Vintage Rental China Chapel Hill Archives

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental

Vintage Feature – Inspired. Appreciative. Thank You.

We have been delighted to take part in many events so far this year! These past few months our vintage treasures have traveled to weddings, showers, styled shoots, wedding shows, and dinner parties in Chapel Hill, Durham, Pittsboro, Raleigh, Louisburg, Winston Salem, Virginia, and even West Virginia. Sweet!

Even sweeter, though, are the four brides who recently posted these lovely comments on Wedding Wire. We are oh-so pleased and humbled to share them with you today.

Tracy said…

Shelly was a joy to work with. She accommodated our last minute needs wonderfully and her dishes did not disappoint! Shelly is extremely organized and it shows that she truly loves helping make events special!

Katie said…
Southern Vintage Table provided beautiful mismatched vintage plates for our dessert table and sweetheart table! Shelly has a gorgeous collection that went perfectly with my vintage-rustic-romantic wedding!

Jessica said…
Shelly made it happen and even managed a last minute delivery to our venue. Everything she provided was beautiful! I always wanted vintage-wares at my wedding and Shelly has the best prices of anyone in town. Do yourself a favor and go to the website to see all the wonderful items available to rent for your special day!

Private User said…
Shelly was wonderful to work with and provided beautiful china for my wedding at a very reasonable price. She helped me choose the perfect types and colors for the event. My guests were so complimentary about how beautiful they looked on the tables. I can’t thank Shelly enough and would definitely recommend Southern Vintage Table!

Thank you. We are inspired by you, grateful for your trust, and loved being a part of your celebration!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC — Photo credits: upper left & lower left, Live View Studios; upper right & lower middle, Katherine Miles Jones Photography

Vintage Feature – Framed Centerpieces

It’s been very busy at Southern Vintage Table this week. This month we are helping with four events! And, what’s wonderful is these are very different kinds of affairs. We have a bridal shower for Katie, Sarah’s Valentine’s dinner party, a photo shoot with Tre Bella, and the Rolesville Chamber‘s annual awards banquet. We are packed and ready for the first three and getting things together for the fourth. Look for these to be featured in the coming weeks!

One of the table decor items we are featuring for the bridal shower and dinner party is a collection of small vintage frames. For the last couple of months, I’ve been picking these up at various thrift stores and my vision was a montage of frames on the table filled with lovely things like post cards, intricate lace or doilies, and pretty flower backgrounds. I love how these look and can’t wait to see them on the tables!

These frames are in our Tabletop Decor Collection and can coordinate with any event. I’m working on our soon-to-be-revealed Vintage Centerpiece Package and our frames certainly will be included as one of many different options to help create interesting and pretty tables for your guests!

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Vintage Feature – My 5-Step Plan to Sort, Organize & Let Go

Southern Vintage Table has now been in business for about a year and a half but I have been collecting vintage things for almost two. As I reflect on these past two years, I can hardly believe how much I have learned! When I started this company I knew almost nothing about vintage anything. Really. I don’t think I even knew the name of one china pattern and I can’t remember ever ironing a napkin or polishing anything silver. As I gleefully embraced my new-found enterprise, I collected in a frenzy. I probably went hunting at least 5 days a week and, as you can imagine, have amassed quite a collection for our rental business.

Now, however, as hard as I know it will be, it’s time to sort, organize and let go of a few things. As I begin this arduous task, I have come up with a plan – as my friend, Mary would say – and here it is in 5 steps!

Step 1: Pull out my least favorite china patterns.
The operative phrase here is “least favorite” because frankly, I haven’t seen a pattern I haven’t liked. But there are a few in our collection that kinda disappear on the table. Admittedly, these were some of the first pieces I picked up and if I were to find them today, I don’t think they would become part of our inventory.

Step 2: Reduce the numbers of the same pattern.
When I first started my collection, I couldn’t help myself – if I came upon 20 plates in one pattern, I’d buy every one. Today I am a bit more savvy and, if it’s a new pattern, I’ll buy no more than 5. With our philosophy, “a little of a lot”, I want to have lots of many different patterns rather than multiples of the same. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule; I have a few patterns that are just extraordinarily beautiful and I cherish each and every plate in that same pattern.

Step 3: Coordinate a visit to a reseller.
Fortunately, I live close to a huge china reseller and can easily sell my extras to them. The trick is to find out what they are buying and that’s pretty easy. I called and asked for a quote in the patterns I wanted to sell. They sent me one via email and now I know their offer and what to pack up. I made an appointment and I’m headed there next week.

Step 4: Sell via a yard sale or Craigslist.
I’m still working on the details of this but I’m considering joining a parking lot sale a local antique business is sponsoring. For $25, you get 4 spaces to sell your wares. Sounds pretty easy. But then again, I may just skip this step and go straight to Step 5.

Step 5: Donate to a local thrift store.
The only hard part to this step is deciding which one. We have many in our area that support a host of different causes and that’s a good problem to have! I think most of my things are headed to a no-kill animal shelter re-sale store, one of my favorite places to find things for Southern Vintage Table.

With my plan in place, I am now at step 3. By next weekend, hopefully I will have reduced our inventory to our best offerings, ready for your next event! Of course, letting go also means more room for the new, like this vintage cake plate I picked up this week. Don’t you love the manufacturer’s mark on the back?

~ On a side note, the graphics for this post were created using one of my favorite iPad apps, Camera360 (thank you, Caitlin, for sharing!) and BorderFX, a free plug-in for Apple’s Aperture. I had fun creating them!

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Vintage Feature – Vintage Metal Trays

Another delightful vintage accent for your next event – decorative metal trays. Along with their metal partner, vintage tins, these trays are beautiful, historic and practical. As I surveyed our small, growing collection at Southern Vintage Table, my organizing instinct just kicked in. I decided our vintage collection fell into three categories: advertisement, decorative printed and hand painted.

Advertisement Trays

This grouping of trays tell a story about America in the early 1900s. Heinz, Pepsi and Coke were three of many companies that used trays to advertise their products. Although these are reproductions of their original run, they are all vintage 1970s. Check out the evolution of the latest fashions depicted in these advertisements!

Decorative Printed Trays

These trays, with their printed motif, are all interesting. The round tray has a well around the center, perfect for crackers or cheese, and the raised center could hold the dip – in a vintage bowl, of course. The small red floral tea tray is very dramatic and would definitely add color to a table. The gorgeous, romantic rectangular tray, made in England, is a Daher tea tray from the 1970s. A bowl of treats would look so sweet on this lovely tray.

The oval “Old Ironsides” tray was produced in 1976 to mark America’s 200th anniversary and would be perfect at a bar or drink station. As the story goes, the wooden sides of this 18th century ship, officially called The Constitution and named by George Washington, were so strong that British cannon balls would bounce off. One other tidbit – it was one of the first original six frigates of the Unites States Navy and is the “oldest commissioned ship in the world still afloat.”

Hand Painted Metal Trays

These three trays are literally works of art. As you can see, each has a handwritten note or signature that gives it that one-of-a-kind uniqueness. I think each qualify as tole trays – hand painted metal trays. According to French Garden House, tole refers to a tray or metal ware that has been painted.

Tole refers to decorated tin and iron wares from 1700-1900; but most people also use the term to refer to various painted metalware from the late 19th to mid 20th Century… American Toleware features fruits, florals and symbols. Mostly these pieces were painted by amateur artists using the “one stroke” technique with the paintbrush loaded with several colors at once.

Along with our vintage tins, collection, these vintage trays would add beauty and history at your next gathering. Our collection of both now can been viewed on our new Pinterest board, Vintage Metal Tins & Trays!

For more information about metal trays, check out these articles.

French Garden House

Antique Coca Cola Trays

What is a Tole Tray?

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Vintage Feature – The Living Energy of Organic Vintage Decor

Organic, natural decor features once-living organisms – like wood, natural fibers such as burlap, feathers, shells, pine cones, moss, birds’ nests and even antlers. What’s terrifically remarkable is that the energy captured within these natural creations originated from our sun. How awe-inspiring is that? Maybe a throwback from my middle school teaching days when I decorated my classroom with all kinds of natural finds, I love using organic vintage decor.

I especially appreciate old boxes, crates and drawers with their rich, dark color and interesting grain patterns. In my opinion, their scratches, dings and cracks make them more perfect and beautiful. And, since they can hold things, such as napkins or gifts, they are utilitarian as well!

Vintage baskets and woven articles are also wonderful to use on the table. Whether it’s a tiered stand or a twig basket, they add texture and natural beauty to the tablescape.

Vintage Twig Basket with Vintage Napkins

In the yesteryear home, many household items were fashioned from wood. Now collectibles, these not only add beauty, they remind us of a simpler time in our shared history.

I’m not sure why the distressed look is so appealing, but it certainly is chic! Maybe it’s the added character or just the notion that it’s been well used and loved, distressed wood embodies the perfect vintage look.

When you stop to consider that captured within these natural creations is energy from the sun, you can’t help but be amazed and inspired. These organic vintage treasures, each with a unique biological and manufacturing history, will add a beautiful, natural touch to a table or family event. To see more of our vintage organic inventory at Southern Vintage Table, check out our new Pinterest board!

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Southern Vintage Table Event: YaYa Palooza!

Friends and birthdays just go together. My friends, Cis, Louise, Jami, Pat and Mary, love to get together for any reason and birthdays just make our gathering even more fun. Jami invited us over for a home cooked meal, including her speciality dessert, and I had the pleasure of setting our table with china from the casual collection of Southern Vintage Table. With dinner, key lime cheesecake and vintage hats, you’ve got a YaYa palooza!

Our food was delicious – chicken enchiladas, avocado and tomato salad, quinoa and rice – all served in and on pink vintage china in the casual collection!

After dinner, we donned our hats, made our birthday wishes to Cis and Mary and had scrumptious key lime cheesecake and coffee. Pass the vintage china, please…

Consider Southern Vintage Table for your next birthday or special evening with friends and family. Add the vintage hats and welcoming suitcase for more vintage flavor!

A Vintage Adventure – Well, Perhaps Better Said, A MisAdventure…

Last weekend I went thrift store shopping for Southern Vintage Table and came across two beautiful vintage doors. They were narrow and had three small windows in the upper half – just charming and I thought they would be perfect as a prop after painting and distressing. I was trying to decide if I should go with a light blue or an antique white when I thought – oh no, I wonder if they have lead paint on them. Suddenly, I was the one who was getting distressed because I knew they probably did.

Cool vintage doors - but with lead paint... — I love these doors, but with the lead paint, I had to pass them on.

I stopped by the hardware store and picked up a lead paint test kit, hoping that it wouldn’t be. Got home, unloaded the doors, read the directions on the kit and tested them. Bam – the tester turned bright pink which meant they had lead paint. As I said, I was very distressed. After researching how to remove lead paint, I decided to call on an expert. Found out it would cost way more than I could afford for two prop doors. Oh, well…

I figured this was another valuable learning experience and posted them on Facebook. Within 30 minutes someone wanted them, even knowing they had lead paint. I was pleased because they needed to be saved and restored. Lesson learned – take a lead paint tester with me and check before I buy them!

Not all was lost on that shopping day. I did find two vintage china plates, a vintage berry bowl and a vintage table runner. Only one of each but that’s part of the fun of thrift store shopping!

These and other beautiful vintage china and accessories are available for rental at Southern Vintage Table!

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Vintage Tips – Pinterest Tip for Rearranging Pins

One of the key web tools for sharing inventory of my vintage china and accessories is Pinterest. I love this site! It’s easy to import, or pin photos, and organize them onto boards. Plus, the presentation is professional and, with great appreciation, free!

When I first started using Pinterest, I uploaded photos from my website, Southern Vintage Table, and from my computer. I wasn’t thinking of the order of my uploads because I thought I could later reorganize them on my board. As I added more photos and looked back at the board, I realized there were large clusters of the same type of photo and I wanted to mix them up a bit. When I looked up how to do this, I discovered you can’t rearrange pins within a board.

But, I found a semi-solution that helped break up the clusters. I chose a pin within the clusters and reassigned it to another board. (Click on the pencil/edit icon in the upper right of the photo. Next to the board field, scroll to find a board to temporarily pin the image.) Then I opened the new board with the moved pin at the top and re-reassigned it, pushing the pin to the top of the original board. With repinning to another board and then re-repinning to the original board, the end result is a better mix of photos and an overall more attractive board.

Using this technique, you change the order of an entire board. Just start a new empty board and repin your photos from the original board in the order you want them to appear for your viewers. Remember to think backwards with the pin you want to be seen first being the last one you move.

(FYI – Pinterest lets you easily change the order of boards. Just click on the board and drag it to the new position. Hopefully, they’ll make it just as easy to move pins!)

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage Rental China NC

Vintage Feature – Remember the ’60s Jingle, “Mix and match, it’s fun to do…” ?

Okay, I’m revealing my age a bit, something that doesn’t bother me at all, but this 60s jingle has stuck with me for over 50 years! I was really into Barbie when I was young and I loved to change her outfits. “Mix and match, it’s fun to do, what Barbie wears is up to you…” spoke to me as a young girl of the 1960s.

Well, this jingle now goes perfectly with the table philosophy of Southern Vintage Table – love to mix and match patterns in every color, in any pattern from every decade. It’s like bringing together generations of families who sat at their dinner table throughout the century. Mix and match is still fun to do!

Visit us on our website, Southern Vintage Table, and check out our inventory on our Pinterest Boards!

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Southern Vintage China Vintage China Rental NC

Vintage Feature – Wisdom from Ronald Reagan

All great change in America begins at the dinner table.
– Ronald Reagan (www.brainyquote.com)

Southern Vintage Table is ready to help you plan for your upcoming events this fall. Have a wedding, anniversary, birthday party, baby shower or a dinner party coming up? Let us help you set the table and get the conversation started!

Check out our inventory of vintage china and accessories on Pinterest!

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Advertisement Trays

Decorative Printed Trays

Hand Painted Metal Trays

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