My Favourite Places to Buy Crockery

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A question somebody asked me recently, is where do I buy all my plates from? I need absolutely no further encouragement to discuss crockery with you, so obviously the natural thing to do was dedicate a 1000 words to sharing some of my favourites with you in a blog post. I would like to preface (never used that word before in my life, I thought a week before I turn 34 would be a great time to start) by saying I read a really interesting Instagram post by Jules Von Hepp the other day. He was talking about the pressure from the app to set your table, and make it all fancy. And I just want to say, if that doesn’t float your boat, then move on. Life’s too short to worry about how your setting your table and folding / ironing your table linens if it doesn’t bring you any joy. Laying the table used to be a bit of a chore when I was younger, now I absolutely relish doing it. The only time I didn’t mind setting the table was when we used to visit my Uncle’s house, because he had a whole crockery cupboard dedicated to the most wonderful serving platters I’d ever seen. You know the Bordello Cabbage plates? He had THE WHOLE set, enough for twelve people and every single type of side plate in between. My mum and I used to be invited to his house each Easter to visit and compliment the Easter table…it sounds rather odd when I say it aloud now. But it was really something we looked forward too and what a sight it was to behold.

Clearly my Uncle lives on through me, and if he were around today I am sure he’d be proud of what I’d subconsciously absorbed when it came to laying the table. Collecting plates and things for the table oddly takes quite some time, like most things it takes a while to curate. Don’t rush it, it’s like a very middle aged version of a treasure hunt. Generally I go to what I am instinctively drawn to, however after the initial excitement wears off I think about what I already have and what colours will work together-ish. I don’t want everything matching, and if you do that’s totally ok, but also pairing bright purple with a lot of my things wouldn’t really work. I also like to think about what is hard wearing, we don’t have a dishwasher, so everything gets hand washed which is great for most crockery. However once I bought these water glasses, delicate little things, with a gold trim. Each week Jack or I broke one, until all six were gone. They’d have lasted a lifetime at my mum’s house, but we are quite heavy handed so the crockery needs to be too.

One Sunday a couple of weeks back, I was getting every dish out to serve brunch and it occurred to me that I should take a few snaps to share my current favourites with you. We had potato pancakes with salmon and cucumber from Frankie Unworth’s cookbook, plus a few extras. My top tip is always look at trinket bowls, small plates as everything always looks better decanted in a ceramic of some kind. As you might tell, I don’t do the washing up in our house…sorry to my husband who often has to wash out several dishes every time we eat.

Orla Kiely

I am so happy Orla Kiely are still able to produce their homewares, because they really do spark joy. I love their use of retro colours, the pinks are always quite muted and there’s some great shades of greens too (please note other colours are available). Also it’s really really REALLY sturdy, so far we’ve not chipped any of the items we have at home, and we have a few. The vases can be used as ornaments when there are no flowers in them, so in short, I’m trying to say they make great ornaments. The two mugs on this table are the official house favourite, which is a tough prize to claim! There’s a great selection at Wild & Wolf and John Lewis have some exclusives worth checking out too.

Etsy

There are some wonderful ceramic makers over on Etsy, my favourite was KCHossack Pottery who makes the scallop plates I’ve been slowly collecting. I eat everything I possibly can off them as they bring me a lot of joy, but they are also really durable. In between writing and publishing this post, I am thrilled to learn Karin just opened her own site! I also love Febbie Day Ceramics and Kabin Shop plus you can pick up vintage crockery on here so easily too. Add items to your saves, if you’re new to Etsy read my post here about the best way to shop the site.

Vintage Fairs

At the moment it’s of course not possible to go to a vintage fair, but the floral oblong plate is one of my favourite finds which I think was £5. Hopefully when we are able to visit again you’ll be able to take a look for some gems, and of course in their absence be sure to check out eBay for some vintage one-offs.

Anthropologie

Probably teaching you how to suck eggs now but of course Anthropologie sell a nice plate or two. Their artist collaborations are always my favourite, I got some beautiful Suite One Studio ones a couple of years back, and currently they have done a great one with Clare V. At Christmas they did a Rifle Paper Co one which I am hoping they repeat in different patterns some time in the future. Anyway, in short, Anthropologie isn’t shy of a nice plate.

Bordallo Pinheiro

My cabbage plates are from the infamous Portuguese brand Bordallo Pinheiro which was founded in the 19th century. Some of the other cabbage pieces I have are from another Portuguese company, but are indeed copies of Bordallo Pinheiro. When you see them up close, you can see why they are the more superior product, and the attention to detail is so intricate. They don’t just do cabbages, all kinds of fruits and vegetables, and I also have a couple of pieces from the Maria Flor collection which tbh I could’ve done without knowing about.

TK Maxx / Homesense

There’s a lot of things I daydream about doing one day, including hugging family members, going to restaurants, but much further down the list, but still on there is: wandering around TK Maxx / Homesense and shopping for plates I most certainly don’t need. They always have a great selection, and are really good for bigger serving platters or something special. I can’t wait to soak one of their price tags off with some washing up liquid in the near future.

Other places I like to shop for plates / crockery include:

P.S. If you’d to find some of my favourite places to shop for table linens, scroll to the end of this post here.

LifestyleCharlotte Jacklin15 May 2020crockery, cabbage plates, charlotte jacklin, spring brunch ideas6 Comments