need help getting that room organized and I would like to offer my services.” I suggested a bartering deal – my organizing skills for vintage things. She loved the idea and so did I!
I’ve been there several times, sorting, organizing, opening boxes and cleaning in that back room and basement. We have carried things from the back room to the basement and from the basement up to the showroom. We have moved cabinets, shelving and bins. I’ve been there one week to return the next to find a room in the shop totally restaged. This past week she had a gorgeous wedding dress displayed on a table complete with matching shoes and bouquet!
So what treasures have been added to our vintage inventory? First, we have more beautiful goblets – milk glass, crystal, pink and blue – and a few dainty teacups. We also now have a nice collection of vintage tins to add to a tablescape – love these!
My favorite addition, however, is a gorgeous set of vintage china called Forget Me Not by Myott china. This set is perfect – cream colored with a swirl rim and sweet blue flowers. I love the pattern but mostly I love how they came to Elma’s shop. Scott and Elma bought them at an auction for me. Such an act of kindness! Look for an upcoming “mixing & matching” blog with this beautiful pattern.
This chance meeting has flourished into both a business arrangement and a friendship. I’ve met her husband, daughter, granddaughter, son and daughter-in-law when they have stopped in at the shop as well as her friends and helpers, Scott and Patsy. I have learned that her story is even more interesting than the collection of “stuff” she has in her shop – she’s a retired civilian Marine, she volunteers at her granddaughter’s school, she sings in her church choir and she was in the Pentagon on 9/11.
Check out The Copper Awning on Clay Street in Mebane. Not only will you find something you will love, you’ll meet the delightful, generous Elma. Be sure to say hi for me!
I came across another beautiful set of china that fits perfectly with the vintage china collection at Southern Vintage Table. This vintage set belonged to Grandmother Belle and, according to her daughter in law, was used on special occasions. I can imagine how delighted Belle must have been when she set her table for her guests with her fine china! This pattern is by Grace China and called Formal Garden. Discontinued in 1939, it was made in pre-war Japan which means it’s at least 75 years old!
This pattern is truly beautiful, but I think the sweet floral design stands out even more when mixed with other vintage patterns. Here’s a collection of place settings featuring the Formal Garden dinner plate with a medley of salad plates. Some patterns are contemporaries with Formal Garden and others were manufactured decades later. Such historical richness in a place setting!
Here are a few photos with the soup/salad bowl and the dessert plate. Charming!
Another gorgeous vintage china pattern in our vintage china collection ready for you to share with your guests! Contact Southern Vintage Table for more information about our event packages with our lovely, vintage wares. We look forward to hearing from you!
It’s time to catch up with some of our new additions to our inventory here at Southern Vintage Table! We have found a little bit of everything and we know you’ll love them all!
We added three new teacups to our growing collection of lovely china. This one is gorgeous, inside and out, with its purple flowers and gold trim. This vintage set is by Royal Sealy China of Japan.
Here’s a version of the Blue Willow pattern that I had not seen before. This pair of teacups were made in Occupied Japan, making them a bit of a collector’s item, and this dates them between 1945-52. I didn’t notice that detail until I brought them home because I was taken by their beautiful cobalt blue color with gold trim. What a nice surprise!
It was an amazing week as far as pink glassware! I found three Jeannette Glass Cube footed tumblers from the early 1930s. The pair of pink embossed goblets are a little less vintage. The pattern, Arbor by Noritake, was discontinued in the late 1990s.
The next three finds are now in our vintage decor collection. One is a vintage jug that would be perfect for a spray of flowers and the another is a vintage flour sifter. They belonged to Belle and they are probably from the 1930s-40s. The vintage wooden box is from a thrift store nearby – I love the rough, darkened wood!
Found this trio of charming dessert plates at a flea market. I love the hand-painted dogwood, something I can’t walk away from since the dogwood is our state’s official flower! The pattern is Dixie Dogwood by Joni and although they’re a bit crazed, I appreciate their beauty.
We added to our milk glass collection with these three vases. Their regal design is a new one for me!
Perhaps my favorite find is this beautiful, hand crocheted lace overlay. It’s incredible! I found it at a local thrift store so I do not know anymore than what I can see – but that’s saying a lot!
These and other unique vintage items are now available at Southern Vintage China. Add a bit of beauty and history to your next happy occasion!
This elaborate china pattern features a very popular Godey print!
I love flowers on vintage china patterns – pinks, blues, yellows and greens in floral motifs are beautiful to behold as you sit down to your dinner meal. And, although flowers are lovely, I also appreciate non-floral china patterns decorated with images of roosters, funky shapes and people. As I looked through our inventory at Southern Vintage Table I realized that we had quite a few “people” patterns and decided it would be interesting and fun to see these all together!
Let’s start with the Godey print china patterns portraying Victorian life. I researched this Colonial couple a while back and discovered that this print actually came from a magazine called Godey’s Magazine and Lady’s Book. According to Wikipedia, the magazine was printed from 1830-1898 and the editor during most of that era was Sarah Josepha Hale, the author of “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”
The magazine is best known for the hand-tinted fashion plate that appeared at the start of each issue, which provide a record of the progression of women’s dress. Publisher Louis Godey showed off that in 1859, it cost $105,200 to produce the Lady’s Book, with the coloring of the fashion-plates costing $8,000.[15] Almost every issue also included an illustration and pattern with measurements for a garment to be sewn at home. A sheet of music for piano provided the latest waltz, polka or galop.
Wow! Can you imagine how exciting it must have been to get this magazine every month with the hottest fashions, a dress pattern and the latest music hit? Well worth that $3 a year subscription price, right? Read more about the influence of this magazine on American culture – I learned that wearing white on your wedding day, putting up a Christmas tree and even the celebration of Thanksgiving became popular traditions because of this publication! Get more details in the Wikipedia article – it’s a fascinating read!
Godey Print by Harker
Godey Print by Salem
Godey Print by Salem
Apparently this print featured above was very popular when you consider how many different china companies used it as their center design. I looked on a popular china replacement website and found at least 37 different china patterns with this one print! Companies like Limoges, Sebring Pottery, Homer Laughlin, Canonsburg, Harker, Cronin, Stetson, Sheffield, Royal, WS George, Salem and Crooksville all had this print on at least one pattern – in fact, several had it on multiple patterns. I wish I knew how all these china companies ended up with this one Godey print, so if anyone out there can enlighten me, please do!
We also have four china patterns with a similar look from that same time period – the first is a Godey print and the other two are very similar.
Pattern by Salem
Pattern by Salem
I think this is a Godey print but not sure.
See the lamb in her lap and his hand on his heart? Sweet…
Homer Laughlin pattern
This look was popular through the mid century. I found a Salem China’s advertisement from 1945 featuring the Godey print pattern with this comment.
“Every meal becomes an “occasion” when your table is set with Salem’s Godey’s prints. Faithful color reproductions with all the charm of Godey’s Lady’s Book.”
Now let’s take a look at another view of American life in this series of “people” patterns that were popular mid-century through sometime in the 1980s. Farm and rural life are depicted in many china patterns; perhaps the most well known are the Currier & Ives patterns from Royal China and Scio. The landscape scenery is the main focus but there are folks in there, too! The blue pattern is made by Royal China, the green by Scio and the last one is by Metlox Poppytrail, All three china companies were once thriving industries in America – Royal China and Scio were located in Ohio and Metlox was in California.
Currier & Ives by Royal China – the old grist mill is featured on the dinner plate.
Royal China – Old Grist Mill scene on dinner plate
Royal China’s Currier & Ives series had a harvest scene is on the bread & butter plate
Royal China’s Currier & Ives series had a harvest scene is on the bread & butter plate
Currier & Ives by Scio
Currier & Ives by Scio
Wayne County by Royal China
Wayne County by Royal China
Homestead Provincial by Poppytrail bread & butter plate
What I love about these rural series is that each of the china pieces in a pattern have a different scene so the entire set works together to tell the story – a multi motif pattern. For instance, the blue Currier & Ives has an Old Grist Mill on the dinner plate, the salad plate has an image of Washington’s birthplace and the cereal bowl shows a schoolhouse covered in snow. How delightful! Here’s one resource that you might enjoy about Royal China and the Currier & Ives series. By the way, I learned from Wikipedia that Currier & Ives were not the artists of the prints; they owned the printmaking firm that produced the artwork.
The final “people” plates are two that portray early American History. The Liberty Blue series is also multi-motif with the dinner plate showcasing Independence Hall and the other is called Old Church Tower Jamestown Blue by Adams China. It features images from this settlement and portraits of John Smith and Princess Pocahontas!
Liberty Blue by Strffordshire
See the folks strolling on the grounds?
Old Church Tower Jamestown by Adams China
Captain John Smith
Princess Pocahontas
As I researched and wrote this blog, I became more deeply enthralled with the work of the artisans of the china and dinnerware industry. Their artistry is encapsulated in a piece of china for generations to enjoy at the family dinner table. How cool is that?
We have these patterns and others in our inventory at Southern Vintage Table! Give us a call or send an email to find out how we can help make your next gathering special and memorable!
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