Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Vintage Feature – Setting the Vintage Table with the Kindness of Friends

“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.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
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.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
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.

Southern Vintage China Vintage China Rental NC
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!

Southern Vintage China Vintage China Rental NC
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.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
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!

Southern Vintage China Vintage China Rental NC
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.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NCPS – My to-do-list continues from weeks’ past.  Something more interesting than ironing napkins and cleaning silverware always comes up!  Thank goodness…

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Event: Reisling Vintages with Vintage China

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
Stacks of vintage china place settings are ready to set the table!

It was her turn to host the monthly wine club dinner and Rowena wanted to do something special for her friends. The wine club’s mission is to ferret out the best wines in every possible category. For each meeting the members contribute a dish for the meal and then they try different vintages of the featured wine.  A difficult task but these dedicated women are up for it!

This month’s featured wine was Reislings and what would make this festive event even more fun?  An assortment of vintage china!  Rowena arranged for Southern Vintage Table to set her table and each guest enjoyed a lovely unique place setting from our elegant collection with themes of pink and green.  The final “plat de résistance” to help uncover the best Reisling vintage – an assortment of vintage hats!

Southern Vintage China Vintage China Rental NC
The bold salad plate sets off the delicate flowers of the berry bowl and dinner plate.
Southern Vintage China Vintage China Rental NC
The soft greens and pinks of these vintage china patterns are exquisite.
Southern Vintage China Vintage China Rental NC
The greens in these vintage china patterns are highlighted by the striking pattern of the salad plate.
Southern Vintage China Vintage China Rental NC
A vintage china place setting with the vintage silverware – gorgeous!

Bottles of Reislings and a delicious meal on beautiful vintage china – the perfect recipe for a spirited time! Having a dinner party, book club meeting or wine tasting event?  Contact Southern Vintage Table for unique vintage china place settings that will get the conversation started!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
Vintage hats are ready for the guests!

A Southern Vintage Table Event: RSVP Events’ Office Luncheon

RSVP Office Luncheon

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!
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!

A Vintage Feature – “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Yogi Berra

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
Beautiful vintage stainless steel flatware patterns!

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…

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

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.

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC