Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC Archives - Page 42 of 55

Southern Vintage Table Event – Bass Family & Friends Thanksgiving Reunion

It was the perfect day for our annual Bass Family Reunion! This wonderful tradition began in the mid-60s by Wiley and Susie Mae’s children – Christine, Aline, Weldon, and Wiley Jr – as a time set aside each Thanksgiving for the extended Bass family to share a meal and reconnect. Every year since, we have continued this tradition, and although many dear family members are no longer with us, we remember and honor them by being together.

For this year’s gathering, Southern Vintage Table set the tables with our vintage blue & white china patterns and amber glassware collection. Our mix of creamy-white table linens were covered with burlap runners and adorned with petite arrangements of greenery, votives, and pumpkins. Large bouquets, created by Rowena, were placed at the entrance table and on the food tables. (Many thanks to the setup crew – Sandy, Amanda, Travis, Allie, and Rowena!)

With the 60+ family members and friends bringing their favorite dishes for the buffet line, we enjoyed an incredible feast. (Just for the record, some of those dishes are assigned to certain chefs in the family because, we all know, they make the BEST … turkey & dressing, baked ham, mashed potatoes, collards, sweet potato casserole, chicken-n-dumplings, deviled eggs, chocolate eclair cake, coconut cake, carrot cake, and many more …)

For the newcomers, we loved seeing you and hope you’ll come again. To the folks who were not able to make it, we missed you and hope to see you Thanksgiving 2016! As shared in our previous post from Thanksgiving 2013, “once again, the Bass Family came together on Thanksgiving. We hugged, we feasted, and we parted, feeling content and connected.”

PS – We must remember to get a group photo next year! Now, who will be in charge? (Insert smiley/winky face here…)

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Vintage Feature – The Tools Behind Many Family Memories

As I worked on photos this week, this arrangement of our vintage kitchen tools finally materialized. Before I snapped this picture I had tried many different looks – taking things out, putting things back in, changing the background – and, after I had picked up each utensil several times, I paused to reflect upon each one and the women who once used them to create meals for their family.

Then I had that ah-ha moment – these simple kitchen tools, along with their modern-day replacements, are behind many of the family traditions we love. Their mashing, beating, and rolling produced delicious meals indeed, but even more importantly, they brought us lasting memories of laughter, fun, and love.

Here’s our salute to vintage kitchen tools and the memories they helped create at the family dinner table. Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.”
― Oscar Wilde

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Vintage Adventure – Thrift Store Serendipity

Vintage Girl Vase

Serendipity: Such a beautiful word describing the occurrence of events by chance.
I like to think it’s the energy you put out into the world returning your energy with love.
― Steven Aitchison

As part of our vintage china rental business, we routinely pop into the local thrift stores. We know, a pretty tough assignment and admittedly, something we do love! As our inventory is pretty well stocked, we’re mostly browsing for unique pieces that fill a niche in our offerings. Thrift store serendipity struck this week because we came across three very wonderful vintage items, all coincidentally connected. Two are related to last week’s post about our vintage girl vases and the other was linked to a casual conversation I recently had with my husband.

Well, the first find was a girl vase! I almost didn’t notice her because she is so much larger than the petite ones we have. Standing almost 10 inches tall with two openings for her flower bouquets, she is indeed very sweet!

Vintage Girl Vase

The other connection to last week’s post was the Erphila mark. In almost three years of regular thrift store shopping, we have seen this mark only once and that was on one of the girl vases featured last week. This week we found this pretty vase with the Erphila mark. As you see, this footed vase was made in Bavaria and, as shared last week, the Erphila mark refers to the owners of the import company with the E and R being the first initials of their names, and Phila referring to Philadelphia where their business was located. Can’t wait to see a beautiful bouquet in this one!

Vintage Vase

The final lucky find was a cup and saucer. We have a sincere appreciation for Blue Ridge Pottery because of its charming history, shared in a post last year. I was showing a plate to my husband this past week and mentioned that I haven’t come across any Blue Ridge cups and saucers. Yep, that changed – came across four cups and one saucer – at separate thrift stores, too!

Blue Ridge Cup & Saucer

Thank you, cosmos. We will share these vintage treasures with great appreciation and love.

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Vintage Feature – Vintage Girl Planters are Irresistible!

We have a new infatuation – vintage girl flower vases and planters. With their simple lines and faces, the six in our collection are oddly adorable. They have this quaint vintage look that we love!

The only vase with any identification is the one below. She was made in Czechoslovakia and her story is very interesting! Here’s an excerpt from Kovels regarding her mark, Erphilia.

Erphila is a mark found on Czechoslovakian and other pottery and porcelain made after 1920. This mark was used on items imported by Ebeling & Reuss of Philadelphia, a giftware firm that was founded in 1866 and out of business sometime after 2002. The mark is a combination of the letters E and R (Ebeling & Reuss) and the first letters of the city, Phila(delphia). Erphila is one of many marks used by American importers. Many whimsical figural pitchers and creamers, figurines, platters, and other giftwares carry this mark.

The rest do not have any identifying marks and after hours of researching, their origins remain a mystery. With the exception of the one from Czechoslovakia, our educated guess is that the others were made during the 1940s-60s, probably in the USA. There were many pottery and china companies during that time in America, many of which are no longer operational. We did pick up a few names of companies that made figurines and planters – NAPCO, Royal Copley, Treasure Craft, Shawnee Pottery, Hull – but we really have no clue as to who made these specific cutie-pies.

These mysterious lovelies, as well as our other vintage vases, are available for your guests to also adore!

PS – Still updating and revising our inventory pages – newly added is our Vintage Suitcases & Such. Here’s your invitation to take a look!

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Vintage Feature – More Inventory To Share!

~ Happy November! ~

Today’s post is short and sweet but it’s been a productive week.

Check out our two additions under the Inventory tab – Vintage Silver-Plate Inventory and Vintage Vases Inventory. We are also revising and adding to our previously published inventory pages – for example, we added four charming teapots and our love for yellow is certainly showing up!

We are busy, busy, busy as we continue to showcase our wonderful vintage collections for you!

Here’s our goal for the week ahead and our wish for yours –
“… blur the line between work and play.” Arnold J. Toynbee

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Southern Vintage Table Event – Allie & Steven’s “We Do” Day!

The sweet ceremony was over. Guests were mingling and enjoying appetizers and drinks as we waited for the bridal party to return from their photo session. As I was sitting beside my cousins and looking around at folks gathered near the barn, I sensed that warm, wonderful, fuzzy feeling of familiarity and family love. In that moment of pure contentment, I felt such gratitude to be present on this beautiful day, with family and friends, celebrating the marriage of Allie & Steven.

It was an absolutely gorgeous October day at Stonewall Farm in Youngsville, NC. With the tables and chairs already set up by the venue’s terrific staff, the morning began with a cadre of friends and family, ready to decorate the reception area. Our design included burlap runners, uniquely decorated Mason jars filled with baby’s breath, pinecones, and a sprinkle of red carnations, tree rounds, and our eclectic assortment of vintage metal and glass vases, small doilies, and votives. Since the meal was to be served buffet style, the cutlery, wrapped with burlap and red string, became part of the decor at each setting. As the magnificent chandelier was hung over the bridal table, a creation by friend Rose, we all stepped back and admired the charming loveliness!

In addition to the guests’ tables, we arranged the other reception stations. A table fashioned from a spool was used as the welcome table so guests could sign their names on hearts to be placed in a shadow box as a memento for Allie & Steven. The vintage Stonewall Farm carriage was perfect for the gift area, to which we added a vintage suitcase for gift cards and a barrel topped with advice cards for folks to share their marital wisdom.

With 150 cupcakes and 100 mini cupcakes in 6 different flavors to present, Southern Vintage Table created a rustic, vintage look for the dessert table. Featuring wood, pewter, and woven stands, our rustic decor fit their farm theme perfectly. We especially loved the floral-filled duck at the top of the wicker tiered stand and the vintage red scale!

With everything set and the ceremony over, the evening celebration commenced with food, drink, dancing, laughs, toasts, and cheer for our beaming, beautiful couple. We all had a grand time. Tracing back that day and weeks of preparation beforehand, I am struck by the excitement of friends and family for this wedding. Folks were so happy to lend a hand – design centerpieces, cut trees, create a chandelier, shop, take photos, share and decorate Mason jars, set up, load and unload, cleanup – you name it, there was someone who wanted to help. That’s exactly what made this wedding so memorable and delightful – the blending of two families with the loving support of friends and family alongside.

Congratulations, Allie & Steven! Wishing you a lifetime of joy, happiness, & love together!

Along with many dear friends, here are the vendors who helped with this wonderful day!
Venue – Stonewall Farm
Decor Rentals – Southern Vintage Table
Florist – Brandi’s Botanicals
Caterer & Linen Rentals – SDB Catering
Cake & Cupcakes – Party Delights
DJ – Top Notch DJ Parties
Photographer – Anderson Studios (Photos to be shared soon!)
Wedding Directress – Jenny Rowe
Hair Stylist – Taylor Mitchell
Officiant – Chris Sharpe
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Vintage Feature – Feeling Joyful!

Each week we wait, calmly and confidently, for an inspiration for our Sunday post. Sometimes it comes easily because we have lovely photos from a recent event or we’ve been adding new features to our website. Other times it’s a cool vintage treasure we think folks will love to see. But, this time, our inspiration was special – we believe it was a message from the cosmos!

Earlier this week, as a couple of ideas were stewing in my head, I received an email from Wedding Wire that we had a terrific new review from a client – we were thrilled! Two days later we hear from the caterer who hired us to help with a surprise retirement tea party – the client loved our china! Then, as the saying goes, “good things come in threes,” the next day we receive notification of a comment on a blog post from the bride’s mother with a thoughtful note about our services. Dang! Three wonderful compliments in less than a week – indeed, a cosmic signal to share these gracious sentiments!

So, gosh & golly, here are the kind words from recent clients that pleased us oh-so much!

~ Wedding Wire review
“She was wonderful to work with and her products were beautiful. Probably the best money spent for the wedding! She always responded within 24 hours of an email (often within a few hours). Highly recommend.”

~ Comment shared by caterer about a surprise retirement tea party
“Everything went great and looked beautiful! She was so surprised and absolutely LOVED all the china that we had!”

~ Blog post comment
“It was a perfect combination of country vintage. Thanks to Southern Vintage Table for the beautiful vintage china, glasses and silverware. It was very impressive and received lots of compliments… What a sight it was. Everyone together made the Bride’s vision come true. Thank you so much-Mother of the BRIDE”

“…it is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.”– David Steindl-Rast

We are feeling joyful!

Quote Source: Keep Inspiring Me

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Vintage Feature – More Inventory Slideshows are Up!

Decor Collage Very, very brief post today – we’ll let the uploaded slideshows take center stage but with one short explanation. One page with all the inventory slideshows just wasn’t going to work so we made an adjustment. Take a look at our Inventory menu tab – we are making progress and more adjustments are pretty likely!

We’re almost ready for our Friday wedding deliveries to our two couples. Calli & Nathan are setting their tables with our blue & white dishes (yep, we have 80 in our inventory) and using marsala and amber accents – can’t wait to see photos! Allie & Steven’s farm wedding will feature our rustic decor – and we get to set up their cupcake station!

Have a lovely week!

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Vintage Feature – New Inventory Page Going Up

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC I’ve been musing, thinking, problem-solving, photographing, counting, editing, and thinking some more all week. The problem? How to cleanly and efficiently share our inventory counts with our clients. Even though we have many lovely photographs on our website and on Pinterest, a more detailed description was still needed so clients could know more precisely what vintage treasures we offer. The solution had eluded me until I started mucking around in WordPress and its accompanying widgets.

Then, a most wonderful thing happened…

I discovered how to make a simple slideshow that can exhibit more than one image on the screen with individual descriptions. Ta dah! Now, please appreciate that this did take a bit of trial and lots of errors, but admittedly, I am pleased with myself. 🙂

I figured out pretty quickly that each photo needed to be standardized as far as size and look. Gulp. This meant that many, if not most, of our photos would have to be re-edited at the very least and probably a lot more would need to be retaken. The magnitude of this task took a while for me to accept, but with a long, deep breath, I resolutely began with the recently-published-but now-defunct Vintage Glassware Inventory page.

After revising this slideshow and fine-tuning the settings, our teapot collection was next in line. I pulled each off the shelves, matched them with their lids stored in a separate container, organized them on the table to get an idea on how to order them in the slideshow, created a backdrop, and then photographed each one. After measuring the capacity of several pots, and deciding on how much a teacup would hold, I also had a serving estimate for each.

With the more tedious part done, I created the slideshow with the new photos and added it to a new Inventory page along with the new glassware slideshow. Check it out – the page is called Inventory and now housed on our main menu. Whoop whoop! But this is just the beginning!

The upcoming set of inventory will be our Large Decor Collection. I’ve got a good start and hope to add this slide show sometime soon. What’s after this? Still pondering that one – there are so many to choose from! 🙂 🙁

In the meantime, I’m also getting ready for a retirement tea party this week and two weddings the following weekend. Lots to do and enjoying every bit of it!

Thanks for visiting and have a terrific week! Looks like the sun will be coming back to NC mid-week – thank goodness!

(For those who are interested, I will share two secrets about taking photos. The first secret is that I use my iPhone6 camera. The technique for taking this kind of photo is a bit tricky but not rocket science. After taking the image, I first use the iPhoto app on the phone to straighten and crop the image. The second big secret is that I edit the image with an app I just love – Camera360. It’s free and amazing! (Thanks, Cat, for sharing this with me.) These photos are magically uploaded to iCloud and I then open them on my computer in iPhoto, name them and make a few minor adjustments, and export to a folder on iCloud. The final step is to import them into the WordPress library. None of this is difficult but it does take time and lots of it.)

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Southern Vintage Table Event – Before the Guests Arrive…

The venue was wonderfully historic and rustic, the decor details created by the bride and family were perfect, and we were very pleased to be a part of this wonderful day! After months of designing and planning, the Boondocks was ready for the celebration of Jennifer & Jesse’s wedding. Here are some of our photos – and it was so hard to pick out just a few – of the pre-celebration. As you can see, it was going to be a beautiful, sweet affair!

Congratulations, Jennifer & Jesse, and wishing you enduring love, happiness, and fun!

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