The owner of Posh Plates Vintage has been collecting heirloom pieces since she was a girl, so naturally we had to pick her brain about all things pretty plates!
Q: You’re throwing a tea party for five. Who do you invite — fictional or famous, dead or alive?
Jane Austen, Mary Cassat, Maya Angelou, Jane Goodall, and Emma Thompson
Q: What is the most underrated table setting?
The breakfast table. Setting a table for breakfast immediately conveys an invitation to slow down and enjoy a grand late morning breakfast or a more formal Sunday lunch. It’s lovely if it also includes a bowl for cereal, a bread and butter plate for toast or muffins, and little individual jam or marmalade pots.
Q. If you were a utensil, which would you be?
A classic silver tablespoon because of the combination of the beauty in its form and the fact that it’s practical and multipurpose.
Photo courtesy of Posh Plate Vintage
Q. What is your favorite china pattern that you currently own?
My favorite china in my collection at the moment is a set of George Jones & Sons (England) “Rhapsody”. It’s the most beautiful apple green, with raised embossing and a gold rim. It’s captivating on its own and looks lovely mixed and matched with almost all my my other china!
Q. What is a china pattern you dream about?
Do I have to choose just one? I would say Aynsley Hatfield Cobalt (anything made by Aynsley, really) and then I do have a fixation with Minton Pink Cockatrice. It’s VERY pink!
Q. How many patterns of china do you own?
I have approximately 20-25 different makers and patterns of china - primarily English. It varies in quantities and is a true mix and match collection.
Q. How did you start collecting china?
I distinctly remember my mother taking me to the pottery seconds shops around Stoke-on-Trent on a visit to England and she bought me some Wedgwood pieces. I don’t think I was ever the same after that - I wanted to have pieces from every pattern!!!
Q. Should couples register for china?
Yes, if honoring a tradition is important to them and if they want an entertaining staple that will last throughout the years. A wedding registry is also an opportunity for a couple to acquire luxe items that they may not purchase on their own. I think “quality, not quantity” is a good thing to help guide couples in the decision process. We all remember with fondness our mother’s or grandmother’s china and most likely, it was the “good” china that only came out for special occasions. Fine china doesn’t have to mean “frilly” or “fussy.” There are very good quality brands that look more contemporary, but still have some color and/or detail. There’s no rule saying you must have a large number of 5-piece place settings. Having a set of good quality fine china is, to me, like having a beautiful artist’s canvas prepared to be the foundation for color and pattern. That’s when the fun begins! Mixing beautiful vintage china with more contemporary pieces allows for creativity with colors and patterns and can be an absolutely stunning part of any tablescape. It’s a true classic.
