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We are always amazed at the creativity of our clients! After working on this slide show for several days, we are excited to share with you some of the designs from 2023. We hope you enjoy their artistic tablescapes!
PS – Thank you, clients and photographers, for allowing us to share your work!
To 2023, you have been filled with excitement, joy, and new beginnings. Thank you for bestowing us with many, many wonderful client memories and a successful year. To our clients, we sincerely thank you for choosing our company for your happy occasions and we wish you the very best in this new year.
“This is a new year. A new beginning. And things will change.” Taylor Swift
Seven years to the date, June 13, 2014, Southern Vintage Table celebrated our 1st anniversary! We were quite pleased with our progress during that year and paused to mark our achievements.
Like one of my favorite characters on Sesame Street, Count von Count, I love numbers and it seems like we are always counting at Southern Vintage Table – like, how many vintage blue & white china patterns we have, the number of salad forks in our collection, or the length of a creamy lace overlay.
Sometimes, however, our counting means even more – they mark an achievement – and we have a few of them we’d like to share. Let’s start the countdown with 10 numbers we are celebrating…
So, 7 years later, we are pausing one again to see how much some our numbers have changed and what new numbers we’d like to note. From 32,957 to 1, here are the ten numbers we are celebrating today and our favorite number is last!
One – 32,957 Users from 1-1-2020 to 6-13-2021
To us, this number is amazing! In 2013 we had 6,605 views (a little different than users but this is the data we have) on our WordPress blog. Today we have a full scale website that folks from all over the world visit.
2013 Southern Vintage Table
2021 Southern Vintage Table
Two – 2,772 Pieces of Vintage Flatware
As before, we didn’t really count each piece but we do have a lot! In 2014 we only collected vintage silver-plated flatware and had enough for 200+ guests. By 2021, we had amassed enough vintage silver-plated and stainless steel pieces to accommodate at least 200+ guests in each variety. Recently, we have added vintage gold-plated to our flatware offerings and now can serve 75 guests. Along with place settings, we have lots of vintage serving pieces – cake servers, tongs, large spoons & forks, pickle forks, and sugar spoons.
This cache of flatware didn’t come so easy – we’ve scoured thrift stores, estate sales, auctions, consignment shops, craigslist, ebay, and more to find these glorious vintage patterns. Now, that’s certainly an accomplishment to note!
The major force on the social media scene in 2014 was Pinterest. Folks still use Pinterest for ideas, but Instagram has since become the social media queen. In 2014 we had 882 pins on Pinterest; today we have pinned 1,996 images with 32 public boards. A typical monthly viewership is 29,000 but we have hit 78,000.
Our Instagram account has 667 posts and 1,766 followers. These numbers make us dance!
Facebook
Instagram
Four – 839 Facebook Likes and 911 Followers
From 280 to 839 Facebook likes, we are grateful for each of you! We love to share with you our new additions as well as our latest events. And, we love to hear from you!
Five – 402 Published Blog Posts
From 71 in 2014 to 403 Sunday posts in 2021, we have expanded our blog post menu to include Southern Vintage Table Events, Vintage Features, Styled Shoots, Vintage Tips, and News.
Check in with us each Sunday to find out more about our latest vintage find, see photos from our most recent event or hear about our vintage adventures. We appreciate each and every visit!
Our count of vintage Whitehall goblets has grown in two ways – the total count and the number of colors – from 65 to 200 and 6 colors to 9! Many folks grew up with this popular glassware pattern and they evoke many wonderful family memories.
Seven – 7 Shades of Blue Goblets
Wow – 7 shades of blue in our vintage goblet collection! Don’t forget we also have green, yellow, amber, red, purple, pink, peach, white, and clear. How many you ask? Well, we’ll need to get back to you on that!
It’s been quite an adventure – collecting, researching, cleaning, repairing, photographing, identifying, writing, posting, washing, archiving, sorting – and we continue to love every part of it. Gosh, how to you thank everyone for their support and kindness? Simply and sincerely – Thank You.
Our vintage plate collection in 2014 totaled about 250 in assorted styles and patterns. Today we have 9 vintage collections or themes of patterns, all of which can be mixed and matched with each other or kept in the same theme. Some vintage collections have about 300, like our blue & white, and others have 30 or so, as in our mostly brown. How many total dinner plates do we have? We’ll get back to you on that, too!
Retro
White Stoneware
Elegant Florals
Large Florals
Red & White
Wildflower Stoneware
White/Cream & Gold
Bue & White
Mostly Browns
Ten – Our First Grandbaby Arrives!
Our most wondrous number is one – our first grand baby is born – Isla Elaine Dawson. What a wonderful number this one is!
“The love you feel in life is a reflection of the love you feel in yourself. “
Deepak Chopra
Today we wish all a Happy Valentine’s Day! Whether it be celebrated with your sweetheart, friends, family, or just yourself, this day is all about love – that inexplicable gift we both receive and give to others. But, perhaps the truest meaning is that love begins with knowing, celebrating, and loving yourself.
We love and thank our clients who participated in our Share the Love offer. We enjoyed planning, collaborating, advertising, and executing the details for you. We are so pleased that you enjoyed the experience, too!
Happy Valentine’s Day and thank you for making ours unique and special! Shelly, you could not have chosen better for us. I am in love with these plates!
AA
These clients have been instrumental in the planning of a new endeavor – offering intimate vintage “To Go” packages. The first to be launched will be a Tea Party To Go package. We are working on the details so you easily can host a magical and traditional tea party!
We are recognizing this patriotic holiday with our red, white, and blue vintage wares available at Southern Vintage Table. Hope your Memorial holiday is fun-filled and safe!
America is hope. It is compassion. It is excellence. It is valor. =Paul Tsongas
As mentioned in last week’s Sunday post, Stephanie Batten assembled a talented group of vendors to create this styled shoot at The Parlour at Mann’s Chapel. Invitations were extended to photographers to take photos for their portfolios and we reap the benefits by having a plethora of wonderful images to share! This week’s photos are courtesy of Kailen Elizabeth Photography and they are so lovely!
Thank you, Stephanie Batten, for creating this shoot and Kailen Elizabeth for sharing your photos. We hope this brings inspiration to the many couples planning for their upcoming wedding day!
Vendor Team Event Planner/Designer- Stephanie Batten Photography @stephaniebattenphotography Venue- The Parlour at Mann’s Chapel @theparlourchapel Bridal Dresses- Oak City Bridal @oakcitybridal Hair- Sarah- SMG Beauty Co. @smgbeautyco Makeup- Sarah- SMG Beauty Co. @smgbeautyco Florist- Florescence Floral and Events @florescence.design Styling Boards- Styling Unmatched @styling.unmatched Tableware- Southern Vintage Table @southernvintagetable2 Invitation Suites & Place Settings- Em Paper Co. @em.paperco Photographer – Kailen Elizabeth Photography @kailenelizabeth The Artsy Acorn @theartsyacorn Models- Abbey Codling @jabbeyo Amelia Fisher @ameliafisher Candace Harris @candace_jane Jewelry- Poppy Co. @_poppy_co_ Cake- Wicked Sweet Cakes @wickedsweetcakes Rentals- DeeJay’s Event Rentals @deejayseventrentals Rings- Alysha Whitfield Jewelry @alyshawhitfieldjewelry
Stephanie Batten Photography shared photos this week which brought us such happiness! This photo shoot took place right before the stay-at-home decree began and, although we couldn’t attend, our vintage tableware made its way to the Parlour at Manns Chapel for this lovely blue shoot.
There are so many details we simply love – the different hues of candle tapers and napkins, the layered blue and white place settings, and the greenery running down that gorgeous runner. And, of course, with the setting at this historic venue, our vintage ware was perfectly at home!
Photographers were invited to attend and today’s blog features those taken by Stephanie Batten, who was both the event planner and photographer for the event. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did!
Vendor Team Event Planner/Designer- Stephanie Batten Photography @stephaniebattenphotography Venue- The Parlour at Mann’s Chapel @theparlourchapel Bridal Dresses- Oak City Bridal @oakcitybridal Hair- Sarah- SMG Beauty Co. @smgbeautyco Makeup- Sarah- SMG Beauty Co. @smgbeautyco Florist- Florescence Floral and Events @florescence.design Styling Boards- Styling Unmatched @styling.unmatched Tableware- Southern Vintage Table @southernvintagetable2 Invitation Suites & Place Settings- Em Paper Co. @em.paperco Stephanie Batten @stephaniebattenphotography The Artsy Acorn @theartsyacorn Models- Abbey Codling @jabbeyo Amelia Fisher @ameliafisher Candace Harris @candace_jane Jewelry- Poppy Co. @_poppy_co_ Cake- Wicked Sweet Cakes @wickedsweetcakes Rentals- DeeJay’s Event Rentals @deejayseventrentals Rings- Alysha Whitfield Jewelry @alyshawhitfieldjewelry
Today’s post is about a little known piece of tableware that most of us in the US have never used or even seen. On the contrary, on breakfast tables all over Europe and Australia, folks are enjoying their soft-cooked eggs in an eggcup. Many are dipping pieces of toast, called soldiers, in the yolk and loving every morsel. For someone who doesn’t like runny yolks, this sounds anything but yummy but we decided that we had to at least try it.
Following directions, we placed eggs in water, took them to boiling, then turned off the heat and let them sit for 3-4 minutes. After pouring off the hot water and cooling them down with cold tap water, we placed them in the egg cups.
Tapping around the top with a knife, we carefully pulled off the broken shell. We dipped one soldier in and tasted it. Not yucky but not good either. We sprinkled salt and pepper on top, added more butter to the toast, and tried again – much better!
Will we eat soft cooked eggs on a regular basis? Nope. But, will we use vintage eggcups in other ways? Definitely!! Not only are they adorable, but eggcups can also hold pretty things other than just eggs!
Our favorite use is to add small clumps of fresh green moss. Against the crisp white of the eggcup, the organic green just pops. Don’t you love it, too?
A petite floral bouquet can be the perfect detail for a tablescape. We love how this is illustrated in the last photo here, taken by Jackson Signature Photography. It’s a small yet meaningful detail for guests to enjoy.
Other ideas? Why not present a small edible treat in egg cups, or use pinecones or Christmas decor to create a festive table? So many possibilities! As you can probably tell, we adore these little things!
To close, we send Happy Easter greetings to all. Many will miss the family traditions of this treasured spring holiday this year; however, we’ll all remember this Easter for many years to come. Here’s hoping that along with our lifestyle adaptations, we’ll all be more aware of two things that bind us all – hope and love.
Reason 1 – Spring is here! So happy to see new growth on the trees, bright flowers, and longer days. Yay!
Reason 2 – We had a surprise delivery from Fernrock Farm! What a wonderful treat to find this assortment of blooms on our porch Monday morning. This floral package is a sample “make your own bouquet kit” that will be offered soon. Be sure to follow Fernrock Farm for the lastest in classes and offerings.
Reason 3 – We are planning to be busy soon because most of our spring and early summer clients have been able to reschedule their weddings. Thank goodness! Although we’ve had cancellations – all with good reason and sincere regret – we will be okay and even more ready to help you create a memorable, eco-friendly, vintage event!
We know you have reasons to be grateful, too. Take care and stay well.
Have we told you how much we enjoy helping vendors with styled shoots? Well, we do and this shoot designed by florist Mikaela Grove of Charlee Mae’s Bouquets at The Parlour at Mann’s Chapel is visual proof – this is so so pretty! This historic venue adorned with these beautiful florals and our vintage tableware is perfection and Emma Branch Photography captured all of this beauty beautifully!
We especially love the Charlee Mae’s Bouquet’s florals in our vintage brass goblets and brass footed compote! Aren’t they lovely?
One other thing to note – the glass peg votives on the candle holders. If your venue doesn’t allow taper candles, consider using these. They’re like votives, except elevated. We have clear and colored peg votives and lots of candle holders to choose from!
Thanks, Makeala, for showcasing some of our vintage details! We adore how you incorporated them in your design!