Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Events – Ashli & Matt’s Autumn Lakeside Wedding

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

An October lakeside evening in NC may be the most perfect setting for a wedding celebration. As shown through these divine photos taken by the talented Ashley Steffens, we definitely agree! Ashli and Matt’s beautifully styled vintage boho wedding was held at the Sunset Lake Lodge in Holly Springs guided by the expertise of wedding planner, Emily Katherine Events.  We are so excited to share these with our readers!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

We joyfully provided many elements for this vintage boho gala. Vintage dinner plates, jewel-toned goblets, silver-plate flatware, and several of the crocheted overlays. Our charming vintage dresser mirrors framed the gorgeous florals of Springwell Garden.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

With our sincerest gratitude, Ashli and Matt, thank you for inviting us to your wedding day. Setting your guests’ tables with our vintage tableware pleased us so much! Best wishes for many happy days, months, and years ahead!

We end our post with this wonderful review from the bride’s mother. Thanks, Kathy, for your kind words!

My experience with SVT exceeded all expectations!My daughter’s dream wedding style was vintage/boho! SVT provided us with the perfect pieces which topped off the decor which exceeded our expectations. Give SVT a call to find your perfect pieces too! We rented vintage dinnerware/glassware and vintage gold trays!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC


Southern Vintage Table Event – Casey & Alex’s Classic Southern Wedding

JP Pratt’s photos are in and he captured this most exquisite affair, Casey and Alex’s wedding and reception. We featured a few of our own photos in a previous post, First Look at Casey & Alex’s Elegant Reception, but these are the real deal and they are awesome!

As with most weddings, many different vendors provided wares for this beautiful wedding. Our offerings included vintage mixed and matched silver-plate flatware, pink and clear water goblets, and signs. We also provided a lovely collection of vintage floral dessert plates as well as the vintage-framed table numbers. Don’t you love the handwritten cards of photographer Annie Watts, gifted by another sweet bride? We sure do!

Thank you, Casey and Alex, for inviting us to be a part of this beautiful, joy-filled wedding! We loved it all, down to the smallest detail, and we were delighted to be a Yaya guest. Wishing you a lifetime of happiness, love, and fun!

Vendor Team:
Venue – Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church and Carolina Club
Photographer – JP Pratt
Planner – Events by Memory Lane
Florals – Meristem Florals
Rentals – CE Rentals, American Party Rentals, Southern Vintage Table
Video – By Design Films
Band – East Coast Entertainment
Makeup – MC Faces
Cake – Sugarland Chapel Hill


Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

New Year, New Goals

It’s time to set new goals for 2019! We have 3 this year and here they are:

Goal 1: Move to a new location!

Our lease is up in March so it’s time to relocate to a place of our own. Sharing a unit for the past two years has helped build our confidence but we are ready to go solo! With several options on the table, we should have our new space selected in a few weeks.

Goal 2: Create a weekly to-do list.

When you own your business and do it all, it can be difficult to manage every aspect. For instance, there’s the physical part – inventory to maintain, orders to filled by selecting, packing, and washing and then washing and putting everything away. There’s delivery/pickup and cleaning tasks. The other arena of work includes answering and sending emails, paying bills, maintaining the website, posting on social media, writing a weekly post, and researching new inventory. So, with all of these different tasks to manage, we want to create a weekly to-do list that addresses both the immediate needs as well as maintenance requirements. Whew.

Goal 3: Set a monthly thrift store budget. Gulp.

This will undoubtedly be a toughie! We love to pop in thrift stores to browse the latest inventory and even though we occasionally have walked in and walked out, most of the time we leave with something. Vintage shopping overlaps business and pleasure but we need to set a limit. What that limit is has yet to be determined. 🙂

See how excited I am – it’s my first time in this store!

That’s it! Moving, writing to-do lists, and limiting thrift shopping. We can do it!


Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC


Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Vintage Feature – It’s Movie Time!

Today’s post is more than just words – it’s a full length one-minute movie! We gathered some, and we mean only some, of our favorite photos and seamed them together into a video that we hope captures the depth of our vintage table setting collection. 

So, get the popcorn ready and enjoy!  (Click on the photo below.)

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China  Rental NC
The table conversation starts here!  – Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Event – Courtney & Lee’s Romantic Mountain Wedding

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

If you dig vibrant jewels and gold (and who doesn’t, right?),  you are going to love these photos from Courtney and Lee’s intimate mountain wedding provided by Amaris Photography.  Their design, using our vintage gold rimmed plates, goblets, silverware, and teacups created this magical celebration of their love for one another!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Courtney and Lee, we really enjoyed meeting you and helping with your wedding. Best wishes for years of love and happiness! Also, thanks for sharing these dreamy photos from Amaris Photography!


Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Event – Honoring the Chefs of Thanksgiving at Our Annual Family Reunion

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Thanksgiving 2018 for the Bass-Heath-Roberson families and friends was amazing! Fifty years ago the tradition began with our parents and grandparents who traveled far and near to share a homemade Thanksgiving feast. This time-honored ritual has become a favorite holiday celebration and we are grateful for the many memories this day has created for each of us.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Honoring our chefs, past and present, was this year’s holiday theme. Along with our beautiful white stoneware plates, green, brown, and amber goblets, multicolored napkins, and bakelite flatware, we incorporated vintage kitchen decor down the guest tables. Vintage sifters, graters, egg cups, and kitchen tools transformed into vases, filled with foraged florals, berries, moss, and greenery.Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NCSouthern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

We’ll be back next year to do it all over again! Many thanks to Sandy, Rowena, and Sherry for setting the tables and designing the centerpieces. Also, we salute the Rolesville Masonic Lodge for their many good deeds and for generously allowing us to use their meeting hall for our family gathering. 



Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Event – Inspiration for Thanksgiving Tablescape

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Our favorite holiday is this week – Thanksgiving! For more than 50 years, the Bass/Heath/Roberson family has come together on this day to catch up with the extended family and share a traditional holiday meal with all the fixings – turkey, ham, collards, chicken & dumplings, dressing, and Sandy’s mashed potatoes, to name just a few. Just typing this makes me so hungry!

The past 5 years, Southern Vintage Table has set the tables for this special family gathering and this year our planning started with a duvet. Yep, a duvet made from a beautiful fabric that now has been transformed into 6 table runners. The rich colors will bring a gorgeous palette of oranges, greens, ambers, and blues to the tables.

To complement the runners, our next decision for the place settings was easy – our white vintage stoneware. With the color scheme of brown, amber, and green, we will be adding a mismatched set of napkins, goblets, and bakelite/stainless flatware. And, since this holiday is all about food, we’re hoping to incorporate our vintage kitchen decor on the tables. Can’t wait to see how it all works out!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Sisters Janis, Sandy, and Rowena will be on hand to help make this memorable for our families, Looking forward to seeing how these pieces create a unique, fun look for this treasured holiday!

Hope your Thanksgiving is wonderful and memorab!e, too!


Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental

Vintage Feature – Three Client Reviews and Three Vintage Views

Natalie E Photography

For wedding professionals, there’s nothing more delightful than receiving kind reviews from their clients. Because we are passionate about our vintage wares and what they represent, we truly love sharing them with others. We strive to do our best to be accommodating, polite, and timely with all of our interactions and events. These three client reviews from Wedding Wire help us know that our collection and efforts are appreciated!


Emma –  April, 2018

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
Kelsey Rae Photography

“Shelly was great to work with and I really enjoyed getting to visit her studio to try different colors and patterns for my wedding reception tables. The mix-and-match blue china and glasses were whimsical yet classic and added a nice touch of color to my tables. There were tons of options to choose from! She was flexible with pick up and drop off.”


Renée – April, 2018

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
Natalie E Photography

“If you are looking for vintage place settings and rentals for your wedding or other special event, look no further! Southern Vintage Table has everything you can imagine! Shelly is wonderful to work with and was so accommodating through the whole wedding planning process. Shelly and her team did a fabulous job and went above and beyond to make my daughter’s wedding reception even more beautiful than we could have imagined!”


Mallory – May, 2018

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
Shelly Heath Photography

“I got the most compliments on my wedding about the table settings and the dishware! Everyone LOVED the eclectic pieces and creativity! The staff was very professional, timely, and accommodating. Would recommend Southern Vintage Table to anyone! Thank you for making our wedding so beautiful!”


Thank you, Emma, Renée, and Mallory, for your lovely reviews and for trusting us to be a part of your wedding day! To read more client reviews, go to Wedding Wire and our newest collaborator, The Knot.


Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Vintage Feature – The “Magic” Behind Vintage Blue Ridge China

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

We found Peggy first – this quaint dessert dish with a single pink flower. We thought it was special because of its simplicity but didn’t know it was a Blue Ridge Southern Potteries’ pattern until much later. In fact, we had never heard of Blue Ridge pottery!

Now we understand why folks love to collect these quaint patterns. The history behind this unique style of dishware is a great American story about a once thriving pottery in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Tennessee.  Although our current inventory of Blue Ridge is limited, our appreciation at Southern Vintage Table for this American-made china is growing!

The story begins in the early 1900s when a railroad company sold a large parcel of land along their railroad line in Erwin, Tennessee to a group of investors. There were rich deposits of kaolinite and feldspar nearby, perfect ingredients for a pottery business. According to Wikipedia, in 1916 Clinchfield Potteries opened their doors for business, manufacturing the typical china style of the times which were described as “gold-trimmed, decal-decorated dishes”.

blue ridge logo

In the 1920s the business was sold and became known as Southern Potteries. To set his style of china apart from his competitors, the new owner introduced a hand painted, underglaze technique. The bold, new patterns, painted by the local women, were stamped with the new label, Blue Ridge, sometime during the 1930s.

Young ladies, some as young as fifteen, came down from the mountains to be trained as painters at the pottery. Men were taught how to mold the shapes and do the firing. Some of the young ladies were so talented that they were allowed to paint what are called Artists Signed Plates. These are rare, but wonderful to own. Others were content being part of a team who sat in hard chairs around a table and painted for many hours each day. One might paint a flower on the bisque plate while another would add a stem and leaves. A third might paint an edge around the plate and so on until the plate was finished and put in the stack to be fired and glazed.  (blueridgechina.com)

Bright colors and big designs are hallmarks of Blue Ridge patterns. Here are four dinner plate patterns in our inventory at Southern Venture Table.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NCThis pattern is called Stanhome Ivy.  It was a pattern made in 1947 for Stanley Home Products and given as a gift to the hostess when she held a party featuring their wares. Avon cosmetics and Quaker Oats also gave Blue Ridge china to salespeople and consumers to boost sales of their own products.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

The big bold flower patterns are our favorite designs, especially the yellow ones. These vintage dessert plates are simply charming!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Due to a shortage of imports during WWII, business boomed for Southern Potteries. After the war ended, however, cheaper china imports returned to the American market and plastic dinnerware hit the stores. The competition was tough on Southern Potteries and their business dramatically fell. After designing over 4000 different patterns, Southern Potteries finally closed its doors in 1957 and, according to Blue Ridge-SPI,  “the magic was gone.”  I love that quote.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

These vintage American-made hand painted patterns are available at Southern Vintage Table in limited amounts but we are actively looking to add to our collection!  As we admire these hand painted beauties, we have a vision of women, brushes in hand, artfully painting and sharing a little of themselves with every stroke of their brush. Invite Southern Vintage Table to share some vintage magic with your guests at your next event!

Here are more resources about the now-collectable Blue Ridge china!
Blue Ridge Pottery China Dinnerware Pottery Southern Potteries
Blue Ridge – SPI
Blue Ridge (dishware) – Wikipedia
The Erwin National Pottery Club

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Event – Handpicked Showcase of Makers & Experts at The Parlour at Mann’s Chapel

How delightful and humbling to be invited to the “handpicked showcase of makers and experts” at The Parlour at Mann’s Chapel, a beautifully restored historic chapel! This charming venue is absolutely perfect for intimate gatherings and we love being a part of any affair held here.

The evening was great fun for both vendors and guests! Tasty bites from a cadre of talented caterers and food vendors – Columbian chocolate treats, homemade ice cream, champagne, mac & cheese, cake, coffee & donuts, cookies, cider, petite salads, and speciality drinks – were enjoyed by everyone. The beautiful tablescapes, handmade paper products, glorious florals, and samples of guest favors as well as vendor services such as hair, makeup, photography, handwriting, and planning were part of this showcase affair.

Our post today includes photos of our table, taken by the talented Rebecca Ames, which was all decked out with the magnificent locally farmed flowers from Fernrock Farm.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Sending out kudos and thanks to hosts Aimee and Yvette, owners of the The Parlour at Mann’s Chapel, for inviting us to this gala event, Fernrock Farm for the gorgeous fresh flowers, Priscilla for her sparkling spirit and support, and Rebecca Ames for her lovely photos! To see more of Rebecca’s photos from the evening, skip over to her blog post. You won’t be disappointed!


~ Here’s a salute to all of the fantastic vendors! ~
A Signature Welcome, Abigail Porter Bridal Yoga, Amanda Blair By Design, American Party Rentals, The Bardot Beauty Bus, Bri Bakes, Carolina Livery, Cat Call Collective, CE Rentals, Chad Biggs Event Planning, Chatham Cider Works, Chatham Rabbits, Chef Paris Fine Southern Catering, Choco Sweetness, Cottage Luxe Boutique Event Rentals, The Gathering Company, H+L Catering, Happy Tines Calligraphy + Design, Heir Raleigh, Ida Lou Bride – Fine Bags & Trimmings, Juniper and Rye Floral, Kast Events & Co, Krystal Kast Photography, Laurel Calligraphy, Lil Photobus, Mason Dixon Designs, Mood Fleuriste, Party Tables, Pinola Camper Bar, Rebecca Ames Photography, Salt & Smoke, Simply Cakes, Southern Sugar Bakery, Southern Vintage Table, Tenco Coffee Truck, Top Off Events, Trillium Workshop, Two Roosters Ice Cream, Wink Hair & Makeup

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC