I wasn’t kidding when I said I was knee deep in china. But, I probably should qualify that statement a bit, as what I’m knee deep in are actually dishes. Mid Century dinnerware to be specific.
Lately, I’ve been noticing a disturbing trend with our everyday china,which is actually pottery and I adore it! It’s chipping. Badly. To the point that several pieces have just broken in our hands for no apparent reason. I picked up the set for a song three years ago. It’s not quality by any stretch of the imagination—but I liked the fact each piece was just a little different from the next making the dishes seem handmade, nicer than they truly are. They may have deceived the eye then (I caught lots of friends tipping over my plates to catch a glimpse of the maker.) but with all the chipping, their lack of quality is starting to be obvious. Not to mention they are a real risk. Last thing I need is to serve a cup of something hot to a friend and have the cup come apart.
However, I’m in no position to be buying high quality replacements. Something about discretionary income going into a new bathroom floor. Even if I could, I can’t make a decision. (remember the house paint? Have you forgotten already??) I’m afraid of making a terribly expensive mistake—I want to love what I pick and know that it will be timeless. Something I won’t be bored with in a few years’ time, something that can stand my urge to repaint our space every few years. Something that can withstand my fickleness.
Like most nearing marriage, we picked out lovely fine china and registered for it. The pattern suited my 19 year old self, but I quickly grew tired of it after a few years. It was too, uh, sweet for my rapidly modernizing taste-buds. Yet, too nice to jettison. I packed it and moved it and packed it again for years. Fortunately, I was able to gift it last summer to a young niece who married recently and picked the same pattern. Seventeen years does a number on everyday china, so we’ve been through a number of sets in the years. Now, with the everyday china chipping and breaking, and no fine china to fall back on, it is becoming clear I need to be making some sort of decision.
The two sets you see above are the stand-in solution. I figure they should hold us over for awhile. I found both of them in Coupeville on the same day, but in two different stores. Mid-century china can be found in any thrift store, but usually just in random pieces. It’s a bit of boon to find this much. I now have service for 12 if I mix and match, service for 8 and 4 if I don’t—in both cases I’m short a creamer and I have a feeling that might cause some consternation in the future so I will need to give some thought to remedying this. I had a bit of a giggle when I discovered both sets have a complete sugar, but no creamer. What are the odds?
Neither set is really worth anything and as such, not expensive decisions to make! I’m attracted to that. I don’t know about you, but eating off of fine china unnerves me—especially if it’s someone else’s fine china. I want my guests to be comfortable eating in my home, not worrying about chipping my hand-painted Limoges. I’m also attracted to what this china represents. Most likely, both sets were purchased by the saving of points for some promotion and collected piece by piece. I can just imagine the women who ordered them. Modern women with modern kitchens. Carefully collecting points, addressing envelopes, and neatly affixing a stamp to the corner. I can imagine them sitting at coffee together, musing about their choices, wondering when their hard earned dishes will arrive. I can see them wiping their hands on their apron some morning to answer the door for the post. Each woman opening up crates of china, standing in their kitchens examining their newest arrivals. Pleased with their choices and frugality. Pleased to have dishes that match. I can hear them calling each other on the phone, excited and ebullient, “Why don’t you come to coffee, I’ll use the new china!”
Now if I could only imagine where they put those creamers!
They might have planted plants in them. Or one of their children broke them. I like your attitude to china. We don’t have any fine stuff–we had no desire for any. I got one of our sets through stamps at a store; it is now mixed in with lots of other styles and patterns. (but I’m not very fancy, so I don’t care!)
____________________________________
I admire lovely china, I truly do. And I wouldn’t mind nicer stuff—but not at the expense of making my friends uncomfortable or needing to obsess over it. I’d rather sit back and enjoy. 😀 ~W
I quite adore those two sets. I also like mix and match china in general. My everyday (which are increasingly broken) are plain white, which just happens to be the background of my fine china. Luckily this allows me to mix and match when I have more people than china and I actually really like it like that.
___________________________________
Our original everyday china was great, but sadly it chipped so readily and broke so easily, that within 5 years we were faced with needing to replace a ton of it. At the time, we were just struggling through school and didn’t have money to even consider it—and it’s been Thrift Stores and bargain basements ever since. Now, I find there are other places I’d rather put the money. It just doesn’t mean that much to me. There isn’t a pattern out there singing to me, I guess. ~W
Variety is the spice of life!
We mix it up here, as well. My daughters and I delight upon finding one beautiful thrift store plate or teacup to add to our collection. I hate to brag, but I own 130 mismatched cloth napkins, too.
I wouldn’t trade you for all the tea in China!
____________________________________
Oh! I can’t tell you how many single napkins I find out there that are absolutely wonderful but all alone! It’s good to know some of them are getting snatched up and USED. As for china, collecting is part of the fun. I don’t mind the mix and match—to a point. But, sometimes I crave having ENOUGH to go around. I can only imagine that would be exponentially more problematic if I had more children! ~W
enjoy all your beautiful china… that’s what it’s all about 🙂
___________________________________
It is, it is. ~W
“I picked up the set for a song three years ago.”
If the song was “Unbreak my heart” you might be in trouble. Just sayin’ 😀
___________________________________
LOL, you crack me up, Cap! ~WÂÂ
Wonderful…I actually use 2 sets of dishes for everyday myself…Johnson’s Bros. Friendly Village, and some kind of floral milk glass…I’ll have to post about them…I just love dishes (I used to have 4 sets, but after the divorce I got rid of the one we used as every day’s but didn’t like, but had to use because of my clumsy dishwasher husband…now I can eat on whatever I love…tee-hee)
___________________________________
I love them too—lately, I’ve been seeing tons of complete sets of this mid-century stuff and have to giggle. I’ve been considering just photographing them, because yesterday I counted 4 different sets! Fortunately, I’m out of room to store them, so I don’t need to “collect” any more. 😀 ~W
love the yellow china! so pretty. I have a set of blue dishes from the 50s that was collected by sending in drive-in tickets! isn’t that amazing? I have a set for 12 and dinner plates for 18! The glasses that match the set have not held up well at all, though. I do love using it every day, and the fact that I have so much helps me to keep using it, even when it breaks here or there (the price to pay for having such a large, awkward husband). 🙂
____________________________________
That is the upside of finding a big set! Because I foresee a few “accidents” in our house too! 😀 ~W
I love the yellow flowers! We must be hard on dishes because I paid too much for a set of handmade Italian dishes from Crate & Barrel and they’re all chipping like crazy. It’s either that or price quality. I suspect the latter. So I’m currently using a mix of Dollar Store and vintage. ~A 🙂
____________________________________
You know, I’ve oogled several bowls at a friend’s house only to be told they’re dollar store! You can find some fun stuff there. ~W