Wednesday, May 9, 2018

The dish on dishes

So my birthday was last week, and I decided to head to Douglasville for the day. I had received some birthday money and gift cards, and when I saw that a brand-spanking-new HomeGoods store had opened (in the old Kmart shopping center, if you know Douglasville), I knew it was a sign I should stop by!

I was immediately smitten with these Royal Stafford plates, which say on the back that they're "Made in Burslem, the Heart of the Potteries, England." I'm thinking these may be used to serve a royal wedding breakfast on May 19! I read something not long ago that really influenced how I shop. It said something to the effect of not buying things you merely "like" but saving your pennies for things you "love," and I do "love" these plates because of both the soft denim-blue color palette and the lush roses!

I even had plates on the brain as I was reading the new issue of Afar, a travel magazine I somehow started getting for free.

 It includes this random two-page spread titled "Dish it up," featuring 22 plates that it says provide a "sense of place." For most of the plates, I would agree, but what about …

This pattern at top right from the United States. It looks like restaurant ware to me, and it's also rather plain, but then I realized I couldn't quite think of a single plate to represent the U.S. At first I thought of "Old Country Roses," since I've read that it is the most popular pattern here, but then I realized it's made in England. So … yeah, there's that. What about a Fiestaware plate? If you'd had to choose a single plate to represent the U.S., what would you have chosen?

8 comments:

  1. Corelleware immediately came to mind. This website agrees with you on Fiestaware: http://www.skilletlove.com/made-in-usa/best-dinnerware-sets-made-in-the-usa

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  2. Fiesta or Corelle comes to my mind, too. Or Williams-Sonoma, or Pfaltzgraff (which is hard to spell!). I don't particularly like the plate they chose, but there are other choices. I DO like the ones you found at Home Goods. Happy Birthday (a little late) - keep on celebrating!

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  3. Or Lenox! My goodness, there are beautiful Lenox patterns they could have chosen! (I had to look it up to see where it was made.)

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  4. Even though Blue Willow is an Asian design, it has always been popular in the US. If you watch the old Western movies and tv shows, the people almost always seem to be using Blue Willow dishes!
    Susan K.

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  5. I agree with Joy that Lenox would be a good choice to represent the US. Perhaps their pattern called "Federal Gold" or the "Holiday" pattern.

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  6. I'm glad you found some British-made plates that you like for your birthday! I would agree that a bright red Fiestaware plate would be a good representative of the USA. Or if one were choosing a plate from the past, a Depression glass plate would be nice, or one of the "rabbit" design plates from Dedham Pottery in Massachusetts.
    --from Vernona in DC

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  7. Probably Fiesta ware for the US would be my choice. Love your new plates. I am always drawn to pretty dessert size plates.

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  8. Fiesta ware would be more colorful than that utilitarian plate they featured to represent the United States. I'm thinking perhaps depression glass with its soft shades of pale green or pink and the delicate etching on the plates.

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