china and pottery

The Pink Cabinet

April 5, 2019 at 10:53 am by Claudia

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but you do know that emails of the blog posts come from a separate email address, and that I have no way of responding to you when you choose to comment via a response to the email? I still get a lot of comments that way – and I read them – but I can’t respond to them. So, if you really want a direct response, come to the blog and comment here. If you simply want to write to me and don’t care whether I respond or not, then have at it.

I say this today because I got a response like that from Claudia in Oklahoma about a month ago. I came across it the other day, when I was cleaning out my inbox. Claudia was responding to a post about Vintage by Crystal; she had fallen in love with Crystal’s whimsical spun cotton creations. And she asked how I displayed them. (I hope you’ve found a piece that you love, Claudia!)

So I went upstairs and took some photos for you. Keep in mind that my Santa that sits on a bell and my Butterfly Rider are displayed right here in the den. But everything else is upstairs in the office.

They’re in my pink cabinet in my little hideaway at the top of the stairs.

I’ll take you on a little tour.

The top shelf holds several pieces of Roseville Pottery, including a child’s plate. On the right is an antique napkin holder inscribed with “Claudia.” My friend Lynne gave that to me.

The middle shelf holds several pieces of cream-colored McCoy Pottery, as well as a pottery deer (maker unknown). In the back is a pink cardboard candy box that holds letters my grandmother exchanged with her youngest sister, Rhoda, when Gram was attending nursing school in Barrie, Ontario. I’ve read many of them. Rhoda died at the age of 15 in the flu epidemic of 1918, along with an older sister, Maggie. Grandma never got over that. And from what I’ve read, Rhoda sounded delightful – full of life, funny, and kind. I wish I’d known her. And Maggie. Both gone long before I was born.

The Friends framed motto was a gift from my friend Lori, who owns Vignettes in San Diego. The pink powder puff was hand made by a blogging friend from long ago, who, sadly, no longer blogs. The Swarovski crystal bunnies came from Barbara. On the left, a Vintage by Crystal creation that looks like my mom when she was a little girl. On the right, a Valentine girl.

The bottom shelf holds copies of the magazines and book in which I was published. On top are little trinket holders that I love. Next to them are two chocolate boxes; one from Harrods in London and one from Laduree in Paris. And a little Paris/Eiffel Tower medallion I bought several years ago from Vignettes. Another piece of Roseville (the hard to find, an even harder to afford Cherry Blossom). Behind it, four vintage glove boxes. And then more Vintage by Crystal.

The elf is a Christmas ornament and not from Vintage by Crystal, but everything else here is. The two bunnies were my very first purchases.

So, that’s how I display them. I don’t do seasonal displays as a rule; rather, I prefer to have things out where I can see them all year long.

I have eight pieces by Crystal and – yes – I succumbed once more during yesterday’s blog sale. I’ll show you that when it arrives. I hope this helps, Claudia! I hope you see this post.

I love all the pieces I have displayed in my three china cabinets, but I must admit, this one is my favorite. It’s my ‘private’ cabinet, tucked away in our office. It’s painted a pale pink, it sits perpendicular to my desk, and I can see some of my favorite treasures when I’m working there. On top of the cabinet are my dolls and a poster for Anastasia. In fact, I went upstairs yesterday to work on the dollhouse and take these pictures, however, I ended up simply faffing the inside of the cabinet. I added that paper that backs the bottom shelf.

I’ll go stare at it some more today. It makes me happy. And I’ll share some more views of my little corner of our office in the next couple of days.

It’s Easter time. Yesterday, I started to post a little round-up of egg cups on Instagram. The first? Bunny-themed egg cups.

Adorable.

Happy Friday.

Solitary

March 5, 2019 at 10:55 am by Claudia

In a desperate attempt to find something that is not the usual photo on the blog, Claudia wanders the kitchen and comes up with this. (Note that this wall has yet to be painted yellow.)

On top of the cabinet, which is what I was concentrating on: two Fiesta mixing bowls from my former collection (I saved my favorite pieces) and a Fiesta gravy boat. Sheep: salt and pepper shakers and another one given to me by a friend. A fisherman from our long ago Dept 56 collection that Don always thought looked like him. A McCoy vase. A McCoy pot planted with pothos. An old tin that I found at the Country Living Fair.

And for those of you who said I should use my great-grandmother’s china…

In addition to our everyday china, I have yet another set of “good” china that I fell in love with several years ago. After searching for the pattern, I happened upon a guy selling all of this on eBay. And he lived in New York State. I love this set.

But it’s on display. I use some pieces occasionally, but it basically lives here in the cabinet. As my great-grandma’s set will live in the cabinet in the den.

We eat our dinner on trays in the den. We rarely use the kitchen table. We got into the tray thing years ago and we like it. Since we spend great chunks of the day together, it’s not as if we have to meet up at the dinner table to discuss our day. We’re discussing throughout the day.

Also, I do not like to entertain. I didn’t inherit that gene. When I do entertain, I feel incredibly stressed. This house is small and it gets tight with just Don and me, let alone others.

But to be honest, I’ve never been comfortable entertaining. I’m solitary, remember? I like my quiet and my routine. It’s amazing that I somehow managed to let Don into my life. (Best thing I ever did!) Since he feels more or less the same way, though he’s definitely more social than I, we are fine the way we are.

I also don’t like to go to parties. I’ve had a lifetime of cast parties and opening night parties and closing night parties and I usually do my duty and make an appearance, but I can’t wait to leave and breathe fresh air and not have to make small talk or shout over the noise. I can’t wait to get out of my fancier duds and put on jeans and a t-shirt or, better yet, my flannel pajamas.

When I work as a coach, I’m surrounded by lots of people all of the time, lots of energy, and lots of noise. The same can be said of my years teaching. So when I get home, I crave quiet. I am capable of being social and charming and chatty, but I much prefer the opposite. I’m an introvert, I guess.

Though Don would certainly say I’m chatty at home and I suppose I am. “Solitary but chatty…” see blog sidebar.

You can better see the pattern of the dishes in this photo of a serving dish.

I’ve got china and pottery everywhere in this house, stashed on shelves, stashed in cabinets, on tables, on desks, on top of the kitchen cupboards.

A couple of days ago, we finally managed to shovel the far side of the parking area near the shed where Don usually keeps his car. He’s been having to park in the driveway. We were too sick at the time to shovel it out and then we kept getting those storms with ice and it became impossible to shovel. Too many layers of ice. After freeing my car last week, we cleared the other side and salted it on Saturday. Don was finally able to park his car normally. As for yesterday’s snow clean-up, Don ended up shoveling the driveway and I shoveled the parking area. More salt was put down knowing that we had a big freeze coming last night. All is clear!

It will be very cold for the next three days and then it will gradually start to warm up. Next week, temperatures will be in the forties, which seems positively balmy.

I’ve seen robins for the past few days and I heard the call of mourning doves both yesterday and today. Spring is coming.

Happy Tuesday.

The China

February 20, 2019 at 11:35 am by Claudia

I finally managed to unwrap all of my great-grandmother’s china yesterday. It was packed in a big box, but the china itself was in an old crate tucked inside the box. Now, I’ve had all of this for years, but I had never looked at the crate. Nor had I done anything but look at one or two pieces of the china (which turned out to be Haviland Limoges) so I had no idea what was there.

First, the crate.

Amazing right? It’s very old. And it’s sort of wonky. We’re currently trying to figure out where to put it.

Now, the china.

Here are a few pieces that are Haviland Limoges:

And I have a small Haviland Limoges dish that I’ve used to hold jewelry for many years. It’s upstairs in the bedroom.

But that’s it for this pattern. The big surprise is that most of the china – plates, salad plates, cups, saucers and serving dish – is made by a company called O & EG Royal Austria.

The theme that connects all of the china is pink roses. You’ve seen the design on the Haviland. Here’s the design on the O & EG.

I really, really love this pattern – even more than the Haviland. The roses are intertwined with a blue ribbon. And I love the scalloped edges.

There’s one more piece – a candy dish or something like that. It’s a different Haviland pattern.

Along with larger pink roses, there are lavender blooms, as well.

I had a post up on IG yesterday and I said that I couldn’t figure out what the marking said. Reader Linda came through big time with “Hudson Crockery Co.” I compared other marks from that company and they match. The company was based in Syracuse NY. Thank you so much, Linda!

And here’s the mark for the other pieces of Haviland Limoges:

So. What my grandmother told me was a set of Haviland Limoges is not that. It’s a combination of two different china manufacturers – both beautiful, both linked by a pink roses theme. Who knew?

I’m thrilled.

Everything stacked up and ready to go in the china cabinet.

I had to clear the bottom shelf, which involved some shuffling of McCoy pieces.

Here it is. I kept the blue napkins that my grandmother used to protect the plates. I didn’t want to get rid of them. After all, Grandma kept and protected these dishes for decades. And then she passed them on to me.

I’m so glad they’re on permanent display here at the cottage after years of being in storage.

I should clean them and I will, but slowly, over time.

More snow tonight with yet another layer of ice. That’s been the case with every storm we’ve had in February.

Over it.

We’re taking it easy today. I’m slowly getting stronger, thank goodness.

Happy Wednesday.

The Pink Cabinet

Solitary

The China

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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