I think it is fun to serve cookies on a plate that goes with them. Vintage Noritake china often makes that easy, with so many beautiful patterns to choose from. I know that Cookie Monster would not be so picky. Probably wouldn’t even bother with a plate, let alone choose one that makes the cookies [...]

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When you want to get more of your favorite vintage dishes, but don’t know the pattern name, what to do? Identifying vintage dinnerware is one of the challenges of using vintage dishes. Whether you have new-to-you-dishes, or a family heirloom set, getting more of a pattern you cherish can be complicated when you don’t have [...]

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I’ve been looking at lots of vintage dinnerware lately, most in connection with vintage weddings. Then a new cookie came on the market, and the contrast between old and new struck me. Why do people in modern times, this 21st century, want to use vintage dishes, glassware and other tableware? Why create a new twist, [...]

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I’m a longtime fan of the design style called shabby chic. Whether you call it vintage, mix and match or romantic, this is a lovely way to set your table and decorate your home. There are many, many vintage dinnerware patterns that fit into this style. I remember watching Rachel Ashwell on one of the [...]

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Federalist dinnerware is one of the most popular vintage china patterns I find when scouting. It’s a beautiful white ironstone pattern. A name like Federalist recalls the American Revolution and the years after, when the young country was refined. It shouts “traditional table setting” by name alone, and even more when you see the shapes. [...]

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Retro style Mikasa dinnerware from the 1970s is another one of my favorites. particularly the Potters Art stoneware china line. I’ve written about Mikasa Potters Art before. This dinnerware line includes patterns that were designed by Ben Seibel, a well-known designer in the mid-20th century. Mikasa brought out these dishes in the 1970s and into [...]

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Pfaltzgraff is one my favorite dinnerware brands. And, finding unusual dinnerware and tableware pieces is part of the fun of scouting for dishes. It took me a while to identify this unmarked piece. I could tell by the glaze that it was probably a piece of Yorktowne by Pfaltzgraff. But what? Solving the mystery is [...]

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Not long ago, I found 12 cups and saucers of Laura Ashley china, in the Petite Fleur Blue pattern. That dinnerware now has gone to appreciative new homes in Germany. One of the new owners, Kim R. was so happy she sent me a photo, to show how the new cups and saucers are fitting [...]

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A question from a reader, Rebecca, started me on a search for the Halo pattern by Mikasa, part of the vintage Cerastone line. She found some pieces, and wants to add to her set. What to do, when you’re looking for missing pieces in a vintage dinnerware pattern? The hunt starts with finding out as [...]

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Finishing off the last of this year’s luscious blueberry crop from Michigan farms. It has been a great year for this fruit. And, an excuse to get out a gorgeous bowl for the feast. The Berkeley pattern by Noritake was made from the mid-1950s to around 1960. I’ve only found a few pieces of Berkeley [...]

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