Tuesday, February 9, 2010

A Dish To Pass

I collect Syracuse China Americana dishware.  It all started when I visited a bed and breakfast in Stowe, Vermont.  They served their magnificent breakfasts on that dishware.  When I saw a piece at a yard sale, I decided then and there that I would like to use the same dishware at my family's summer cottage--a place I've come to call B&B Cottage.

Ah, but finding pieces of this restaurant (think diner) quality china has not been so easy.  In the past 10 or 12 years I've managed to find:

2 dinner plates
14 cake (or sandwich) plates
6 cups and saucers
4 soup cups
1 salad bowl
3 relish dishes
1 coffee mug
2 roll plates
and an assortment of odd-sized plates.

I traveled to the Syracuse China outlet store on a number of occasions, but in all my searches I only found one piece (the salad bowl).  I was told it was no longer a popular pattern and had a limited run.  Since then, of course, the company has folded.  So now my only option is to buy used pieces. 

I bought most of my pieces at yard sales, antique stores, and thrift shops.  I have yet to really look online--mostly because restaurant china is so darned heavy the shipping charges would be out of this world.  (Okay, I did peek on Replacements Inc. (which sells odd pieces of china) and would be a
good source--if I wanted to pay astronomical prices.  That's not my goal.)

I have other dishware (Stoneware--that chips like crazy), but because I so enjoyed my time at that Vermont inn, I long to eat off the same tableware at my own B&B Cottage.  I wonder how long it will take to find/accumulate all these place settings.
Is there something you collect that seems like an impossible dream to find?

8 comments:

  1. Wow, what beautiful china! Blue & White china (particularly Delftware) is my favorite♥

    I don't really collect anything of a particular brand- just anything nautical in nature, really. I love old ship parts, oil paintings of nautical scenes, ship models... the list goes on :)

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  2. Hi, Erin! Thanks for stopping by.

    What a cool collection you must have. My Grandfather was a Chief Petty Officer in the Royal Navy and I have all of his medals. (My brother got all the pictures of his ships.)

    When I had a booth in an antiques co-op, I had a lovely picture of a clipper ship. I put it in the painting sale, came home, and decided not to sell it. You got it, it had been nabbed within an hour of my leaving the store.

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  3. i just posted a bunch of different plates i collect a couple posts ago. check it out when you have time. i just signed on to follow!

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  4. i just looked up you pattern on ebay and there are quite a few pieces of it for what seem to be decent prices. just thought i would let you know! do you have lots of snow? i am heading up there this weekend.

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  5. Thanks for stopping by, Jaz. Oh, wow--they are cool, too! I love your blog and just signed up to follow! (Teddy is adorable!)

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  6. Not too much snow. Maybe 4-5 inches on the group. But I'm sick of it being in the 20s!

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  7. Oops, that was supposed to be 4-5 inches on the GROUND.

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  8. Have you looked at http://www.replacements.com

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