These three floral vintage china patterns are lovely!
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!
The vintage glass bowl gives you a peek of the rose in the china pattern underneath!Three charming vintage patterns look sweet!
All great change in America begins at the dinner table. – Ronald Reagan (www.brainyquote.com)
The perfect setting for great conversation with this beautiful blue vintage china patterns!
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!
Molly from Moishi Moishi told me that her grandmother Myrna would say, “The higher the hat, the closer to heaven.” Well, I’ve got some heavenly thrift store cleaning tips for you!
When I first started my vintage china collection for Southern Vintage Table, I labored over removing the stickers, tape and permanent marker prices. I would peel, scape and soak every dish to get that mark off! Now, I use three products that make cleaning thrift store vintage china a breeze!
1. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. This product is fantastic – it will quickly remove the permanent ink some thrift stores use for pricing and easily takes care of sticker glue and tape residue. It also does a terrific job of cleaning the bottoms of plates and other china so that when you are finished, the plate looks almost brand new! Do be gentle with some china patterns, especially if they have gold layering. I also use Mr. Clean Magic Eraser for other cleaning tasks. Today I cleaned the outside of two vintage suitcases and removed most of the scuff marks. They both look amazing all cleaned up and are now ready for my next event!
2. Eucalyptus Oil. This stuff will also remove sticky stuff on dishes. Sometimes the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser won’t get the mark off so I’ll dab some eucalyptus oil on a paper towel and wipe it off. It also smells nice and clean.
3. Very fIne sand paper. Some of the older china that’s crazed or china that’s unglazed on the bottom will soak in the permanent ink pricing. Using a very fine sand paper and lightly sanding can sometimes do the trick. Be gentle. I have also sanded down chips or sharp places on glass dishes and some china so that the imperfection is almost imperceivable.
These beautiful plates are clean and ready for your next event!
Hope these tips work for you. If you have any other hints or advice for cleaning thrift store finds, please share!
I found this in the box lot of dishes I got for $5.00. This certainly made up for the chair I didn’t mean to buy!
The seemingly small place was packed – with stuff, people and lots of chairs. I signed in and then made my way up to the front to take a look at the box lots. The items I came for were listed to go first so I wanted to make sure I was ready. I sat down, listened and absorbed all the sounds and sights of the auction house. A gentleman sat next to me in a chair that was marked with his name – definitely someone who knew what he was doing – and I would be quickly thankful he did.
My hats came up. I raised my card with the number 268 but the auctioneer didn’t see me at first. Some of the folks at the front got worried for me so they let him know I was there. The rest was a bit of a blur, but I did end up winning the bid. I wish I had a picture of my face when he said, “Sold to 268”. I bet it was hilarious! My friend then advised me to let them take the stuff to the side room so I could pick it up when I was ready to leave. Good advice.
My husband remarked that this orange beauty was a bit over styled. Well, not if you want to be noticed!Classic red and black with a little veil
He then showed me on the ticket where you could keep track of the items you won. He said it helped him keep from overspending his budget. Yep – more good advice. My hands were shaking as I wrote down my first auction win.
I was a quick learner and started bidding on the other items I had seen in the box lots. The pace is fast and you’ve got to have quick reactions. I was so quick that I ended up with something I didn’t mean to win – don’t know how that happened – but I was thankful it was only $7.50. I also learned that you don’t go back in the room to pick up your stuff but you have to wait outside the door – that lesson came a bit harshly but the lady brought my stuff to me with a somewhat apologetic face.
In addition to the hats, I also got a box lot of miscellaneous china and glassware – well worth my $5 bid, a chair – which I didn’t mean to win, and a $5 wrought iron aquarium stand that I’m going to turn into something cool.
I decided to leave before the big ticket items came up. Baby steps, I thought. It was my first auction, and undoubtedly, won’t be my last. As I was leaving with my arms full of hat boxes, another gentleman said to me, “I could see you were having a good time in there!” He must have seen my face…
These plates are incredibly beautiful and the teacups are nice, too!
These hats, plates, bowls and cups are available for your next tea party or family dinner at Southern Vintage Table!
The Riley’s celebrated Jamie’s life with his family at their home with his favorite meal.
Jamie was a dear friend of my sister’s husband. They had been best pals ever since they were toddlers and had remained friends through their teenage years and adulthood. They were at each other’s weddings, coached their sons’ baseball’s teams together and played golf on weekends. When Phil heard that Jamie had passed away one morning, it was a life changing moment.
In a flurry, Jamie’s boys were coming home with their families and arrangements had to be made. My sister wanted to pay tribute to her husband’s best friend and his family in a way only she could do – prepare her home styled meal she had made for Jamie every time he came for dinner. The menu was meatloaf, pinto beans, squash and biscuits. She asked me to set the table for her special guests which I really wanted to do, especially for Marie. You see, Marie, the mother of Jamie’s three boys, helped our family through our most challenging months when my twin brother passed away last year. As a masseuse, Reiki master and family friend, Marie’s healing methods helped all of us cope, including my brother, Mike. We will always be grateful for her calming guidance and spirituality.
Sharon prepared the meal, rented the tables and chairs and we set the table for her guests. This evening will be forever remembered by Jamie’s family as a time of deep sadness yet also of beauty and love, as their family begins their path to healing after losing someone they all dearly loved.
RSVP Events invited Mary from CE Rental to meet with them at their country office in rural Orange County. Southern Vintage Table set the table and Saladelia Cafe provided the delicious assortment of salads and desserts. Many ideas were explored and discussed as the two businesses strengthened their connections.
A beautiful table can open up the table conversation!
Whether you are meeting a new client, celebrating a colleague’s accomplishment or brainstorming ideas for your next project, let Southern Vintage Table set your table for a productive working luncheon. Good food, a beautiful table and the shared experience will spawn positive synergy and build strong business relationships!
My collection of green thumbnail tumblers begins with this one but I have several of the clear goblet pattern. It once came filled with Big Top peanut butter! We later found the cool tree bark pitcher at the local Goodwill.
It was our annual beach trip to Louise’s condo and all the yayas (Jami, Louise, Mary, Pat and me) were coming except for Cis, who was caring for her mother. (Cis, we missed you!) This tradition is something we all look forward to each summer – hanging out with each other, cooking a seafood feast, talking school talk, watching a movie and sometimes even going on the beach. For this trip, Jami and I added another diversion – thrift store hopping – although a few of the stores were anything but thrift, but they did have some beautiful vintage things that inspired us.
Our first stop was incredible – it was like a huge, dusty museum of vintageness. Most things didn’t have a price and were covered by a thick coat of dust and grime. The aisles were tight, the shelves were high and the piles were deep. In other words, perfect – well, almost. The dust did get a bit obnoxious.
We were there for nearly 3 hours – looking mostly for china but marveling at all the cool stuff there, too. Jami was on the hunt for the perfect tureen for her succulent garden. We took our finds up to the front counter and quickly a pile was started. In our collection were plates, teacups, glasses, a hat and a tureen without a lid. (Oops – that’s what happens when your hands are full and you have to move 10 things before you can get to what you wanted to see. They weren’t going to make us pay for the lid but Jami got the bottom for $2 which was the best deal we got!)
In the end, I got a few things, including some pink rimmed luncheon plates and two glasses.
Vintage Fruit Luncheon Plates
So, I started two collections (green thumbnail tumbler which goes perfectly with the amber ones I already had and the square luncheon plates) and added to my Big Top Peanut Butter goblet collection. A fruitful adventure, indeed!
August, 2013 New Vintage Decor Board added on Pinterest
Vintage purse and teapot pair up beautifully!
We have just added a new board to Pinterest featuring Vintage Decor items to enhance your vintage gathering. From vintage purses to a distressed hat rack to a vintage radio, we have lovely items that will get the conversation started!
June, 2013 – Southern Vintage Table is now on Facebook and Pinterest!
We now have a presence on Facebook and Pinterest! Visit us there for more information and photos. Comments and “Likes” will be greatly appreciated!
I love to go to the thrift stores. It’s a modern day treasure hunt – you never know what might be there. Routinely I look for wares for my business, Southern Vintage Table, and I have gotten pretty savvy over time as to what’s vintage and what’s not.
Well, one day I saw a collection of pretty dishes. The gold details were prefect and the flowers looked hand painted, but to me, the pattern just didn’t have that “vintage” look. I must have studied them for some time, trying to figure out what to do. My collection was growing and I wanted to be smart with each and every investment. In the end, something told me to pick up a few pieces, just in case, because they won’t be there tomorrow if I changed my mind.
I chose a set of 4 plates, cups, saucers as well as the creamer and sugar dish. When I got home and unpacked them, I looked them up on the internet. Of course, you know the end of the story – they became my oldest pattern in my collection, discontinued circa 1918, according to a major tableware replacements company.
After doing a bit more research, the pattern, Azalea by Noritake, was also a give-away by the Larken Company for buying and selling their products. I also see some conflicting information about the pattern being produced through the 1930s. But, no matter, it’s vintage and beautiful!
Azalea was one of the most popular midcentury china patterns.
I went back to the thrift store the next day to pick up the remaining pieces, but all were gone. Needless to say, that’s the tricky part of thrift store buying that many of us know and love.
Lesson learned that day for me – I’ve got alot more to learn!
A beautiful vintage milk glass compote was center stage on the buffet table.
Kelsey’s and Joe’s themed Stock-the-Bar wedding shower was a huge success! For the beautiful brunch buffet and dessert table, Southern Vintage Table featured our elegant vintage collection. Our mixed and matched vintage dishes and platters were stacked high with mounds of homemade sweet potato biscuits of ham and turkey along with two warm quiches. The fresh fruit salad looked delicious in the milk glass compote and milk glass footed bowl. Smaller compotes were available for guests to fill with the fresh fruit.
Vintage china on the buffet table
We added the perfect touch to the lovely vintage table scape with quaint doilies, table runners, and fresh flower bouquets in green and milk glass vases.
Blackberry flowers in a vintage milk glass vase
The vintage stoneware china was great with the four flavors of wings, cheese and crackers, and beer at the kitchen counter station. Guests loved this collection, especially the vintage green and gold glassware.
Stunning vintage green and amber glasses
The yummy desserts were displayed on a cupcake tower with extras placed on a beautiful vintage platter. Mixed and matched tea cups were ready for coffee or tea to help finish off a fun family gathering honoring Kelsey and Joe. Here’s an interesting china story that came up: One of Kelsey’s relatives shared that one of the china patterns on the dessert table came free with a box of detergent. Now, that’s pretty cool!
Beautiful vintage teacups are ready at the dessert table.
See more images from Kelsey’s and Joe’s shower on our Facebook page. Special thanks to Scott Faber Photography for these beautiful photos!)
Kelsey and Joe sipping from vintage amber goblets!
