We have been gathering pieces of a “new” vintage flatware style – vintage Bakelite (and similar) – and nearly a hundred knives and dinner forks are now available to mix with our vintage stainless and silver-plated collections. With colors ranging from white, cream, butterscotch, and cocoa, they blend in nicely with most color palettes.
No doubt, patterns from our vintage casual china collection are perfect companions with our vintage stainless flatware, but when a piece or two of the Bakelite is added, the look is taken to a new level of awesomeness. We absolutely love it! Originally we didn’t think elegant silver-plated flatware was a good fit with Bakelite, but, ding-dong, we were so wrong! It also looks fantastic!
Take a peek at samples of our collection and how they look alongside the stainless and silver-plated pieces. We think you’ll be smitten with this new vintage look, too!
They’re in – Kait Miller‘s beautiful photographs of a most happy event – the marriage of Anna and Anthony. In an earlier blog post we shared our images of the tables and decor along with one lone but wonderful photo of this radiant couple. Today’s post captures more of the joyfulness of this day, along with a few more lovely photos of our tables, courtesy of Kait!
There were two touching details you’ll love hearing about as much as we did – the stories about Anna’s dress and the tiered wedding cake. Take note of Anna’s mother’s elegant wedding dress in the below photo. After being refashioned and refitted, this dress was transformed into Anna’s one-of-a-kind heirloom wedding dress. How delightfully fabulous and sweet!
Now, here’s the backstory of their delicious wedding cake as told by Anna’s mother, Sheila.
“I baked the cake with my sister-in-law, Suzi. I had baked my own wedding cake with the help with my mother-in-law 37 years ago. Suzi had baked her own cake for her wedding 34 years ago. My mother-in-law was Susie’s mother but by that time Suzi didn’t need any help from her mother. Over the past 30 years Suzi has baked about 13 wedding cakes. I really couldn’t of done it without her. It was an almond flavored golden cake with lemon curd filling and Cointreau flavored buttercream.”
Magical memories, embellished with enduring family traditions, were created on this loved-filled wedding day. Anna and Anthony, wishing you two a lifetime of joy, happiness, and fun!
We are so pleased to have played a role in this most important family celebration and, as you can see below, Sheila was appreciative to have us there, too. Thank you, Sheila, for these kind words!
The vintage china and your decorating absolutely made the wedding so special. Having the wedding away from the family home created some challenges. We wanted our guests to feel the personal touches that we would have shared with them if we had been at home. You made it possible. I think the wedding was one of the happiest days of my life if not THE happiest. I know it was the happiest day of Anna’s life… Thank you so very much for your aesthetic touches and thoughtfulness.
Here are the fantastic vendors who helped make this a beautiful, happy day!
It’s time to check off the second of our three goals we set at the start of the new year! Southern Vintage Table is now offering our collection of cool and wonderful doodads and small linens in a “per table” package so you can customize your own vintage look. Announcing… (Drum-roll, please…)
You have your guest list finalized and now you’re ready to design your vintage table centerpieces. You want something different for each table but you also want the tables to look coordinated and you don’t have time to scour the thrift stores for cool vintage stuff. No worries! We’ve got you covered in 5 easy steps with an example to boot!
Step 1: Determine how many clusters you’ll need for your vignette.
To follow the decorating rule of odds, you’ll need 1, 3, or even 5 clusters depending on the size of the table and the size of the bouquet. Of course, the rule of odds can be ignored but it’s a good place to start.
~ For our example, we are using a small bouquet in a milk glass vase as one cluster and need 2 more.
Step 2: Decide on the number of different groups of vignettes.
This step is to help you get organized with the details. If you have 3 tables, maybe you want a different vignettes for each table. But if you have 8 tables, maybe 4 different vignettes times 2 would work best.
~ For our example, we have 9 tables and we are going to use 3 different groups of vignettes (Groups A, B, and C).
Step 3: Create a formula for each vignette grouping.
Here’s where the creativity comes in! To help focus choices, we have categorized our vintage items by the material they are made of – metal, organic (wood, paper, cloth), and glass/ceramic.
~ For our example, the goal is to represent each material category and vary the heights. We also want to include a small bouquet and some form of candle lighting. Here are our example formulas. Note that each grouping has a different number of items but still have three clusters in the vignette.
Group A (5 items) – Metal – Brass candleholder; Organic – Doily and small wooden stand; Glass/Ceramic – Milk glass vase and sedum teacup
Group B (5 items) – Metal – Brass candle holder and silver box; Organic – Doily and dried rose; Glass/Ceramic – Milk glass vase and votive insert
Group C (7 items) – Metal – Picture frame and short pillar stand; Organic – Book stack, small doily, large doily; Glass/Ceramic – Votive and milk glass vase
Step 4 – List the items needed by their three groups.
~ For our example, we’ll need the following for our 9 table centerpieces. Although we are using the same basic items in the groupings, each vignette will be a little different! How wonderful is that?
Group A – 3 Tables – 3 each
small wooden pedestal, teacup sedum, medium doily, short milk glass vase, tall brass candlestick holder
Group B – 3 Tables – 3 each
small metal box or similar item, dried rose/flower, medium doily, short milk glass vase, tall pedestal candle holder
Group C – 3 Tables – 3 each
book stack, low pedestal candle holder, small/medium frame. small doily, tall milk glass vase, glass votive
Step 5 – Let Southern Vintage Table select, pack, and deliver your items! Ready to get started? We can help you create your own “formula” and suggest items for your unique, fun, and charming centerpieces!
~ Items ~
Metals – frames; postcards on fork stands; candle holders (brass and silver); candle stands; small metal boxes; small metal pitchers; alarm clocks; sifters; kitchen scales; decorative tins; brass animals; silver-rimmed coasters; small silver trays; sad irons and trivets
When I met Maria last spring, I felt this instant connection as she shared her wedding vision with me. She and Jonathan were getting married at Bass Lake and, like all couples, they wanted their wedding to be memorable for themselves, their family and friends. Even though we all appreciate the look of delicate, elegant, vintage china, Maria’s vintage wish for their wedding was whimsical, cheerful and vibrant. I was certain our casual vintage china collection with vintage jewel-toned glasses would fit perfectly!
The mid-century vintage collection at Southern Vintage Table is wonderfully eclectic – some patterns are bold, some are demure, and others are just charming – and seeing them all together is delightful. The spectacular sparkle on the tables was our gold, green, pink and blue vintage goblets. With our vintage stainless collection and vintage napkins, the final look was so lovely!
Maria artfully designed her vintage-inspired welcoming station. Along with our vintage suitcases, crate and books, Maria created a collage of photos clipped to framed chicken wire, decorated a mailbox for cards and displayed a welcoming sign for her guests. She also used a vintage window to frame the seating charts which stood on our large easel. This happy wedding ended with a dazzling sendoff with the sparklers ready to go in our wooden bucket.
The prominent feature of the dessert table was the stunning cake with its vintage record player pedestal. The dark vintage wood against the creamy cake icing and vintage overlay created a dashingly dramatic look. The vintage dessert plates and dessert forks in vintage silver trays completed this gorgeous display.
Vintage is a style with many interpretations. It can be romantic, elegant, shabby chic, retro, bold, charming, quaint or any combination thereof. For Maria and Jonathan, vintage meant sharing a vibrant, memorable experience, filled with love of family and friends. Thank you for inviting Southern Vintage Table to be a part of your wedding day. Wishing you endless love, joy and fun!
These folks helped make this a memorable wedding for all:
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!
“I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Since I opened Southern Vintage Table, I have been heartened by the excitement of my friends and family for the concept of this business. Folks love the idea of finding, collecting and bringing together the collage of vintage china and tableware patterns! Many have also generously gifted me with their personal family treasures and I have loved hearing about their mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. In this post, I want to honor the family dinner table pasts of four women – Mildred, Grandmother Björk, Edna and Lillian.
Mildred, who recently passed away, lived in the NC mountains all her life. She and her husband of nearly 70 years dearly loved each other and their family. Her son and my brother-in-law, gave me her set of amber Whitehall glasses by Colony Glass. I do love this vintage amber pattern but I mostly love that they were once part of the Webb family’s happy dinner table for so many years.
Mildred’s vintage amber Whitehall tumblers
I got a call one day from Nancy that she was cleaning out cabinets and had some things she wanted to share with me. Along with the vintage glass, silver items and decorative aluminum trays, she had a set of 12 gorgeous vintage placemats made by her husband’s Grandmother Björk. Nancy remembered that Grandmother Björk loved to crochet and even when she was almost blind, she was still sewing and edging linens. With their delicate, perfect design and their classic ivory color, I can easily envision Grandmother Björk carefully stitching these to use at her family dinners.
Beautiful hand stitched vintage placemats
My friend, Priscilla, sent me a message that she wanted me to come over for a visit. She showed me all around her happy home and I reveled at the beautiful nature displays. (She and her husband both taught science.) Our tour ended in a room where she had stacked items she thought I could use with my business. Among the many treasures were two boxes of vintage silverware and one was from Edna, her husband’s mother. Edna, the wife of an agriculture professor and the mother of two PhD boys, loved to cook fresh vegetables from her garden. Everything about this visit filled my heart with gratitude, especially this lovely vintage silverware that Edna lovingly set around her family dinner table.
Edna’s lovely silverware came in the most charming box!
This week Carrie of Fernrock Farm and I made a business call to the Chapel Hill Carriage House. It turned out that the owner’s daughter was once a student of mine and I knew her sons as well. At the end of the tour of her beautiful grounds, Brenda asked me if I would like to have her grandmother’s china. She explained that it had been boxed up for years and she really wanted to share it with someone who would love using it as much her grandmother did. Her grandmother, Lillian, lived in Arlington near Boston and enjoyed serving big dinners to her family. Of course, I was both honored and thrilled!
Lillian’s beautiful china from Gilchrist Department Store
The delicate blue and red roses against the cream background give this pattern that perfect vintage look. Although I couldn’t find the name of Lillian’s china, it does say on the back that it was “made expressly for Gilchrist – Boston”. Gilchrist, I discovered, was a major department store in Boston that opened its doors in the mid 1800s and closed them in the mid 1970s. Now, Southern Vintage China is the caretaker of Lillian’s lovely set of china, which probably dates from the 1920s-30s.
Classic vintage china with delicate roses on a cream background – love the two-handled cups!
One final story about this week’s gifts. When I was visiting Priscilla, I met Becky, a friend of theirs who regularly goes on mission trips to tear down houses that need rebuilding. After Priscilla introduced us and told her about my business, Becky shared that she recently had been to her 90-year-old father’s home and had picked up a set of glasses that were now in the trunk of her car. The glasses, she explained, had once come packaged with tea and then she offered them to me. Wow – aren’t they incredible? They will be featured in an upcoming blog!
Buy some tea, get some tea glasses!
Sets of glasses, linens, silverware, china and more – all shared by the families of Mildred, Grandmother Björk, Edna, Lillian and Becky’s mother. How does one show her appreciation for such beautiful gifts? SimpIy and sincerely, I thank you.
Each time we set the table at Southern Vintage Table, we honor these women and many others who loved their families and the special time they spent around their family dinner table. Namaste.
PS – My to-do-list continues from weeks’ past. Something more interesting than ironing napkins and cleaning silverware always comes up! Thank goodness…
Especially if it’s vintage! These vintage stainless steel beauties are mid century patterns, mostly made in Japan. I love the engraved patterns and when they are mixed and matched, the place setting is delightful! Did you know that the knife was the first piece of flatware to be invented? You probably would have guessed that one…
These early and mid century silver plated flatware patterns are also very lovely! The process of adding a layer of silver, called silver plating, was invented in the mid 1800s in England. This process has allowed many of us to enjoy the beautiful sheen of silver on our dinner table.
Southern Vintage Table has both stainless and silver-plated flatware available along with our vintage china, glassware and linens.
It’s time to check off the second of 
When I met Maria last spring, I felt this instant connection as she shared her wedding vision with me. She and Jonathan were getting married at Bass Lake and, like all couples, they wanted their wedding to be memorable for themselves, their family and friends. Even though we all appreciate the look of delicate, elegant, vintage china, Maria’s vintage wish for their wedding was whimsical, cheerful and vibrant. I was certain our casual vintage china collection with vintage jewel-toned glasses would fit perfectly!
